Printing PDF books

I've been taking up reading some of Sonatype's Maven books, available online, but I find it more relaxing to read on paper rather than on screen.

Still, loose A4 sheets do not bring me close enough to a book reading experience. Aside from ordering a print copy, what can I do to print/bind a PDF to be as close as possible to an actual book?

Solution 1:

I do one of three things, depending on the book:

• Print to 2-sided A4 and bind in a lever-arch for storage or dedicated (thinner) binder; this works really well for technical books where I can read a single chapter in a small binder, but page chapters back and forth into my lever-arch collection as required
• Print to 2-sided A5 and bind in a dedicated A5 folder (or 6-hole punch for my A5 organiser which comes everywhere with me). Same benefits as above, although you need A5 paper and a printer that handles it
• Print to pocketmod format (I use a pstops script in linux). This is brilliant for keeping wallet-sized chapters handy at all times; useful for when you find yourself waiting in a line with time to read but no book.

Also (can you tell I'm an avid reader?) I have a Sony Reader that's always got things on it. Not so good for technical books (PDFs with images/figures/tables are a nightmare), but great for novels. But that's a bit beyond the scope of your question :)

Solution 2:

I've used a comb binder (see comb binding on Wikipedia), with good results. Check at an office supply store. You get your book, with thicker covers, and a spine that's only moderately annoying. It does lay pretty flat, which is an advantage over regular books.