Printing the DCS: BS Manual.

For me printing up the documentation is part of the simming experience so I've been running a poll on my blog and the results suggest that I'm not the only lunatic that's going to print up the complete BS manual ;).

I print on both sides of the paper which can be a little bit of a headache if things go wrong but it saves on weight and also looks more professional. The best way I have found to do this is to print the manual in chapters so the first Chapter page has nothing on the reverse side, this allows you to separate the manual into chapters for ease of use so you don't have to lug around the entire manual consisting of a few hundred pages. Also if you make a page numbering mistake or damage a few pages then you'll only have to reprint that chapter, this makes for a great safety net for lazy people like me becasue a manual can make a great coaster for a coffee cup or beer bottle ;).

I usually print out ten pages from one side whether its odds or evens then I flip the pages over and print three pages at a time. The reason for not printing the reverse ten pages in one go is that my printer has a nasty habit of grabbing two pages at a time in every 20 or so prints, which as you can imagine will just screw everything up.

I use Silky Smooth 120 g.m paper which is heavy but produces a very professional text book feel and never buckles under ink saturation even when printing a picture. This is ideal when printing a manually becasue the pages remain completely flat even when the page consists mainly of pictures. I got a box of 2000 sheets from COSTCO so it was dirt cheap. I also got some cheap ink off of ebay which doesn't print on photo quality paper very well but for plain paper it is indistinguishable from the best ink you can buy. I recon I'll need 2.5 black cartridges and probably 1 full color to complete the DCS manuals.

After printing you'll need a house for your manual ;). If you look at pilots they are always walking around with folders so that's how I like to keep my manuals too. I use Lever Archfile folders with a lock down cover clip so the pages anchor on the clip allowing you to flick through the pages as you would a book for quick reference and when on a mentally challenging area ;) you can just release the lock and slide the pages over. I have few wood lever archfile folders but they are quit clunky so I prefer the softer cardboard ones that can be picked up for literally pennies and work just as good and IMO have a better feel to them.

Tip; don't punch binder holes until you have printed out the entire manual. The reason is that the more accurate you punch the holes the more precise the pages will line up so make sure you are as accurate as possible when using your hole puncher. I clamp my puncher down and then clamp a piece of wood at a distant that will get me the most accurate results so the pages are perfectly inline.

Here's a couple of pics.

As you can see from my test prints the DCS manual prints as default quite small but this to me feels like a TV guide and not a serious manual so I would advise that you select "fit to Printable area" when printing from the PDF.

A post-it makes a great label ;) .

I never knew how crazy I was until I started writing this post lol .. hope my girlfriend doesn't see this. When ever I get caught printing this stuff out I just blame the company by saying "damn those guys at ED for not sending the manual arrgg, now I have to spend the time and effort printing it out myself" lol. So I'm afraid ED you guys are gonna have to take another hit on this one too. Better that than let the mask slip and let others know I'm a sim junky :D.

WOW!!!!!! Very cool,Looks very profesional,How much paper and how much ink do you think it's going to take to complete?.........sorry for my nosyness,but I'm curious to do this myself if not to expensive.

I am thinking about printing but must know costs what is better waiting for ED release manual or printing myself :)

Well I just printed the flight manual and GUI manual. Put them in three ring binders and tabbed the chapters. All at my employers expense...

For me printing up the documentation is part of the simming experience so I've been running a poll on my blog and the results suggest that I'm not the only lunatic that's going to print up the complete BS manual ;).....

Hell No!

Looking forward to tomorrow - Gonna be Printin' and Bindin' :D

And Yeah - It IS a Big Deal :)

Hi guys,

 

Glad to hear you're all enjoying the PDF manual. Just to be clear though, the printed Ka-50 flight manual we will release later will be 550 pages compared to around 400 pages of the PDF one you have now. The printed, extended flight manual has a lot more information on sub-systems, history and check lists. Additionally, the printed manual will be professionally spiral bound. We are still working with printers on the final cost so that is still up in the air. We expect to offer the English printed manual in January and the French, German and Spanish versions will follow.

 

Thanks,

Matt

Great News :thumbup:

One guaranteed sale right here..........:D

Hi guys,

 

Additionally, the printed manual will be professionally spiral bound.

Will the extended version be available in PDF format as well? :huh: I hope so...

I should say that I'm not trying to discourage people from buying the manual.. hell no..!! you get more cool stuff in the official manual that ED will release, so if you're thinking of whether or not to print or wait for ED then just wait for ED and buy theirs. However if you're not in that dilemma and you want to print it yourself then give it a go. I bet a lot of us that are DIYing the manual will also buy the DCS manual when it's released.

WOW!!!!!! Very cool,Looks very profesional,How much paper and how much ink do you think it's going to take to complete?.........sorry for my nosyness,but I'm curious to do this myself if not to expensive.

I recon two and half black cartridges and 1 full color, maybe a little more but the Lockon manual took one and a bit black and just under half color and that was 262 pages. I'm not really looking for too much of a professional look to be honest but more of a flightline look :).

It'll take 200 pieces of paper for the DCS Manual give or take a page or two and for the GUI manual around 85 to 90, I haven't checked out how many chapters it is yet.

If you want to print it yourself then source out the cost of ink, paper etc. I have tons of ink in refills and cartridges that I buy when ever I see a deal and paper is cheap too if you get it in the right stores. And don't think stationary stores sell at a good price becasue they don't. They can be three times more than COSTCO or other stores that don't specialize in stationary.. check out ebay or other online stores .. Heck even some food chain stores do some unbeatable deals on this kind of stuff.

If you want to print it yourself then source out the cost of ink, paper etc.

Another option - you go to the copy shop. 400+ pages should get you a nice discount.

Although now the question is - does it make sense to print out the manual that is sort of "incomplete". That was a really smart move ED... ;)

Although now the question is - does it make sense to print out the manual that is sort of "incomplete". That was a really smart move ED... ;)

There are no incomplete manuals. There's just added content for those that choose to purchase the manual from ED. Same thing with the Lockon manual.. extra Stuff was added in the version sold as a hard copy.

Great News :thumbup:

 

 

One guaranteed sale right here..........:D

Yep, same here :thumbup:

.

I printed it today at work. 400 pages and my boss kicked my ass hehe :)

All at my employers expense...

...all at my boss expence, and "rotorcraft flying handbook" too...

and... :smilewink:

Hi guys,

 

Glad to hear you're all enjoying the PDF manual. Just to be clear though, the printed Ka-50 flight manual we will release later will be 550 pages compared to around 400 pages of the PDF one you have now. The printed, extended flight manual has a lot more information on sub-systems, history and check lists. Additionally, the printed manual will be professionally spiral bound. We are still working with printers on the final cost so that is still up in the air. We expect to offer the English printed manual in January and the French, German and Spanish versions will follow.

 

Thanks,

Matt

wow thats almost 30% bigger....

Hi guys,

 

Glad to hear you're all enjoying the PDF manual. Just to be clear though, the printed Ka-50 flight manual we will release later will be 550 pages compared to around 400 pages of the PDF one you have now. The printed, extended flight manual has a lot more information on sub-systems, history and check lists. Additionally, the printed manual will be professionally spiral bound. We are still working with printers on the final cost so that is still up in the air. We expect to offer the English printed manual in January and the French, German and Spanish versions will follow.

 

Thanks,

Matt

Thanks for the info :thumbup:

Looking forward to a printed manual!

I to printed out the Flaming Cliffs manual. Only in black and white though..I used two HP catridges. My wife was just shaking heads when I did it. I felt like a "nerd" but I felt much better when indexing the manual and when I started to read I learned much faster than looking on a PDF manual. Also, just by sitting in the couch reading randomly was more fun and I picked up bits and pieces much faster.

I picked up a HP Laser Jet 4050 from www.geeks.com for $130 awhile back, this printer prints 17 pages a min. It will not be in color but It is cheap to print, toner is about $70 and good for 3K to 5k pages printed.

Great restroom reading material:thumbup:

Hey man...

I read on the manual that you can even hear the Maikop´s radio! Select VHF1 to AM and switch to 125.675. Within 70Km of Maikop radio tower you will hear the local radio! LOL CRAZY STUFF! Now we are talking about simulation. LOL

Best regards.

Well I just printed the flight manual and GUI manual. Put them in three ring binders and tabbed the chapters. All at my employers expense...

same, flight manual, bit by bit over next 2 days :)

But is it a colorful one or just in black and white?

Hi guys,

 

Glad to hear you're all enjoying the PDF manual. Just to be clear though, the printed Ka-50 flight manual we will release later will be 550 pages compared to around 400 pages of the PDF one you have now. The printed, extended flight manual has a lot more information on sub-systems, history and check lists. Additionally, the printed manual will be professionally spiral bound. We are still working with printers on the final cost so that is still up in the air. We expect to offer the English printed manual in January and the French, German and Spanish versions will follow.

 

Thanks,

Matt

But is it a colorful one or just in black and white?

I picked up a HP Laser Jet 4050 from www.geeks.com for $130 awhile back, this printer prints 17 pages a min. It will not be in color but It is cheap to print, toner is about $70 and good for 3K to 5k pages printed.

 

Great restroom reading material:thumbup:

I have a Panasonic kx-4450i lazer jet printer that kicks out the sheets in about the same time as yours but as you say not color so I don't use it much. My toner refills are good for 5K sheets too,... but $70 for your toner seems way too much, after one search I found it for under twenty. http://cgi.ebay.com/HP-C4127X-27X-TONER-Cartridge-Laserjet-4050-4000-4050_W0QQitemZ250325340000QQcmdZViewItemQQptZBI_Toner?hash=item250325340000&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A1205|66%3A2|65%3A12|39%3A1|240%3A1318 . I'm sure you can probably get it at the same price at other places too .. and check out the price of ink for your inkjet, I bet you'll be able to print in color for next to nothing... like me :D.

But is it a colorful one or just in black and white?

Color of course :).

Well I had a slight delay printing this thing out becasue my printer decided it didn't want to cooperate so I had to beat it into obedience ;) .. You can read about it here if you want: http://forums.eagle.ru/showthread.php?t=33953 .

Below are some pics of the manual which including the key commands and HOTAS setup is 2.9cm thick and weighs in at 2kg :). It took 2 black cartridges and almost one full color.

Also becasue of the high grade paper I used the quality of each picture is like a photographic, that's silky smooth to the touch.

Very nice! :thumbup:

How much did it cost you all in all? (paper, ink, folder, time, ...)