Re: saving trees (printing)

Subject: Re: saving trees (printing)
From: John Garison <john -at- garisons -dot- com>
To: Bill Swallow <techcommdood -at- gmail -dot- com>
Date: Thu, 05 Jan 2006 10:44:17 -0500

Bill,

I haven't changed horses mid-stream exactly, but ... A few years ago I started at a new company which was developing a new product. I proposed that all documentation be done online in HTML for use in a browser alongside our browser-based application, and of course the sales and marketing guys were up in arms at the idea. I made some good arguments (mostly about the cost of doing print documents) and they eventually said I could proceed as long as people had a way of printing out some stuff.

Our audience was professional and executive level users. They never complained about not having a book. When we did get some requests for help that was accessible separate from the product itself, we produced it on a CD-ROM which allowed users to search the Help system and read to their heart's content. End of complaints. We even got some kudos along the lines of "I can actually find stuff in the online version!"

My 2¢,

John




Bill Swallow wrote:

I'm interested in cutting down the number of pages in our printed
manuals in favor of electronic delivery (PDF, HTML, c-s Help systems,
etc.). I wanted to get a feel from people who have done this as to
what the customer reaction was. Please don't reply with comments on
the value of print and so forth (at least not to this thread)... I'm
just looking for customer reactions. We're doing our own audience
analysis, content analysis, and so forth, but having some outside info
will also help in our decisions.

Thanks!

--
Bill Swallow
HATT List Owner
WWP-Users List Owner
42.8162,-73.7736
http://techcommdood.blogspot.com
============================
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^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Now Shipping -- WebWorks ePublisher Pro for Word! Easily create online
Help. And online anything else. Redesigned interface with a new
project-based workflow. Try it today! http://www.webworks.com/techwr-l

Doc-To-Help 2005 now has RoboHelp Converter and HTML Source: Author content and configure Help in MS Word or any HTML editor. No proprietary editor! *August release. http://www.componentone.com/TECHWRL/DocToHelp2005

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References:
saving trees (printing): From: Bill Swallow

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