Is it possible to print or copy from an eBook?
Last Updated: 06.Dec.2024 Views: 358

The ability to print or copy pages from an etextbook or ebook can vary according to publisher permissions and the platform on which the book is hosted.

In most cases it should be possible to print or copy a portion of a book, but there may be some titles where this is not permitted. Or if there are limited copies, printing may not be possible while all copies of the book are already being used by other people.


VitalSource

Any print limit will be displayed when selecting the Print option in the top right ... menu, and the amount possible will vary between different titles and publishers. In this example, up to 10 pages can be printed at any one time: 

image showing the three dots menu when in a vitalsource book, expanded and showing the position of the option to printimage of the choose page range for printing box on a vitalsource bookimage of box showing the print now link when printing pages from a vitalsource book


ProQuest Ebook Central

Any printing and copying allowances should be summarised on the book's main page when you first click through to open the title. In this example, 41 pages can be copied and 69 pages can be printed or downloaded:

image of book information page on Ebook Central  close up of allowance for pages available for copy and print/chapter download

Some chapters or sections may be available to download as pdfs which can then be printed from within your pdf software, or alternatively you can use the 'Read Online' option and use the print icon to then set a page range:

Image of print to pdf box on Ebook Central

Ebook Central's print and download limits usually reset every 24 hours, so you should be able to use the same book on future occasions and print off more if necessary. 

Please note: to download a whole book on Ebook Central for offline reading [where the title has full download enabled], you may need to install Adobe Digital Editions. This link provides more information - https://proquest.libguides.com/ebookcentral/download


VLeBooks

The print and copy allowance should be shown on the book's main page when you first access it. In this example, you would be permitted to copy and print up to 20% of the book:

image of book information page on VLe ebooks  close up image of print and copy allowance on VLe ebook title page

If you use the Read Online option, the VLeReader includes a print icon within which you can set your print range up to the maximum amount of pages permitted:

close up of print option box when reading a VLe ebook online


EBSCO Ebooks Collection

The publisher's permissions should be displayed on the book's main record page, although you may need to scroll down a little in order to see that section. In the example below, the maximum permitted to be printed, emailed or saved is 10 pages:

image of book information page on Ebsco  close up of publisher permissions section on Ebsco ebook

To print, use the PDF Full Text download option on the left hand side of the page and then select the print icon:

image of print pages to pdf option on ebsco ebooks

Please note: If you wish to download the book [where the title has full download enabled], you will need to register for your own My EBSCOhost account.

image of message to create a My Ebscohost account to enable full download


O'Reilly eBooks

At the time of writing, there is no option to print from these books. But it is possible to use the O'Reilly app to read any title online or download them for offline reading.

The app is available in all the usual app stores: search for "O'Reilly".

To Sign In to the app, you must use your University email address and when prompted allow the app to share information. This will connect you to the standard University 'sign in with your organizational account' page for you to login to. Without this, you will not be able to see the titles the Library subscribes to.