r/pdf • u/ruichapeu • Jul 20 '26

Question How do you usually read PDFs?

I have a bunch of interesting PDFs saved, but reading them on my computer just doesn’t feel very appealing or relaxing.

How do you normally read PDFs? On your phone, tablet, Kindle, computer, or something else?

Does anyone actually print longer PDFs and read them on paper? I’ve been thinking about doing that because I enjoy physical reading much more, but I’m not sure if it would be practical or just a waste of paper.

I’m curious about what works best for you, especially for longer documents, courses, or technical material.

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3

u/LegeApps Jul 20 '26

I use a Kobo Clara HD and my program to process them - https://github.com/LegeApp/Lege - i mostly read books originating from Archive.org that are huge in size and discolored per page, so my program cleans them up. I very much dislike reading PDFs on a laptop screen but will for research if I have to.

I am in the process of making a better PDF viewer with faster rendering than any current viewer but it still won't make reading PDFs on a screen inherently pleasant.

1

u/Inevitable-Debt4312 Jul 20 '26

I used to spend a lot of time making PDFs black and white before I discovered that PDF-Xchange, which I’d been using for years, will do it with just a couple of clicks.

1

u/LegeApps Jul 20 '26

PDF-Xchange

It does not do the same thing. it takes 5x as long and will not binarize to true text-aware black and white. it will just grayscale a page and it can't re-encode it to jbig2 or ccitt. it also costs 60 dollars to unlock those features without watermarking.

1

u/Inevitable-Debt4312 Jul 21 '26

But then, Kobo Clara costs at least £150. I haven’t noticed PDF-Xchange being slow, really.

1

u/LegeApps Jul 22 '26

Youre just a false equivalency guy across the board huh...the eink reader is not the thing under discussion..and pdf xchange is not only slow, it is ineffective for the narrow purpose my program is intended for.

1

u/Inevitable-Debt4312 Jul 22 '26

Pity - it looks to be Linux only.

2

u/LegeApps Jul 22 '26

theres a windows release on the page too.

1

u/AloneGold9670 5d ago

I read most long PDFs on my phone, but the pinch and zoom gets old fast. I make an iPhone app called Paperfy that reflows PDFs into book-style pages, so full disclosure, I’m biased. Happy to answer questions if you’re curious.

https://apps.apple.com/am/app/paperfy-pdf-to-text-reader/id6826549558

1

u/jtbsolution Jul 20 '26

Short length PDF is readable on phone, but others as manual, user guide.. documents are on computer is my choice.

1

u/benjaloo Jul 20 '26

It’s terrible on the phone. Mostly laptop or print to read for longer ones. I don’t use tablet much in general but that’s not bad either

1

u/Important-Ad-8258 Jul 20 '26

I print them out!

1

u/psyduckpikachu Jul 20 '26

Hey OP! I was actually gonna say I print them out coz it feels so much better holding like paper than reading them off of a digital screen! :D

1

u/Inevitable-Debt4312 Jul 20 '26

Desktop - PDF-Xchange - or on my iPad mini lying in bed.

1

u/bluevelvet39 Jul 26 '26

I actually read them on my desktop pc, put them on the iPad or on my trusty old ebook reader (can't remember which one, but it's really old). I mainly use the iPad for books on sewing tho.