What is the Advantage and Disadvantage of Free Illustrations for Books

eBook Pros

Portability
Nothing beats the convenience of eBooks when it comes to taking a book (or more) with you wherever you go. Whereas physical books are heavy and cumbersome, eBooks take up only a little space. As a result, they’re great for travel and people who read a lot of books in a short time. So load up your eReader, and you’re ready to go!

Night reading
If you’re the type who likes to read before bed but doesn’t want to keep the light on, eBooks are a great option. Most eReaders are backlit, meaning the screen is bright enough to read without an overhead light. However, artificial light has a downside (see below), which is something to consider.

Storage
Many people love the look of books on a bookshelf, but for those with limited space, eBooks are a way to collect and save books. eReaders can hold up to 500 books per gigabyte of storage—so with that Kindle you have, you could potentially store thousands of books on a single device.

Eco-Footprint
Printing physical books requires a lot of energy and natural resources. On the other hand, eBooks need none of these things, as they are all digital files (aside from the eReader itself). As a result, switching to eBooks could lower your carbon footprint and greatly reduce deforestation.

Less expensive
A big pro for many readers is that eBooks are generally less expensive than physical books. Whereas hardback books can reach up to $30, the same title eBook often taps out at $12.99 (many are much lower, including frequent promos for $0.99 or even free books). This lower pricing is because there are no printing costs associated with eBooks, allowing them to retail at a lower price point.

Features
Some eBooks have special features like bookmarks, highlighting, and even adding notes. In addition, the hyperlinked text means users can click to look up definitions of words or even visit outside sources on the internet, then quickly return to the book. All of these technological features have increased the functionality of eBooks in today’s market.

Availability
eBooks are available at the click of a button, which means you can buy and start reading a new book without leaving your home. They’re never out of stock and aren’t subject to shipping concerns. In a nutshell, eBooks are ideal for instant gratification.

eBook Cons

Connectivity
Most eReaders do not require wifi to read a book—however, you need to be connected to the internet to download a book. Therefore, if traveling, it’s best to load up your eReader before you leave so that the books are there and ready in case you find yourself in an area without wifi. Similarly, you must charge eReaders, and you run the risk of running out of battery right when you’re getting to the good part!

Artificial light
As mentioned above, eBooks are an excellent option for nighttime reading. However, the artificial light produced by many eReaders can strain your eyes and interfere with your body’s natural sleep cycle. Even with improved lighting and anti-glare technology, you might still need frequent breaks to rest your eyes.

No touch and feel
Perhaps one of the main reasons eBooks turn readers off is the lack of “touch and feel” compared to holding an actual book in your hands. Reading is very much an experience for some people, and eBooks may not align with that.

Print Book Pros

“Traditional” reading experience
Print books allow readers to touch the pages, feel the book in their hands, and smell the cover. It immerses them in the reading experience through physical substance, something eBooks can’t do.

Screen-free
For those who are wary of screen time, print books can give you a break. In today’s world, where people are on their devices all day, reading a physical book is a great change of pace, is easier on your eyes, and helps you disconnect.

You don’t have to be tech-savvy
There’s no learning curve to reading a book—simply open and start, which is good news for people who find eBooks confusing or overwhelming. No buttons to push, nothing to download.

Sharing
When you have finished a book, what do you do with it? Many people donate or pass it along to a friend. Sharing is much easier with print books and helps support the second-hand book market.

Better Illustrations
For picture books and novels with illustrations, the print version will often be of higher quality when it comes to images. Illustrations are crisper, richer, and in color, whereas some eReaders are only black & white.

Print Book Cons

More expensive
Price is one of the most significant downsides of print books. Due to printing costs (paper, production, shipping, etc.), physical books will always be higher priced than eBooks. The average price for hardcover books is $24.99–$27.99, significantly more than an eBook.

Portability and size
Physical books take up more space both during and after reading. Taking multiple books on vacation can fill up a suitcase quickly, and storing all the books you read requires space some people may not have.

Less economical
Printing physical books uses a lot of natural resources and can take a toll on the environment. An excellent way to combat this is to buy used books, borrow from the library, or consider eBooks.

The Takeaway

Reading is a personal preference, and while there are pros and cons for both physical books and eBooks, there’s no overall right or wrong choice. Weigh the advantages of each to make a choice that suits your lifestyle and needs. At the end of the day, the most important thing is that you’re enjoying a great book!

Today, we are talking Canva. Canva is an online content creation platform – it has a focus on design. It’s basically a type of online Photoshop (not for editing, but for design specifically), that is ideal for individual creators and small businesses who might not have design skills or access to a designer.

So, what are the advantages of Canva?

1. Anyone can be a designer using Canva:

You don’t need to be a skilled designer to start or know anything about design. And it’s because:

 2. Canva is very simple to use and user friendly:

From layout of the platform to guided templates, basically a drag and drop design platform.

 3. Canva provides templates of the correct sizing for other online platforms:

You can choose from a variety of templates inclusive, but not limited to Facebook banners, LinkedIn banners, YouTube thumbnails, Instagram stories, slide decks, and more.

 4. It is budget friendly:

You can use the limited free option, or the Pro option at $12,99 dollars per month (price according to date 21 September 2020). In comparison to designer rates starting from $25 per hour, Canva is a great affordable alternative.

 5. The site offers a variety of templates:

Canva can guide you with a variety of templates.

 6. You don’t need to worry about where to start on a blank canvas:

Don’t know where to start? You don’t need to come up with ideas, and can rather start with Canva’s templates. Even if you don’t want to replicate a template, it’s a great place to start or gather inspiration from.

 7. Templates can be altered to be more custom:

Templates are customisable. You can also create your own designs.

8. Canva offers a professional look and feel to your designs without getting a designer in:

If you know nothing of design, the templates are professional in their look and feel.

 9. Stock photography usage:

You don’t need to pay for a stock photography account as well, as Canva contains stock photography. That being said, the Pro account would be better if you want a greater selection.

 10. Team access:

Considering the help of a virtual assistance or social media marketer? Whilst you are growing and considering onboarding a team, you can provide your team access.

Although, Canva is a fantastic resource, there are some limitations to it. So, let’s jump into the disadvantages.

1. The Canva style:

Although the template focus is a benefit, it can also be limiting. Think of it in terms of stock photography sites. How many images look “stock-ish” and similar in style on stock photography sites? Canva has the same limitation. When multiple businesses use the same content, or content follows Canva’s brand and style, content can appear generic.

 2. Limitation of number of templates:

Although Canva’s contribution is growing every month, there is a limitation to template designs and stock photography.

 3. Alignment concerns:

Canva is not for designers. One of the greatest issues is that of alignment. Whereas software like Photoshop and Illustrator and InDesign, alignment can be carefully controlled, Canva is not as controllable in terms of design elements. 

 4. Export settings are limited:

a. What you see in Canva might differ from what you see when printing or when saving it to your computer.

b. CMYK vs. RGB: The above point also has to do with colour space. Although Canva does have a print PDF option, it still exports as RGB, the digital colour space, and not CMYK, print colour space. When printing the colour can significantly differ from what you saw in Canva.

c. Can’t export to files like PowerPoint

 5. Cannot download the “raw” file to your computer:

don’t have access to the raw file on your computer and can’t download it for later use, if you move away from Canva in the future.

 6. Free version is limited:

The free version is limited in terms of stock photography, templates, font, your brand kit, team sharing, storage and support. That is expected though.

 7. You are unable to move one design to another design:

You are unable to move a design element from one design to another design. If you want to match style, you would have to do so manually.

 8. Intellectual property belongs to Canva:

Intellectual property is ambiguous. You do not own anything, but have usage licensing.

Specifically, when it comes to logos on Canva, you do not have a differentiated logo, but also, it isn’t yours.

 9. Canva is in control – they can delete your account at whatever time.

You are dependent on Canva. It’s their platform and rightfully so. You aren’t licensing their software to create you own IP, you are simply using their platform to create content. Thus, Canva can delete your profile or your content at any time at their discretion.

Depending on where you are at in your business, Canva’s appeal will be different. I.e. the benefits could outweigh the limitations if you are a small business owner, start-up, or professional individual, with budget limitations and limited access to a designer. However, for design professionals, and larger companies who need greater control over their content in terms of consistency and IP, Canva might not be for you.

Ostara Studio is an anti-agency which assists clients to connect more meaningfully with their audiences through strategic content creation, brand coaching, and strategy. Liz is the head strategist and lead designer of Ostara Studio, and loves writing articles that assists small businesses and professional individuals.

Contact us to book your discovery call to find out how we can assist your business growth. Click here.

Or, visit our website to see how we work. Click here.

We also offer Canva training to small businesses. Click here to find out when the latest online event training is happening. Click here.