DAN First Aid for Professional Divers - physical book?

[CuriousRambler]

I just signed up for DAN's Diving First Aid for Professional Divers, with the hands on scheduled for April. The student manual is a 250-page PDF, which DAN makes publicly available here. Is anyone aware of a source for a printed version? I can't seem to find it in DAN's store, or anywhere else. eBooks are handy, but sometimes it's nice to have a hard copy to flip through and keep on the shelf for reference.

 

[Joneill]

I just signed up for DAN's Diving First Aid for Professional Divers, with the hands on scheduled for April. The student manual is a 250-page PDF, which DAN makes publicly available here. Is anyone aware of a source for a printed version? I can't seem to find it in DAN's store, or anywhere else. eBooks are handy, but sometimes it's nice to have a hard copy to flip through and keep on the shelf for reference.

Why not just print the PDF yourself?

 

[BoltSnap]

Why not just print the PDF yourself?

It is probably way too expensive to print by one's self instead of a publisher printed book.

 

[CuriousRambler]

I don't currently own a printer. Last one broke on me over a year ago, and I haven't found a need to buy another. For one-off things, work doesn't mind me printing 2-3 pages of personal stuff every now and then, but >200 pages of their toner doesn't really sit well with me, even if I bring my own paper.

Edit: for clarification, I'm not a dive professional, so this class is not work relevant, despite the name.

 

[Steve_C]

I could be wrong, but I seem to recall reading somewhere that DAN wanted to be up to date so that they would be using the best and latest understanding. That is easy to do with a PDF that can be updated several times a year. That is not possible with hardbound books.

 

[Joneill]

It is probably way too expensive to print by one's self instead of a publisher printed book.

I was not suggesting to go to a commercial printer to make a hard bound book for yourself. In the USA, Staples offers a variety of printing services that are pretty cost effective if you don’t have your own printer.

Print and Marketing Services | Copy and Print | Staples®

 

[saxman242]

Go to Staples, print it out and have it 3 hole punched and put it in a binder. Will probably cost you $20

 

[CuriousRambler]

I could be wrong, but I seem to recall reading somewhere that DAN wanted to be up to date so that they would be using the best and latest understanding. That is easy to do with a PDF that can be updated several times a year. That is not possible with hardbound books.

Great point! I hadn't thought of that.

Sounds like printing is the way to go. I was hoping I just missed the printed edition somewhere, but doesn't sound like that's the case. Staples looks like less than $20 with spiral binding, in black & white. I'll have to browse the book a little to see if there's any reason to choose color, which more than triples the price. That, or just bribe a friend with a case of beer.

 

[mmerriman]

2nd for staples - they can even bind it for cheap.

 

[CuriousRambler]

Staples actually wanted almost $200 to print in color and bind. Other local options were even more. Black and white wasn't bad price-wise, but a lot of the diagrams in the book use blue and red to illustrate venous vs arterial blood flows, so black and white would kind of degrade the usefulness of the book, IMO.

I just hunted down a friend to print it, and threw it in a 3-ring binder. I admit I'm picky, but a bunch of regular printer paper in a 3-ring binder isn't nearly as "nice" as a purpose-bound book, whose pages you can flip through easily. The same applies to comb and spiral bidings. Taking the print at home/staples route is better than nothing, but I'd still be happy to spend money on an actual book, if one were available. Again, I fully admit to being picky in that regard.