[BC] Manuals online...Not

[WLOYPROD WLOYPROD]

As a former manufacturer, I can comment that we would much prefer to
have them in PDF form on the website for anyone to get at anytime than
go through the headache of either making them to order or stocking piles
of them.  Even if you give away a printed manual (which we did
sometimes) it still costs you to make it, and if it's got large
schematic prints, it costs a lot.  PDFs are basically free.

This also goes to Jeff's questions about what's good tech support -
having manuals (and FAQ tech tips) online alleviates a lot of issues for
techs off hours.  It also means that when the engineer DOES call, they
usually have the current version of the manual at hand.  It also means
that you can archive OLD versions of tech notes and support for various
products you haven't made for decades but which people still desire (and
in some cases demand) you still support.  

These also help a lot with product that is old and resold (thanks eBay)
and the current owner wants service like they just bought it from you
that week.  It's hard to support old products with a changing product
line and online manuals are a very good (and easy) way to do that. 
Plus, it never hurts to make a happy customer ;)

John

>>> "Jim Tonne" <tonne at comcast.net> 12/15/2006 9:51 AM >>>

Dave Hultsman:
Can you comment on this from a manufacturers' viewpoint?
I know that putting together a single manual is an EXTREMELY
labor-intensive task.
- JimT

======================================

>I needed a copy of a manual this week, and couldn't fine one anywhere
in 
>our shop. Went to the manufacturer's website to download a copy, and 
>couldn't fine it anywhere. Addendums and press releases and other
helpfule 
>files were there, but no original manuals.
>
> We sent them an e-mail asking where they were on their website and
got 
> this in return:
>
> "Thank you for your E-mail. We don't have manual on PDF file. You can

> purchase a printed copy for $ 45.00; plus shipping and handling.
> Please let me know if I can be any further assistance."




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