Print Vs Paper

From Jacob Nielson

Computer screens lead to a reading speed that is approximately 25% slower than reading from paper. Users do like the ability to get long documents in hardcopy. So even online publishing systems need a print feature. The implication for web design is to provide printable versions of any long documents.

Now comes in PDF claiming to solve this problem...

PostScript and Acrobat files should never be read online. PostScript viewers are fine for checking out the structure of a document in order to determine whether to print it, but users should not be tricked into the painful experience of actually spending an extended period of time with online PostScript

And this Nielson report 13 July 3993 , bombs PDF and might give Flash paper a head start.

I've never liked pdf anyway and being an anti-printer guy, never knew why such a format is needed. Then I realised it is the only format over which the author can have total control over how the document gets printed out.