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The Easiest Way to Convert VitalSource VBK to PDF

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Every now and then, students and researchers purchase textbooks from Vitalsource Bookshelf. Most of the books downloaded from VitalSource Bookshelf are in VBK format and protected by DRM. People only can open these books with VitalSource Bookshelf APP which is really annoying. Recently I have received many readers emails which inquiry if there is any way to convert VBK to PDF. I've tested some methods posted on these famous ebook related forums and find the easiest way to convert VBK to PDF. This method will cost you no penny!

Update: Since there are many readers want to convert the VBK to pdf in whole, we launch a new software--Epubor VitalSource Downloader to download the VitalSource eTextbooks to PDF/EPUB.

General method :

Convert VBK to PDF on Mac

Convert VBK to PDF on Wins

Easiest method:

Convert VBK to PDF with Epubor Vitalsource Downloader

Convert VBK to PDF on Mac

If you are Mac user, converting VBK to PDF is a piece of cake for you. Most of you may do not know that Mac comes pre-installed with a PDF printer. With this built-in printer, it is easy for us convert VitalSource book to PDF.

Step 1: Install VitalSource Bookshelf APP on your Mac

To Print the book, first of all, we have to open this book on your Mac. Please go to the official site of VitalSource Bookshelf to download the desktop app and install it. Then download the books you want to print via VitalSource Bookshelf app.

Step 2: Print VitalSource VBK file to PDF

Open the book you want to print, then choose "Print" at the dropdown list of "File“ option at the top toolbar.

print vbk to pdf

It will pop up a new window asking you to fill in the range of the pages you want to print. In this window, you will see that if there is print limitations. If yes, we can not bypass the limitations for now. Ignore this restriction and just click on "continue" to go to the next step.

choose the page range

The print window will pop up. Now you can fill in the copies, pages you want to print. At the buttom, you will see PDF options, click on "PDF" and select ”Save as PDF" at the dropdown list.

save vbk as pdf

Fill in the "Title", "Author", and choose the storages place for the converted PDF file. Then click on " Save" to generate the PDF file.

conver vbk to pdf on mac

Now you get your VBK file converted to PDF. Since there may be print limitations, you may have to follow the above guide to print the rest pages. When all pages has been printed to PDF, you can merge them to one PDF file with Epubor PDF & Merger & Splitter. Now you can get a full book.

save vbk as pdf

Convert VBK to PDF on Windows

Unlike Mac, if you are using Windows system, there will not be a built-in printer preinstalled on your computer. As there are so many free PDF creation appliation on the market, why not install one on your Windows? I have used both doPDF and CutePDF. Both of them work well as a Virtual PDF printer on my own Windows.

Step 1: Install VitalSource Bookshelf app on your Windows

Go to VitalSource Bookshelf to download the desktop app and then install it on your Windows.

Step 2: Install doPDF on your computer

Download the FREE virtual printer driver doPDF here. This virtual printer will allow you print files as regular printer, but the result will be a PDF, not a real paper.

Step 3: Print the VitalSource Books as PDF

Open the VitalSource Bookshelf and download the book you want to convert. Open the book and then click on "File"-->”“Print".

print vbk to pdf

The print preview window will pop up. You just have to click on "print" to go to the next step.

print options on windows

Now you will see the print settings window. Choose "doPDF 9" as the virtual printer and select all pages. Then click on "Print".

select printer for vitalsource book

After you have clicked on "Print", the doPDF will save this file as PDF. You can change the file name and storage at your computer by clicking on "Browse". Then click on "OK". The printer will begin to print this file and give you a PDF file.

print vbk to pdf on windows

As there may be print limitation, you have to print the pages one by one. After all pages have been printed, you can use Epubor PDF & Merger & Splitter to merge all pdf files to one book.

Convert VBK to PDF with Epubor VitalSource Downloader

The above mentioned methods are very complex and time-consuming, and you need to install so many software to achieve your goal. It will take about your whole days to download a book with one thousand pages. That's why I want to introduce Epubor new software --Epubor VitalSource Downloader to you. With this software, you can download the VitalSource books to pdf with one click.

Step 1: Install the Epubor VitalSource Downloader

Download Epubor VitalSource Downloader for free:
Updated 2/18/2019: Epubor Vitalsource Downloader is not available for downloading any more for force majeure.

Download the Epubor VitalSource Downloader and install it on your computer. It supports both Windows and Mac system.

Step 2: Log in your VitalSource Bookshelf

Then run VitalSource Downloader and you will see a window as below.

Vitalsource downloader login

You just need to fill in your VitalSource account information to sign in your VitalSource Bookshelf. See? Very clean interface, right?

Tips:

1. It won't remember your account info unless you allow to do that. And the account logging in settings is set to be used for the library accessing so that all your vitalsource eTextbooks can be downloaded well.

2, It may take a little while to successfully log in your account if your network is not so fluent, please be patient.

3, Updated 12/19/2018: It now supports batch downloading. Right right click the mouse to select "Download all books" or "Download selected books".

Vitalsource downloader login

When you log in, you will see all books you purchased from VitalSource website. If you found that not all purchased books are displayed in this library, close the software and restart it again please.

Step 3: Download VitalSource Bookself to PDF

To get the PDF file, you just need to DOUBLE-CLICK on the book cover to download your books. You can also click on the "cloud" like icon, it will allow you to download the book too.

When the downloading is started, the processing bar will show you the process. Please wait patiently until the downloading completed. Keep in mind that, to ensure the downloading speed, you are allowed to download one book only at a time!

download vbk file

When the downloading is finished, it will pop up the output location which stores the downloaded PDF or EPUB books. You can also click on the blue folder icon, it will show you the output path.

Downloaded pdfInstead of vbk file, you will get the PDF or EPUB file downloaded to your computer according to the book original formats. If the book you purchased is Page-Fidelity Textbook (PDF), the book you downloaded will be in PDF. If the book you purchased is Reflowable Textbook (EPUB), the book you downloaded will be in epub. In this situation, you need to convert the epub to PDF with Epubor eBook converter.

You can watch the video tutorial to know how to convert the VitalSource vbk to PDF.

Now you can try to convert your VitalSource ebooks to PDF with Epubor VitalSource Downloader. If you think this article is useful, please spread it to more places or give us a thumb up. If you had any better suggestions, you are welcome to share these methods in the comments.

Download Epubor VitalSource Downloader
Updated 2/18/2019: Epubor Vitalsource Downloader is not available for downloading any more for force majeure.
author

has been a passionate member of Epubor since 2017. Her mission is to enhance your ebook reading experience by sharing insightful tips and tricks. Join her on a journey towards reading excellence today!

30 Comments
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01/4/2018 08:32:02
I tried doing these steps, but I only got the first page converted
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01/4/2018 11:56:58
Although we can only choose page from 1 to 1, but actually, it will print all pages if you keep following my steps.
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01/6/2018 17:45:29
Following all the suggested steps also on different books I still have the first page printed or if it says two pages only we have two pages printed NOT ALL!
Help?
Cheers
stefano
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01/9/2018 17:18:49
I am sincerely sorry for this issue. Since the Vitalsource book have the print limitations,you may have to print all pages and then merge them into one PDF BOOK.
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01/6/2018 17:34:53
I too followed ALL your proposed steps but I got onlt the first page printed! Can you help? TIA
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01/6/2018 22:45:07

No answer??

We too followed ALL your proposed steps but we got only one or two pages.

If tehre is not answer you should remove your advise

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01/9/2018 17:20:06
I am sincerely sorry for this issue. Since the Vitalsource book have the print limitations,you may have to print all pages and then merge them into one PDF BOOK.
For print the rest pages, please click on the page you want to print at first, then click on print.
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01/13/2018 21:25:07
if "I" need to print 350+ pages, 1 by 1, what do I need your software for?  Once I spend DAYS printing this thing out PAGE by PAGE  i can dump it into ANY copier and covert to PDF -   thanks for nothing ???
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01/16/2018 16:40:11
We've reporting your problem to our R&D. They are now developing a software can convert the VBK file to PDf directly. if we have any progress, we will let you know, ok? The method in this article is a alternative way to save your book. For the software we mentioned in this article are all free.
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03/2/2018 08:39:13
Gotta agree with ED on this one, most windows computers already have the print to PDF feature, still doesn't help with the 1-2 page restriction on these E-Books
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03/2/2018 09:08:10
We will release a new software soon to solve your problem recently. This new software is in test. If you are like, we can send you the software so that you can download the Vbk file.You can contact epubor.iris@gmail.com for the details.
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02/26/2018 02:49:08
This does work.  You have to go to the section you want to save, then select print and the print range (max is 2 pages).  This is not a real solution for books with several hundred pages though.
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03/1/2018 15:01:16
Thank you for your comments. We just provide this way as a temporary solution. Our technical team are writing a new software to download the VBK books. This software is under testing. If you like, please contact epubor.iris@outlook.com. She will send you the Beta version so that you can have a try.
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01/2/2019 20:40:09
Hopeless software that does not work.
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01/3/2019 10:27:38
what does you mean the software does not work? Can you give us more information about your problem so that we can help you fix it as you are the first one address this software does not work.
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01/3/2019 23:42:17
It only gives the first 5 pages as a PDF
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01/4/2019 09:40:19
Free trial version will help download the entire book but show you 5 pages of each book. If found no content lose of the provided pages, please purchase the full version.
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01/26/2019 07:38:53
Followed all steps to convert my VitalSource book to epub then to PDF and it's still not working. When the file opens, it just tells me to refresh the window.
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01/29/2019 13:47:35
Please redownload the epubor vitalsource downloader and try again. We have fixed the bug.
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01/28/2019 13:46:42
"Please Refresh Your Browser" on a few hundred pages is hardly worth paying for.
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01/29/2019 13:48:14
Please download Epubor vitalsource downloader the latest version to have a free trial. We have fixed this bug.
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01/31/2019 11:31:07
"Please Refresh Your Browser" appears again.
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02/11/2019 09:32:30
Thank you for reporting this issue. It seems Vitalsouce bookshelf has changed their website again to stop the software working. We will get this problem fixed ASAP. Sorry for the inconvenience caused.
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02/14/2019 02:18:24
"Please Refresh Your Browser" appears again.
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02/22/2019 01:13:50

Good luck epubor. Can’t wait for you to resolve this. I have the book, why don’t they just listen their proprietary software sucks for simple reading and that’s why people don’t want to use it, not because we haven’t already day got the books!

I want to run a pdf speed reader over it for a quick overview for the first read before a proper study... sigh.

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02/22/2019 10:42:43
Due to technical issue and copyright problems, we decide not to sell this software in the future.
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02/17/2020 09:19:30
Do you now have a better way of downloading THE WHOLE book? It's very important and very unprofessional to have this format of only 2 pages at a time, especially after paying money for this.
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07/28/2020 03:43:13
Novel have apeace
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08/17/2022 17:20:55
This solution allows 2 pages to be printed and so is a complete waste of time.
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09/13/2022 21:45:43
is safe to use this tool?
I'm afraid of getting banned or something.
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