As the leading provider of online textbooks and course materials, VitalSource attracts millions of users to rent or buy eTextbooks. Like other eBook online retailers, VitalSource BookShelf sells DRMed eTextbooks in a proprietary format. The textbooks downloaded via VitalSource Bookshelf app are saved in vbk files which can only be read on its own VitalSource Bookshelf software. We find this unacceptable. If you pay for an eBook, it is supposed to be yours to view on any device you own. It was tricky and arduous to have our developers figure out how to bypass the restriction. For what it’s worth, we’ve made it. Epubor is proud to announce the release of a new DRM removal tool which is dedicated to VitalSource DRM Removal - Epubor VitalSource Downloader. Hence, in this article, i'll introduce the easiest way to remove VitalSource DRM and convert VitalSource Bookshelf vbk to pdf with this fascinating tool.
Epubor VitalSource Downloader is a tool to download VitalSource eTextbooks without Bookshelf app installed. It removes the DRM restriction from your purchased VitalSource books and helps you get DRM free Epub or PDF eTextbooks (depends on the original book type delivered by VitalSource). If the book distributed in VitalSource is a PDF file, you’ll get a DRM free PDF file after downloading it via Epubor VitalSource Downloader. Then you can read the PDF file with any compatible PDF reader, share the book with your friends, and print the entire PDF file at a time from the print menu. By contrast, VitalSource Bookshelf only lets you print limited pages (mostly 1-10 pages) at a time.
If the original one is an epub, what you will get will be ePub, but don't worry you can use any eBook Converter tools to help you convert epub to pdf. The method above is the easiest and direct way to convert the proprietary VBK format to a PDF. DRM Removal Bundle is all in one tools to remove ebook DRM protection, it support Adobe Digital editions drm ADEPT, Kindle and Barnes Noble ebooks. It is easy to use and drag drop to work. User can view non-drm ebook on iPad, NOOK, Sony Reader or other device without limitation, convert ebook to pdf/doc format in Calibre to print and share ebook with friends.
Here are the steps of converting VitalSource VBK to PDF:
Step 1. Download and install Epubor VitalSource Downloader on your computer
Step 2. Launch the program, sign in with your VitalSource BookShelf account, and you can see your purchased books are displayed in the library. (Create a VitalSource Account if you don’t have one.)
Step 3. Click on the cover of the book you’d like to download, and it starts to download the book automatically and displays the download progress of the book. After downloading the book, it will be saved in PDF file on your computer (on the premise that the original book your purchased from VitalSource is a PDF file). The VitalSource DRM removal and VBK to PDF conversion are processed by the tool simultaneously.
A small window indicating “download file succeeded” will pop up when the books are downloaded successfully by Epubor VitalSource Downloader. Click OK on the window, it will redirect you to the location where stores the downloaded DRM-free PDF files (assume the original eTextbook delivered by VitalSource is a PDF file). If the original one is an epub, what you will get will be ePub, but don't worry you can use any eBook Converter tools to help you convert epub to pdf
The method above is the easiest and direct way to convert the proprietary VBK format to a PDF. Other more complicated and sophisticated methods are illustrated in the article Convert VBK to PDF on Mac for free and Convert VBK to PDF on Win for free. In a nutshell, you need to get a free 'print-to-PDF' program like doPDF you can print the file, then select doPDF 9 from the printer list. The selection to be printed will be saved as a PDF in the location you specify. Most programs that read VBK's will only let you print 1-10 pages at a time, so you will end up with lots of small PDFs. You also should use Epubor PDF & Merger & Splitter to merge all the PDFs into one book.
Inarguably, Epubor VitalSource Downloader is the most effortless and cost-effective tool to convert your eTextbooks from VitalSource Bookshelf to PDF.
You can download the software for free by clicking the links below. The trial version of Epubor VitalSource Downloader can download the first 5 pages of the book. If you want to decrypt, download the entire book, and print the book as a whole, you need to upgrade Epubor VitalSource Downloader to the paid version.
Sisi Liu Sisi is a newbie who joined Epubor in November 2017. She's a bookworm her whole life and has taken great interest in eBooks recently. She learns professional knowledge about ebooks in Epubor and loves to share her know-how to all the ebook lovers!
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 :
Easiest method:
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.
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.
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.
Fill in the 'Title', 'Author', and choose the storages place for the converted PDF file. Then click on ' Save' to generate the PDF file.
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.
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'.
The print preview window will pop up. You just have to click on 'print' to go to the next step.
Now you will see the print settings window. Choose 'doPDF 9' as the virtual printer and select all pages. Then click on 'Print'.
Vbk To Epub Converter File
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.
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 the Epubor VitalSource Downloader and install it on your computer. It supports both Windows and Mac system.
Vbk To Epub Converter Online
Step 2: Log in your VitalSource Bookshelf
Then run VitalSource Downloader and you will see a window as below.
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'.
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!
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.
Instead 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.
Iris Yan joined Epubor since 2017. She always wants to share everything related to ebook reading and improve your reading journey.