Step-by-Step Tutorial: Converting VitalSource Library Books Into Portable Document Format (PDF)

Convert eBooks from VitalSource Bookshelf to PDF

Posted by Sisi Liu on 9/7/2018 11:16:51 AM.

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.

Here are the steps of converting VitalSource VBK to PDF:

Step 1. Download and install Epubor VitalSource Downloader on your computer

Download Epubor VitalSource Downloader for free

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

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

![downloads- location-vitalsource](http://www.epubor.com/images/uppic/downloads- location-vitalsource.png)

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.

Download Epubor VitalSource Downloader for free

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

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Step-by-Step Tutorial: Converting VitalSource Library Books Into Portable Document Format (PDF)