The only thing I could applaud more would be a new (and simpler) cross platform document format (for asset encapsulation and offline viewing) that could be transformed to and from HTML on a whim. Scribd <-> My Screen <-> My Printer. To death with PDF.
Come to think of it HTML5/CSS3 + an open archive/compression format would suit this purpose nicely.
The problem with pdf is that everything about it is clunky and slow. I didn't decide to groan whenever I see that something I want is trapped inside a pdf; years of annoyance just built that up as a reflex.
Edit: actually, there is an exception, and you mentioned it: printing a pdf, once you have it open, is almost always a good experience. Too bad it's the thing I want to do least often.
I'm looking for visual and layout consistency across all mediums (screen, print, etc) and in my experience ePub isn't suited for that. My apology for the lack of clarity.
Come to think of it HTML5/CSS3 + an open archive/compression format would suit this purpose nicely.