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Originally Posted by EldRick
Effective resolution of a paperback would be around 450dpi in digital terms, and with much better contrast than e-ink.l
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I don't think so. The printer might be capable to output that high res, but it won't show up on the paper. At least for mass market paperbacks the paper is of such a bad quality that the ink is going to bleed out at the edges washing them out. A current eink screen coupled with good anti-aliasing can most definately give a mass produced paperback a run for it. Not when you compare hard numbers (this many dpi compared to that many), but when you look at overall ledgeability and apperance and sharp defined edges. One dot is not the same as another dot - they can each have different quality. The eink dots are of very good quality even though they are rather large in size. In the case of eink there is also different shades of grey - complicated to do in a paperback.
Can ereaders replace (quality wise) a good hardcover or even a trade paperback (which is most often the same as the hardcover with cheaper binding and slightly lower quality paper)? Definately not yet, but epaper is still very new. The newest eink with 300 dpi and 16 shades of gray might come a good step closer to a quality printed hardcover book. For normal vivid readers that consume paperback after paperback after paperback an ereader might very well be the next best thing after sliced bread - especially when you never run out when you are on the go. Not sure if you going to finish the book? Need to carry the next book around too? Nope, already preloaded the next 10, 20, 100 books on your reading list on the reader ...
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The issue on font size is to disrupt the reading less often by getting more words on a page.
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Putting more and more words on a page will backfire on you at some point when you reach lines that have too many words in it. Add a moving environment and you ask for disaster (e.g. read while walking, read while riding in a car or bus). Please do not read while behind the wheel though.
Also old age (or otherwise impaired vision) can be overcome to some extend on ereaders by increasing the font size - and that without needing to lug around a big bulky heavy large print book. Usually the choice of large print editions is very limited as well.
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A good font for a low-res device can mitigate the resolution shortage by using thicker serifs that are not tapered, and using constant stroke widths, rather than shaded strokes. Have a look at any of the Lucida family for fonts designed for low-res displays.
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Ok, agreed. There has to be fonts that look especially good on low res screens. A fair warning though - if you read a lot and always use the smallest possible size of font, you will need reading glasses sooner. YMMW.
Now I just wish the Odyssey would get the font-rendering-engine from the Nook STR if the Nook looks so much better.