Printing in Sigil

Mslangston · 08-09-2013, 02:54 PM

Hello to the Community!
I am writing to ask a question regarding Sigil. I am done with editing and want to print the whole novel out. I can't see how to do that all at once. Only see option page by page and it doesn't look right in the print preview. Is there a way to do this?
Thanks so much for your answers.
Ms. L

mrmikel · 08-09-2013, 03:25 PM

One suggestion I see repeated on the forums is to open it in Adobe Digital Editions and print it from there.

Unless they have spent some time on it lately, the print function in Sigil is not one which has received much work and was considered for elimination entirely at one point.

theducks · 08-09-2013, 08:53 PM

A typical (properly sized for common devices) EPUB is a multi-file source. Most common is file per chapter with additional files in front and at the end.

I am not sure any program can print the book in one go.

IIRC Calibre's e-book-viewer can print, but it may also be limited to the current section.
I can't imagine printing an e-bbok...That is why I have a portable reader (small screen) and the Laptop for large (for full sized pages) screen

mrmikel · 08-10-2013, 07:34 AM

One article I read suggested using Calibre to convert your epub to a pdf which can be easily printed using Acrobat Reader. It could take some fiddling with settings to get it to appear right.

This is the article: http://loriswp.wordpress.com/2011/07...rm-protection/

Mslangston · 08-16-2013, 12:15 PM

Thank you for that suggestion mrmikel, will try. I started cutting and pasting each page back to Word, so we'll see. What were they thinking?!

mrmikel · 08-16-2013, 05:43 PM

It is simply that epubs and printed documents have little in common execpt the content. A printed page has each word, paragraph, heading in a specific location on a specific page.

A epub reflows, as you change the size of the text, so text that would be on page 5 in the original could be on page 9 in an epub.

You might consider using Merger, a program which merges html pages, mostly used to turn a website into a book. But you could unzip your epub (an epub is only a specialized zip file) and then use Merger to merge everything together. It is a bit cranky, but probably easier than using cut and paste which might introduce extra line spacing, paragraph markers or breaks when you paste it back.

Some of the shortcomings of epubs can be addressed by agressive indexing (for books that require indexing) and Sigil has a special function for it.

There is no print book however, where you have a large print versions and a normal print version at the same time. With epubs you can have often 3 or more text sizes to suit the reader.

This make it hard to make a set of assumptions of what you should do with the text for printing.

A pdf, however unglamorous, solves this problem by being printable and to some extent reflowable. If it is for personal or small organization use, it is a good solution, as most ereaders and tablets can display pdfs.

For your purposes as I understand them, I think I would finish laying out the printed book as you want it and use it as your standard to work the epub around to capture all the important elements of layout in the printed version. But some things like tables display poorly as they do very badly when increased in size.

Notjohn · 08-20-2013, 01:57 PM

I had this challenge recently. Following a suggestion (I think on MobileRead) I just opened the epub in Calibre, saved as RTF, opened the RTF in Word, and printed from there.

Mslangston · 08-23-2013, 10:24 AM

Thanks so much for your answer!

MartyTX · 08-23-2013, 11:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Notjohn

I had this challenge recently. Following a suggestion (I think on MobileRead) I just opened the epub in Calibre, saved as RTF, opened the RTF in Word, and printed from there.

Works great with the text but ignores images, which is not a big problem for me. Thanks for the good tip.

I don't have the need to physically print a book on paper, but I have wanted to convert EPUB to PDF on several occasions. calibre admits that its forte is not converting to PDF; formatting problems occur.

However, it's very easy to convert the RTF to PDF using a PDF converter. I use a freeware version of PrimoPDF (don't know if it's still free). The RTF converts into a well-formatted PDF. I didn't think of converting EPUB to RTF to PDF until I saw your tip.

Thanks,
Marty

theducks · 08-23-2013, 12:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MartyTX

Works great with the text but ignores images, which is not a big problem for me. Thanks for the good tip.

I don't have the need to physically print a book on paper, but I have wanted to convert EPUB to PDF on several occasions. calibre admits that its forte is not converting to PDF; formatting problems occur.

However, it's very easy to convert the RTF to PDF using a PDF converter. I use a freeware version of PrimoPDF (don't know if it's still free). The RTF converts into a well-formatted PDF. I didn't think of converting EPUB to RTF to PDF until I saw your tip.

Thanks,
Marty

LibreOffice comes with a Export to PDF button

MartyTX · 08-23-2013, 02:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by theducks

LibreOffice comes with a Export to PDF button

PrimoPDF installs as a virtual printer which gives Word a "print to PDF" function. It isn't limited to Word or MS Office. Any format that can be printed on paper can print to PDF. (doc, txt, rtf, xls, jpg, bmp, png etc.)

I started using Microsoft Office when the '95 version came out and have updated a couple of times since then. I'm hooked ... it meets my needs and I know it forwards and backwards. I'm too old and comfortable to change.

Marty

Toxaris · 08-24-2013, 01:08 AM

Word also has that save to pdf build in for quite some time already.

Jellby · 08-24-2013, 02:55 AM

If PDF is what you want, you could try this. With some tweaking it can give a very good result.

MartyTX · 08-24-2013, 10:29 AM

theducks, Toxaris, Jellby,

I appreciate the info you posted about several good PDF alternatives.

Thanks,
Marty

08-09-2013, 02:54 PM	#1
Mslangston Junior Member Posts: 3 Karma: 10 Join Date: Aug 2013 Device: Kindlefire	Printing in Sigil Hello to the Community! I am writing to ask a question regarding Sigil. I am done with editing and want to print the whole novel out. I can't see how to do that all at once. Only see option page by page and it doesn't look right in the print preview. Is there a way to do this? Thanks so much for your answers. Ms. L

08-09-2013, 03:25 PM	#2
mrmikel Color me gone Posts: 2,089 Karma: 1445295 Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Central Oregon Coast Device: PRS-300	One suggestion I see repeated on the forums is to open it in Adobe Digital Editions and print it from there. Unless they have spent some time on it lately, the print function in Sigil is not one which has received much work and was considered for elimination entirely at one point. Last edited by mrmikel; 08-10-2013 at 07:21 AM.

08-24-2013, 10:29 AM	#14
MartyTX Dedicated Posts: 441 Karma: 11279376 Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: Amarillo, TX Device: iPad Mini 1 & 4, Nook ST, Dell 11-3000, iPhone 5s	Thank you ... theducks, Toxaris, Jellby, I appreciate the info you posted about several good PDF alternatives. Thanks, Marty

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08-09-2013, 08:53 PM	#3
theducks Well trained by Cats Posts: 29,777 Karma: 54830978 Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: The Central Coast of California Device: Kobo Libra2,Kobo Aura2v1, K4NT(Fixed: New Bat.), Galaxy Tab A	A typical (properly sized for common devices) EPUB is a multi-file source. Most common is file per chapter with additional files in front and at the end. I am not sure any program can print the book in one go. IIRC Calibre's e-book-viewer can print, but it may also be limited to the current section. I can't imagine printing an e-bbok...That is why I have a portable reader (small screen) and the Laptop for large (for full sized pages) screen

08-10-2013, 07:34 AM	#4
mrmikel Color me gone Posts: 2,089 Karma: 1445295 Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Central Oregon Coast Device: PRS-300	One article I read suggested using Calibre to convert your epub to a pdf which can be easily printed using Acrobat Reader. It could take some fiddling with settings to get it to appear right. This is the article: http://loriswp.wordpress.com/2011/07...rm-protection/

08-16-2013, 12:15 PM	#5
Mslangston Junior Member Posts: 3 Karma: 10 Join Date: Aug 2013 Device: Kindlefire	Thank you for that suggestion mrmikel, will try. I started cutting and pasting each page back to Word, so we'll see. What were they thinking?!

08-16-2013, 05:43 PM	#6
mrmikel Color me gone Posts: 2,089 Karma: 1445295 Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Central Oregon Coast Device: PRS-300	It is simply that epubs and printed documents have little in common execpt the content. A printed page has each word, paragraph, heading in a specific location on a specific page. A epub reflows, as you change the size of the text, so text that would be on page 5 in the original could be on page 9 in an epub. You might consider using Merger, a program which merges html pages, mostly used to turn a website into a book. But you could unzip your epub (an epub is only a specialized zip file) and then use Merger to merge everything together. It is a bit cranky, but probably easier than using cut and paste which might introduce extra line spacing, paragraph markers or breaks when you paste it back. Some of the shortcomings of epubs can be addressed by agressive indexing (for books that require indexing) and Sigil has a special function for it. There is no print book however, where you have a large print versions and a normal print version at the same time. With epubs you can have often 3 or more text sizes to suit the reader. This make it hard to make a set of assumptions of what you should do with the text for printing. A pdf, however unglamorous, solves this problem by being printable and to some extent reflowable. If it is for personal or small organization use, it is a good solution, as most ereaders and tablets can display pdfs. For your purposes as I understand them, I think I would finish laying out the printed book as you want it and use it as your standard to work the epub around to capture all the important elements of layout in the printed version. But some things like tables display poorly as they do very badly when increased in size.

08-20-2013, 01:57 PM	#7
Notjohn mostly an observer Posts: 1,515 Karma: 987654 Join Date: Dec 2012 Device: Kindle	I had this challenge recently. Following a suggestion (I think on MobileRead) I just opened the epub in Calibre, saved as RTF, opened the RTF in Word, and printed from there.

08-23-2013, 10:24 AM	#8
Mslangston Junior Member Posts: 3 Karma: 10 Join Date: Aug 2013 Device: Kindlefire	Thanks so much for your answer!

08-24-2013, 01:08 AM	#12
Toxaris Wizard Posts: 4,520 Karma: 121692313 Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Heemskerk, NL Device: PRS-T1, Kobo Touch, Kobo Aura	Word also has that save to pdf build in for quite some time already.

08-24-2013, 02:55 AM	#13
Jellby frumious Bandersnatch Posts: 7,515 Karma: 18512745 Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Spaniard in Sweden Device: Cybook Orizon, Kobo Aura	If PDF is what you want, you could try this. With some tweaking it can give a very good result.