Converting Epub to PDF Issues

[necron_mason]

Hello there! I am trying to convert an Epub file to PDF to be able to print out. The thing about this specific Epub file however is that there are a lot of image files to be included with it, including full page background images. Whenever I try to convert the file, the text is incredibly small or both the text and image are much smaller than they should be. I have tried to find solutions to it, but none of them have worked. So far the only thing I have messed with is the converstion preferences. Thank you for any and all your help!

[BetterRed]

There are two sticky threads at the top of this sub-forum that are germane to your problem.

How to ask a question about conversion problems

Read this before Posting PDF Questions

Posting relevant settings and conversion logs is the main thing

BR

[necron_mason]

Most threads that I have seen to try and solve problems like this did not post all that information and still got their problem resloved, so it is a bit confusing with that contradicting information. On top of that, the second link is talking about if you are converting from PDF as your source. I am converting to PDF with Epub as my source, so that does not apply to what I am trying to do.

[BetterRed]

@necron_mason - if you search this sub-forum for posts with '186697' (that's the 'How to ..." sticky), you will see that the person who posts it most often is kovidgoyal the author of calibre.

BR

[DoctorOhh]

Originally Posted by necron_mason

Whenever I try to convert the file, the text is incredibly small or both the text and image are much smaller than they should be. I have tried to find solutions to it, but none of them have worked.

Have you tried opening the epub in calibre's viewer then using the print option in the viewer to print as PDF. I find this usually gives me a great PDF.

[necron_mason]

Originally Posted by DoctorOhh

Have you tried opening the epub in calibre's viewer then using the print option in the viewer to print as PDF. I find this usually gives me a great PDF.

How long does that usually take? I have tried it, but while it was running my printer didnt seem to respond to it at all. Makes sense that it would only respond once the file has finished converting, but would it really give me a different result than converting seperately?

[dwig]

Originally Posted by necron_mason

How long does that usually take? I have tried it, but while it was running my printer didnt seem to respond to it at all. Makes sense that it would only respond once the file has finished converting, but would it really give me a different result than converting seperately?

A "Print to PDF" driver doesn't access your physical printer. It is its own printer as far as the OS is concerned. On Windows (the newest Win10 update) you select "Microsoft Print to PDF" as your printer. On macOS/OSX you access the "PDF" menu in the lower left of the initial print dialog. In both cases, the output is a PDF file.

With older releases of Windows you would need a 3rd party "PDF virtual printer". I've used both PrimoPDF and BulzipPDF over the years, with good success. Foxit Reader, a PDF reader, also installs its own "Foxit Reader PDF Printer" utility.

[DoctorOhh]

Originally Posted by necron_mason

How long does that usually take? I have tried it, but while it was running my printer didnt seem to respond to it at all.

It usually takes only a few minutes. The larger the book the longer it might take. Be patient. This prints the book to a PDF file not to your printer.

Originally Posted by necron_mason

but would it really give me a different result than converting seperately?

Possibly, often folks report this output being what they were looking for when working through the conversion wasn't giving them the results expected.

Originally Posted by dwig

A "Print to PDF" driver doesn't access your physical printer. It is its own printer as far as the OS is concerned. On Windows (the newest Win10 update) you select "Microsoft Print to PDF" as your printer. On macOS/OSX you access the "PDF" menu in the lower left of the initial print dialog. In both cases, the output is a PDF file.

When you print via calibre's viewer, by default it prints to a PDF file using a print driver built into calibre.

[necron_mason]

I have used the print PDF option in the veiwer and good news is that it produced the best result yet, with the page being the largest it has been and the text the right size to match it. Unfortunately, it is still much smaller than the A4/Letter that its suppose to be. I am honestly not exactly sure which paper size it is designed for, as it's a Europe based company selling to US, but I'm converting to both and seeing what works best.

[BetterRed]

@necron_mason - an ePUB 2.0 book doesn't have a paper size as such because unlike PDF it's not a 'print ready' format.

When I've had difficulties getting an acceptable PDF from an EPUB via conversion, and via the ePub viewer print to PDF feature, I converted the EPUB to a format readily editable by a fixed format editor - in my case that's DOCX and Word.

But these days I rarely bother to convert or use the viewer's print feature, I go straight to DOCX and Word. Often as not all I have to do is to apply a suitable template, select a paper size, a page layout, and print (and/or save as PDF). And if that's not good enough, then because I am using a FXL format file and an FXL editor I can make the necessary tweaks to produce an acceptable print/PDF copy.

BR

[DoctorOhh]

Originally Posted by necron_mason

Unfortunately, it is still much smaller than the A4/Letter that its suppose to be.

When you print to PDF from the viewer you select the paper size you want. A4 and Letter are different selections. You have the following list of selections from which to choose.

A0
A1
A2
A3
A4
A5
A6
B0
B1
B2
B3
B4
B5
B6
Legal
Letter

I'm sure one size is what you're looking for.

[necron_mason]

BetterRed- I will be sure to try that once I can get access to Word on a decent computer lol. Thank you for the suggestion!

DoctorOhh- I have selected both A4 and Letter two seperate times and it doesn't give me the right page dimensions. Are there any solutions that you could recommend?

[BetterRed]

Originally Posted by necron_mason

BetterRed- I will be sure to try that once I can get access to Word on a decent computer lol. Thank you for the suggestion!

As I said

Originally Posted by BetterRed

[. . .] in my case that's DOCX and Word.

ODT or DOCX and a derivative of OOo Writer would suffice.

BR

[DoctorOhh]

Originally Posted by necron_mason

DoctorOhh- I have selected both A4 and Letter two seperate times and it doesn't give me the right page dimensions. Are there any solutions that you could recommend?

When I print PDF from the viewer and select Letter the output is 8.5 inches x 11 inches and when I select A4 the output is 8.3 inches x 11.7 inches. These sizes are exactly what I would have expected. I don't know why you don't see the same results.

[necron_mason]

Originally Posted by BetterRed

As I said



ODT or DOCX and a derivative of OOo Writer would suffice.

BR

Oh alright! I will download that and try what you said ^_^

When I print PDF from the viewer and select Letter the output is 8.5 inches x 11 inches and when I select A4 the output is 8.3 inches x 11.7 inches. These sizes are exactly what I would have expected. I don't know why you don't see the same results.

I will keep fiddling around with it and see if I can make it work. The cover is just short of the appropriate size, but the other pages are under half of the size the cover is.