Wanting image to spread across pages when converting epub to PDF

[nhan]

I usually convert all my epub files into PDFs so that I can read them using Zotero, a reference manager that I'm using.

When converting the files from epub to PDF, images are ensured to be displayed in full in a page unless they're too big, which is when they'll be split into 2 pages. I understand that it does this so that images are not broken into parts, but this make my PDF file have many pages that have only a few lines, and then a giant gap, and then the image is displayed in the next page, making the view experience less than ideal.

I was wondering if there's a setting in Calibre so that the image is display right underneath the text even if it has to be split into 2. This would make the PDF looks much nicer and better reading experience, and I don't mind the split images at all.

Attached is a screenshot of an example of an "ugly" page. Thanks a lot for your help!

[kovidgoyal]

No, there's no such global setting. How an individual image is rendered depends very much on what markup is used for it in the source document.

[Foozle]

Another option is to just convert to a document format, edit that to your liking, then save that to PDF.

[nhan]

Thanks a lot, @kovidgoyal.

@Foozle: It's not very practical to do so for a ~500-page books. Especially when I need to read multiple ones and only a few chapters each.

[Quoth]

Originally Posted by Foozle

Another option is to just convert to a document format, edit that to your liking, then save that to PDF.

That's really the only sensible option. The Calibre Viewer will make a reasonable PDF file if you select Print. But it and Calibre PDF conversion are limited, because PDFs are not ebooks.

Even for 500 page book it doesn't take long to fix the formatting in LO Writer and use its Export as PDF.
Export the epub as docx (or rtf if it is too messed up).
Save As in odt format for editing and an extra Save As in docx only for import to Calibre to make an epub.

Calibre is fantastic, but newer versions of Word and almost any version of LO Writer are better at making WYSIWG PDFs, even with multiple page sizes, left & right pages, headers & footers that are not global.

[nhan]

Hi all, thanks for your suggestions. I've saved them for later use if I need.

I'm unfortunately not even technical enough to understand all what you said. Have never heard about LO Writer and the format rtf and odt. I was just looking for an easy way to convert those image-rich EPUBs into PDFs.

[BetterRed]

Originally Posted by nhan

Hi all, thanks for your suggestions. I've saved them for later use if I need.

I'm unfortunately not even technical enough to understand all what you said. Have never heard about LO Writer and the format rtf and odt. I was just looking for an easy way to convert those image-rich EPUBs into PDFs.

Given the subject matter I am surprised the publisher doesn't make these books available in PDF - I would check with the bookstore where you bought them or try another bookstore?

BR

[Quoth]

Originally Posted by nhan

Hi all, thanks for your suggestions. I've saved them for later use if I need.

I'm unfortunately not even technical enough to understand all what you said. Have never heard about LO Writer and the format rtf and odt. I was just looking for an easy way to convert those image-rich EPUBs into PDFs.

Libre Office is a free alternative to MS Office for Mac, Windows and Linux. I switched completely on Windows in maybe 2014.
RTF has been an option for MS Word since practically the beginning. Most other editing programs can use it:

Rich Text Format (often abbreviated RTF) is a proprietary document file format with published specification developed by Microsoft Corporation from 1987 until 2008 for cross-platform document interchange with Microsoft products. Prior to 2008, Microsoft published updated specifications for RTF with major revisions of Microsoft Word and Office versions.

(Wikipedia).
MS used to sell a version of UNIX when 286 came out:

MS Word was first Multi-Tool Word for Xenix systems in 1983. There was a DOS version. Then the GUI version was on the Mac. The first decent Windows version was later, Word 2.0. MS sold Xenix to Santa Cruise Operation, unrelated to later SCO litigant.

I think Libre Office started as Star Office, which was later bought by Sun. Eventually it became Open Office. After Sun was bought by Oracle the Open Office was forked to Libre Office in 2011.
It's not quite compatible with MS Office, though imports and exports MS rtf, doc and docx. It's certainly better than Office 2007 and if you don't need to exchange MS documents that are collaborated on by MS Office users and passed back, it's better since 5.x (now at 7.x). Better than Google Docs, Scrivener, Pages and other Windows, Mac and Linux wordprocessors if you are not tied to MS Word.
Does perfect PDF export, so better and cheaper than any Adobe product unless you are making PDFs for newspaper or magazine print (Indesign).
It had decent PDF export before MS Word.
Docs are best edited as "odt" and an extra Save As in docx for MS Word or Calibre. Calibre converts a LO created docx better than odt.

The RTF is fall back solution if doc, docx or odt is messed up. Edit in Word and save docx, or in LO as odt.