PDF Dealbreaker: Help please

nicodb · 08-13-2009, 02:56 AM

Good day. I would love for someone to help me please.

I am looking to get the sony prs505 ereader. I will use it mainly at work to read both books as well as pdf research articles.

As I understand, the pdf files cannot be zoomed or manipulated at all, you basically open it in your reader and it fits the whole page on the screen.

Is there someone that is willing to open the attached first page of the pdf file on their reader, take a photo and then post it again. I do need to see how big it is displayed before I buy the reader. No use getting it if I will not be able to read it.
Many many thanks.
Nico de Bruin

Who are you? · 08-13-2009, 05:35 AM

Actually there are some zoom and manipulation options on the 505.

Your PDF seems to be built from images (even the letters), so the text cannot be much zoomed in. If your pdf had been based on text it could be zoomed in.

Still, the 505 can be switched to landscape mode, and pressing zoom will remove the borders, but even with that the pdf is nearly unreadable (you have to guess at some of the letters).

I don't have a camera other than my phone, and that one is not good enough to make pictures, so someone else will have to provide those.

dordale · 08-13-2009, 10:42 AM

You might want to wait until the PRS600 comes out later this month. It'll have the same zoom features for PDF that the PRS700 does--which are much better than the 505's.

dordale

pedgarcia · 08-13-2009, 11:05 AM

Here we go:

I have four files, using the small, medium and large mode and also the landscape view. I don't have a camera so I've scanned my ebook instead. But I think the results are very close what I'm seeing alive.

I confess I couldn't read any of them. As was said, this is an image based PDF (I've opened it using Adobe Acrobat and could see it).

So, if it is the kind of PDF you're going to use, I don't think these devices are right for you.

You could try ask in the other device forums to see any of them can give better results.

Regards

Paulo

nicodb · 08-26-2009, 03:47 PM

hey all, thank you for the great reply, and help. it has definitely showed me that this reader is not right for my intentions.

your help is greatly appreciated! pedgarcia, wow, thanks for going through all the trouble!

regards
Nico

frabjous · 08-26-2009, 04:25 PM

C'mon, now! Run the thing through a decent tool, like PDFLRF or PaperCrop first-- you'll get it in decent shape. I don't have a camera with me, but I'll take some pictures of it suitably tweaked when I get home.

I use mine almost exclusively for reading academic PDFs, and the key is that you have to process the file with the right tools first... that's about it.

frabjous · 08-26-2009, 07:58 PM

As promised, here are some results.

Sorry about the glare. I'm a bad photographer. That's not normal for the Sony unless you do a camera flash at it.

The first two images come from rasterizing the image, cropping the borders, splitting the columns and preparing for the Sony with PDFLRF:

The last image is the result of OCRing the PDF in Acrobat, exporting to HTML and converting to ePub with calibre. I've zoomed the font size to show the reflow.

(I've hacked my system font to Bitstream Vera, so it may look slightly different than what you'd get.)

Perfect? Perhaps not, but more than readable.

08-13-2009, 11:05 AM	#4
pedgarcia Connoisseur Posts: 63 Karma: 250 Join Date: Jul 2009 Device: PRS-505	Here we go: I have four files, using the small, medium and large mode and also the landscape view. I don't have a camera so I've scanned my ebook instead. But I think the results are very close what I'm seeing alive. I confess I couldn't read any of them. As was said, this is an image based PDF (I've opened it using Adobe Acrobat and could see it). So, if it is the kind of PDF you're going to use, I don't think these devices are right for you. You could try ask in the other device forums to see any of them can give better results. Regards Paulo Attached Thumbnails

08-26-2009, 03:47 PM	#5
nicodb Junior Member Posts: 2 Karma: 10 Join Date: Aug 2009 Device: none	thank you hey all, thank you for the great reply, and help. it has definitely showed me that this reader is not right for my intentions. your help is greatly appreciated! pedgarcia, wow, thanks for going through all the trouble! regards Nico

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08-13-2009, 05:35 AM	#2
Who are you? Groupie Posts: 184 Karma: 300001 Join Date: May 2009 Device: 505	Actually there are some zoom and manipulation options on the 505. Your PDF seems to be built from images (even the letters), so the text cannot be much zoomed in. If your pdf had been based on text it could be zoomed in. Still, the 505 can be switched to landscape mode, and pressing zoom will remove the borders, but even with that the pdf is nearly unreadable (you have to guess at some of the letters). I don't have a camera other than my phone, and that one is not good enough to make pictures, so someone else will have to provide those.

08-13-2009, 10:42 AM	#3
dordale Wizard Posts: 1,731 Karma: 3472866 Join Date: Apr 2008 Device: Sony PRS-650 & 350; Kindle Voyage; Kobo Aura HD, Aura One, and Forma	You might want to wait until the PRS600 comes out later this month. It'll have the same zoom features for PDF that the PRS700 does--which are much better than the 505's. dordale

08-26-2009, 04:25 PM	#6
frabjous Wizard Posts: 1,213 Karma: 12890 Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Amherst, Massachusetts, USA Device: Sony PRS-505	C'mon, now! Run the thing through a decent tool, like PDFLRF or PaperCrop first-- you'll get it in decent shape. I don't have a camera with me, but I'll take some pictures of it suitably tweaked when I get home. I use mine almost exclusively for reading academic PDFs, and the key is that you have to process the file with the right tools first... that's about it.

08-26-2009, 07:58 PM	#7
frabjous Wizard Posts: 1,213 Karma: 12890 Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Amherst, Massachusetts, USA Device: Sony PRS-505	As promised, here are some results. Sorry about the glare. I'm a bad photographer. That's not normal for the Sony unless you do a camera flash at it. The first two images come from rasterizing the image, cropping the borders, splitting the columns and preparing for the Sony with PDFLRF: The last image is the result of OCRing the PDF in Acrobat, exporting to HTML and converting to ePub with calibre. I've zoomed the font size to show the reflow. (I've hacked my system font to Bitstream Vera, so it may look slightly different than what you'd get.) Perfect? Perhaps not, but more than readable.

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