Calibre PDF to epub conversion changes text 'll' to 'l'

twinflameskiss · 11-15-2015, 08:05 AM

I just started using Calibre 2.44.1 (64bit) on windows and converted a PDF doc to epub. Glancing through the epub output it seems to have converted 'll' to 'l' (e.g. 'ball' to bal', 'call' to 'cal') in many places, but not all.

Has anyone any idea why? and what I can do about it? I don't really want to have to re-read through 400+ pages looking for text changes that should not have been made.

Mark.

I'm new to epub, so please forgive any simplistic questions.

PeterT · 11-15-2015, 08:37 AM

See Read this before Posting PDF Questions.

Quote:

Various character pairs like 'ff', 'll', etc are missing from my conversion

This is probably caused by the PDF containing what are called ligatures. These occur when the publisher changes certain pairs of characters into a single character to make the text 'look better'. Common are 'll', 'fl', 'fi', 'ff', 'ffl', and 'ffi'. Unfortunately, due to a bug in the third party library Calibre uses, in many cases ligatures simply aren't supported. Several users have reported having good luck with Mobipocket Creator or Acrobat Professional for these types of files. Other users have suggested using the 'PDF Print' features provided by various plugins & operating systems. Print the PDF to a new PDF, and then convert the new PDF in Calibre.

twinflameskiss · 11-15-2015, 09:19 AM

Thanks PeterT. That would have taken me ages to come across.

I tried it again converting direct from .docx to epub, and it looks perfect.

It's quite bizarre, we have been forced to buy Acrobat as book printing companies DEMAND a book formatted as a PDF file (PDF/X-1a:2001 or PDF/X-3:2002), so you would think converting from PDF to epub would be a well trodden path and an obvious one for having a reliable tool.

eschwartz · 11-15-2015, 12:18 PM

The fact that they require PDF is actually due to their own stupidity.

They force you to convert a perfectly good DOCX or EPUB into the incredibly lossy PDF format, only so they can go OCR (

) the PDF and turn it back into an EPUB for digital publication.
PDF is a weapon of last resort! Only use it if you literally have no other choice!

It is not a matter of "there are no good/reliable conversion tools". it is a matter of "a PDF by definition has all that information stripped out. No conversion tool can summon the lost bits from the abyss of the original DOCX-to-PDF conversion."
Ligatures are by comparison small potatoes.

IIRC @Hitch has a number of instrumental screams about the PDF workflow

she works in the biz.

11-15-2015, 08:05 AM	#1
twinflameskiss Junior Member Posts: 2 Karma: 10 Join Date: Nov 2015 Device: epub	Calibre PDF to epub conversion changes text 'll' to 'l' I just started using Calibre 2.44.1 (64bit) on windows and converted a PDF doc to epub. Glancing through the epub output it seems to have converted 'll' to 'l' (e.g. 'ball' to bal', 'call' to 'cal') in many places, but not all. Has anyone any idea why? and what I can do about it? I don't really want to have to re-read through 400+ pages looking for text changes that should not have been made. Mark. I'm new to epub, so please forgive any simplistic questions.

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11-15-2015, 09:19 AM	#3
twinflameskiss Junior Member Posts: 2 Karma: 10 Join Date: Nov 2015 Device: epub	Thanks PeterT. That would have taken me ages to come across. I tried it again converting direct from .docx to epub, and it looks perfect. It's quite bizarre, we have been forced to buy Acrobat as book printing companies DEMAND a book formatted as a PDF file (PDF/X-1a:2001 or PDF/X-3:2002), so you would think converting from PDF to epub would be a well trodden path and an obvious one for having a reliable tool.

11-15-2015, 12:18 PM	#4
eschwartz Ex-Helpdesk Junkie Posts: 19,422 Karma: 85397180 Join Date: Nov 2012 Location: The Beaten Path, USA, Roundworld, This Side of Infinity Device: Kindle Touch fw5.3.7 (Wifi only)	The fact that they require PDF is actually due to their own stupidity. They force you to convert a perfectly good DOCX or EPUB into the incredibly lossy PDF format, only so they can go OCR ( ) the PDF and turn it back into an EPUB for digital publication. PDF is a weapon of last resort! Only use it if you literally have no other choice! It is not a matter of "there are no good/reliable conversion tools". it is a matter of "a PDF by definition has all that information stripped out. No conversion tool can summon the lost bits from the abyss of the original DOCX-to-PDF conversion." Ligatures are by comparison small potatoes. IIRC @Hitch has a number of instrumental screams about the PDF workflow she works in the biz.

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