PDF Books?

shirleyellenp · 01-27-2010, 11:09 AM

I found a site that has PDF book downloads. Will they work on my Sony 600 Reader?

poshm · 01-27-2010, 11:20 AM

Hi yes you can read .PDF files on your Sony. The only thing is that they may not be so nice to read as other file formats say .epub files due to the complex layout of PDFs. It means that the formatting may look a little odd or you may have trouble getting a good font size. This is true on virtually all e-reader devices.

neilmarr · 01-27-2010, 12:22 PM

But you very quickly get used to consistent hitches with layout, Shirley. Also, if you're using Calibre library software (free and downloadable from MR), you can improve presentation quite a bit by auto-converting to ePub. Good luck. Neil

Bremen Cole · 01-27-2010, 12:34 PM

As the others said, yes you can read them on your Sony. I have had mixed results. It seems to depend on the actual formatting of the PDF file. Some look perfect on my 300, others are nearly unreadable. I would say 80% are great, and the rest varying degrees of issues.

rmm200 · 01-27-2010, 12:41 PM

Be glad your Sony has decent PDF support for those documents you need it for.

My experience is that this is not a very good format for books. Use the Sony User Manual as an example - see how it feels to you.

New book downloads I would recommend getting in EPub where available.

Robert

Dusty · 01-27-2010, 01:48 PM

I've had some good results converting PDF with Mobipocket Creator then converting that resulting file with Calibre. It's a convoluted process but the font comes out a bit larger and the margins are smaller. This does not work every time but enough that I try it with every book I upload.

shirleyellenp · 01-27-2010, 10:35 PM

Thanks so much for your replies.

I found this site http://www.bookdepository.com/free

It has free PDF books for download. Unfortunately
the books are going to Adobe Reader and not Adobe
Digital Editions and I can't seem to get them to my Sony Reader. Any suggestions?

rmm200 · 01-27-2010, 11:34 PM

Instead of opening them just save them to your disk. Then add them to Calibre (highly recommended) or just copy them to your device.

You can also open the Adobe Digital Editions reader in the same way and add it to the ADE library. No reason for Adobe Reader to ever open them.

Robert

Solitaire1 · 01-28-2010, 03:22 AM

The main problem with viewing PDFs is that they are usually designed for a specific screen size, and provide less-than-satisfactory results when viewed on smaller screens. My experience has been that the entire page will be shrunk to fit on my reader's screen with the result that the text too small to easily read. Although reflow is available, I've been less than satisfied with the results.

I've found that PDF works best for ebooks is if they are formatted for your reader's screen. For me the major advantage of PDF is that it gives you complete control over the layout of your ebooks.

neilmarr · 01-28-2010, 09:30 AM

Yup, just download your chosen PDF to, say, your desktop, Shirley. Open Calibre, go to 'add book', browse for the file on your desktop and then opt to convert it into ePub (you can even simply set Calibre to auto-convert all new books added in the future from PDF to ePub if you like). All takes a few seconds and should leave you with a presentable read. Good luck. Neil

shirleyellenp · 01-28-2010, 04:07 PM

Thanks again for the replies. I was able to get the download on my reader but the PDF files really didn't work well. I'm off to read up on this Calibre I keep hearing about here. If I'm able to change to ePub, then I'll be able to get some of these books.

Elfwreck · 01-28-2010, 04:16 PM

You might try looking for the same titles at Feedbooks--they have ePubs, and allows custom PDFs that are specifically sized for the Sony Reader.

There are several other public-domain & creative-commons free ebook sites: manybooks.net and munseys.com have big collections, and Project Gutenberg provides the source material for many of them.

01-27-2010, 11:09 AM	#1
shirleyellenp Member Posts: 20 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jan 2010 Device: Sony 600	PDF Books? I found a site that has PDF book downloads. Will they work on my Sony 600 Reader?

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01-27-2010, 11:20 AM	#2
poshm Fanatic Posts: 581 Karma: 1003580 Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Cambs, UK Device: PocketBook 360, Sony Reader Touch, Ipod touch & Kindle 2	Hi yes you can read .PDF files on your Sony. The only thing is that they may not be so nice to read as other file formats say .epub files due to the complex layout of PDFs. It means that the formatting may look a little odd or you may have trouble getting a good font size. This is true on virtually all e-reader devices.

01-27-2010, 12:22 PM	#3
neilmarr neilmarr Posts: 7,216 Karma: 6000059 Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Monaco-Menton, France Device: sony	But you very quickly get used to consistent hitches with layout, Shirley. Also, if you're using Calibre library software (free and downloadable from MR), you can improve presentation quite a bit by auto-converting to ePub. Good luck. Neil

01-27-2010, 12:34 PM	#4
Bremen Cole Wizard Posts: 1,115 Karma: 2718 Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Texas Device: iPad	As the others said, yes you can read them on your Sony. I have had mixed results. It seems to depend on the actual formatting of the PDF file. Some look perfect on my 300, others are nearly unreadable. I would say 80% are great, and the rest varying degrees of issues.

01-27-2010, 12:41 PM	#5
rmm200 Groupie Posts: 195 Karma: 414 Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Bend, OR Device: Sony PRS-600	Be glad your Sony has decent PDF support for those documents you need it for. My experience is that this is not a very good format for books. Use the Sony User Manual as an example - see how it feels to you. New book downloads I would recommend getting in EPub where available. Robert

01-27-2010, 01:48 PM	#6
Dusty Connoisseur Posts: 68 Karma: 500076 Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Canada Device: sony 300, T1	I've had some good results converting PDF with Mobipocket Creator then converting that resulting file with Calibre. It's a convoluted process but the font comes out a bit larger and the margins are smaller. This does not work every time but enough that I try it with every book I upload.

01-27-2010, 10:35 PM	#7
shirleyellenp Member Posts: 20 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jan 2010 Device: Sony 600	Thanks so much for your replies. I found this site http://www.bookdepository.com/free It has free PDF books for download. Unfortunately the books are going to Adobe Reader and not Adobe Digital Editions and I can't seem to get them to my Sony Reader. Any suggestions?

01-27-2010, 11:34 PM	#8
rmm200 Groupie Posts: 195 Karma: 414 Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Bend, OR Device: Sony PRS-600	Instead of opening them just save them to your disk. Then add them to Calibre (highly recommended) or just copy them to your device. You can also open the Adobe Digital Editions reader in the same way and add it to the ADE library. No reason for Adobe Reader to ever open them. Robert

01-28-2010, 03:22 AM	#9
Solitaire1 Samurai Lizard Posts: 14,238 Karma: 66666666 Join Date: Nov 2009 Device: NookColor	The main problem with viewing PDFs is that they are usually designed for a specific screen size, and provide less-than-satisfactory results when viewed on smaller screens. My experience has been that the entire page will be shrunk to fit on my reader's screen with the result that the text too small to easily read. Although reflow is available, I've been less than satisfied with the results. I've found that PDF works best for ebooks is if they are formatted for your reader's screen. For me the major advantage of PDF is that it gives you complete control over the layout of your ebooks.

01-28-2010, 09:30 AM	#10
neilmarr neilmarr Posts: 7,216 Karma: 6000059 Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Monaco-Menton, France Device: sony	Yup, just download your chosen PDF to, say, your desktop, Shirley. Open Calibre, go to 'add book', browse for the file on your desktop and then opt to convert it into ePub (you can even simply set Calibre to auto-convert all new books added in the future from PDF to ePub if you like). All takes a few seconds and should leave you with a presentable read. Good luck. Neil

01-28-2010, 04:07 PM	#11
shirleyellenp Member Posts: 20 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jan 2010 Device: Sony 600	Thanks again for the replies. I was able to get the download on my reader but the PDF files really didn't work well. I'm off to read up on this Calibre I keep hearing about here. If I'm able to change to ePub, then I'll be able to get some of these books.

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01-28-2010, 04:16 PM	#12
Elfwreck Grand Sorcerer Posts: 5,185 Karma: 25133758 Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: SF Bay Area, California, USA Device: Pocketbook Touch HD3 (Past: Kobo Mini, PEZ, PRS-505, Clié)	You might try looking for the same titles at Feedbooks--they have ePubs, and allows custom PDFs that are specifically sized for the Sony Reader. There are several other public-domain & creative-commons free ebook sites: manybooks.net and munseys.com have big collections, and Project Gutenberg provides the source material for many of them.