[Old Thread] Epub cover image does not display correctly - Page 2

kovidgoyal · 02-07-2010, 11:33 AM

This is basically a bug with the version of Adobe digital editions used by the sony software and on the sony devices. Try the file with the latest version of Adobe Digital Editions or any other decent EPUB viewer and the picture will not be cut off.

@Nate the great: calibre does not distort the cover image. If you unzip the epub file and look at the cover image (cover.jpg) you will see that for yourself. What calibre does do is embed the cover image in html with height="100%", on the reasonable assumption that covers should occupy the full screen

@Amalthia: You should use cover images that are roughly the same aspect ratio as the reader screen. That will workaround this bug in older version of ADE. And in any case, using a cover image that has a wildly different aspect ratio, as in this case, will lead to very distorted looking images in newer versions of ADE, which instead of not resizing, resize but dont preserve the aspect ratio.

Amalthia · 02-07-2010, 04:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kovidgoyal

This is basically a bug with the version of Adobe digital editions used by the sony software and on the sony devices. Try the file with the latest version of Adobe Digital Editions or any other decent EPUB viewer and the picture will not be cut off.

@Amalthia: You should use cover images that are roughly the same aspect ratio as the reader screen. That will workaround this bug in older version of ADE. And in any case, using a cover image that has a wildly different aspect ratio, as in this case, will lead to very distorted looking images in newer versions of ADE, which instead of not resizing, resize but dont preserve the aspect ratio.

Sadly sometimes it's impossible to get a cover image that fits the aspect ratio. But it's good to know what's going on.

Thanks!

Amalthia · 02-09-2010, 07:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kovidgoyal

@Amalthia: You should use cover images that are roughly the same aspect ratio as the reader screen. That will workaround this bug in older version of ADE. And in any case, using a cover image that has a wildly different aspect ratio, as in this case, will lead to very distorted looking images in newer versions of ADE, which instead of not resizing, resize but dont preserve the aspect ratio.

I updated everything and the cover is still off. I can't resize the covers to fit, I just want them to be look like the covers for my LRF and Mobi conversions. Is there a way to disable the resizing of covers in epub so that it treats the images like the LRF conversion does?

banjomike · 02-10-2010, 07:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Amalthia

I updated everything and the cover is still off. I can't resize the covers to fit, I just want them to be look like the covers for my LRF and Mobi conversions. Is there a way to disable the resizing of covers in epub so that it treats the images like the LRF conversion does?

Try this version of your file on your Sony, the cover displays OK (not stretched or distorted) on mine.

I can't vouch for the rest of the document but the cover looks OK so you could take it and add it to your epub if you wanted to.

Amalthia · 02-10-2010, 02:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by banjomike

Try this version of your file on your Sony, the cover displays OK (not stretched or distorted) on mine.

I can't vouch for the rest of the document but the cover looks OK so you could take it and add it to your epub if you wanted to.

I'm curious what did you have to do to get the cover to display without any distortion?

And thanks! I'll check out the file when I get home.

jodykihara · 03-15-2011, 11:45 PM

I see this post is dated a year ago... was this issue ever resolved? I just got Calibre and am struggling with the same thing; the only 'fix' I could find was to change the dimensions of my book cover (ie, short and fat) and that does terrible things to my design sensibilities!

Does anyone know what exact dimensions e-pub readers prefer? I've googled around but haven't found an answer to this...

theducks · 03-15-2011, 11:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jodykihara

I see this post is dated a year ago... was this issue ever resolved? I just got Calibre and am struggling with the same thing; the only 'fix' I could find was to change the dimensions of my book cover (ie, short and fat) and that does terrible things to my design sensibilities!

Does anyone know what exact dimensions e-pub readers prefer? I've googled around but haven't found an answer to this...

your key words are 'Maintain aspect ratio'
If you set the image width 100% and height 100%, it will stretch to fill the screen (100%).
most dedicated reading devices are 3:4 ratio (portrait),600x800 for newer e-ink. some of the cheaper LCD are lower resolution.

DoctorOhh · 03-16-2011, 02:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jodykihara

I see this post is dated a year ago... was this issue ever resolved? I just got Calibre and am struggling with the same thing; the only 'fix' I could find was to change the dimensions of my book cover (ie, short and fat) and that does terrible things to my design sensibilities!

You don't say what problem you're experiencing. Rarely is the person referencing a year old post actually experiencing the same thing.

Check the ePub output to control covers during conversion. Also covers viewed on a PC do not reflect how covers will look on a device.

GMcG · 03-24-2011, 03:48 PM

@yodykihara
As most readers have a screen of 600x800, your cover should be smaller and you have to edit the titlepage.xhtml file in epub and fix the dimensions there. With
<img src="cover.jpeg" alt="cover" style="height: 100%" />
your cover is stretched to the screen.

The height of your cover should not be in percent as above but fixed with (absolute height) like

<img src="cover.jpeg" alt="cover" style="height: 580" />

This is my cover with original size of 460x580 and the width is kept correctly, there are no distortions. I've got some empty space around the cover, but I don't mind, it looks better than the distortion. You may try it with another height between 580 and 600.
(See also my ticket 8668 enhancement).
George

transmitthis · 06-19-2011, 07:22 PM

I know this is an old post, but didn't want to start another.

Is there a way to stop the Calibre ebook viewer stretching the cover image.
I'm talking specifically about when using this viewer on the PC, which I do to check ebups, and occasionally read.

I know the ebook viewer program itself is resizeable - , but my covers are only going to be around 500x700pixels which means on a PC screen with lots of space you have a pretty small reader, or if you resize it to a more usable dimension you get a distorted cover.
Its almost impossible to resize the reader program to the correct proportions to stop it changing the cover.

As a related side note, When moving from first page to second page, this is always the Cover just moving up a few mm.

I understand this resizing may be great for hardware readers of different dimensions.
but to have an option in Calibre's ebook reader to just leave the cover dimensions alone would be great for when on the PC

Attachments are just for refrence, in case above makes no sense

Edit I just noticed there is a user style sheet settings for the reader, would that be something that could change the scaling behavior on the covers?

kovidgoyal · 06-19-2011, 07:28 PM

Talking about epubs

the viewer does not resize the cover, it follows instructions in the ebook file that tell it to resize the cover. and because covers are not identified unambiguously in epubs, there is no good way to override that behavior.

transmitthis · 06-20-2011, 10:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kovidgoyal

Talking about epubs

the viewer does not resize the cover, it follows instructions in the ebook file that tell it to resize the cover. and because covers are not identified unambiguously in epubs, there is no good way to override that behavior.

so it does resize the cover then

Not just Epub,but also PRC, Mobi and Lit any file that has a cover, when you resize the ereader application, the cover streaches warps and resizes along with the program.

Not saying its a problem, just want to make sure were on the same page (excues the pun).
If there is something that can be done, an option to not display the cover even.
Its just that everything looks great, then as soon as I open a book to read it I'm faced with a large distorted cover image - it, well it just looks lame.

I know its only really superficial asthetices, but if there is a workaround then I'm all ears.

Thanks anyway, even just for the reply

JSWolf · 06-20-2011, 10:16 AM

The problem is that your cover is being sized to fit the screen or the reading space. This makes the cover look awful in a lot of cases. There is an option in Calibre to keep the aspect ratio of the cover. Use that and yes, the cover will size for the screen. But it will also not distort due to an incorrect aspect ratio.

transmitthis · 06-20-2011, 10:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JSWolf

The problem is that your cover is being sized to fit the screen or the reading space. This makes the cover look awful in a lot of cases. There is an option in Calibre to keep the aspect ratio of the cover. Use that and yes, the cover will size for the screen. But it will also not distort due to an incorrect aspect ratio.

There is an option? - you couldn't point me to it could you JSWolf?
Having the Aspect ratio stay the same is def something worth having.

Note this is for the Reader Application when used on a PC only,
don't want to confuse it with the way book covers are displayed on devices

kovidgoyal · 06-20-2011, 11:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by transmitthis

Note this is for the Reader Application when used on a PC only,
don't want to confuse it with the way book covers are displayed on devices

Look in EPUB Output under conversion settings, and that will change the way it is displayed no the device as well, which is what I was saying before.

03-24-2011, 03:48 PM	#24
GMcG Writer Posts: 101 Karma: 590630 Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: Munich, Germany Device: none	cover resizing @yodykihara As most readers have a screen of 600x800, your cover should be smaller and you have to edit the titlepage.xhtml file in epub and fix the dimensions there. With <img src="cover.jpeg" alt="cover" style="height: 100%" /> your cover is stretched to the screen. The height of your cover should not be in percent as above but fixed with (absolute height) like <img src="cover.jpeg" alt="cover" style="height: 580" /> This is my cover with original size of 460x580 and the width is kept correctly, there are no distortions. I've got some empty space around the cover, but I don't mind, it looks better than the distortion. You may try it with another height between 580 and 600. (See also my ticket 8668 enhancement). George

06-19-2011, 07:22 PM	#25
transmitthis Addict Posts: 288 Karma: 1003542 Join Date: May 2011 Device: Google Nexus 7 16GB	I know this is an old post, but didn't want to start another. Is there a way to stop the Calibre ebook viewer stretching the cover image. I'm talking specifically about when using this viewer on the PC, which I do to check ebups, and occasionally read. I know the ebook viewer program itself is resizeable - , but my covers are only going to be around 500x700pixels which means on a PC screen with lots of space you have a pretty small reader, or if you resize it to a more usable dimension you get a distorted cover. Its almost impossible to resize the reader program to the correct proportions to stop it changing the cover. As a related side note, When moving from first page to second page, this is always the Cover just moving up a few mm. I understand this resizing may be great for hardware readers of different dimensions. but to have an option in Calibre's ebook reader to just leave the cover dimensions alone would be great for when on the PC Attachments are just for refrence, in case above makes no sense Edit I just noticed there is a user style sheet settings for the reader, would that be something that could change the scaling behavior on the covers? Attached Thumbnails

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02-07-2010, 11:33 AM	#16
kovidgoyal creator of calibre Posts: 43,871 Karma: 22666666 Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Mumbai, India Device: Various	This is basically a bug with the version of Adobe digital editions used by the sony software and on the sony devices. Try the file with the latest version of Adobe Digital Editions or any other decent EPUB viewer and the picture will not be cut off. @Nate the great: calibre does not distort the cover image. If you unzip the epub file and look at the cover image (cover.jpg) you will see that for yourself. What calibre does do is embed the cover image in html with height="100%", on the reasonable assumption that covers should occupy the full screen @Amalthia: You should use cover images that are roughly the same aspect ratio as the reader screen. That will workaround this bug in older version of ADE. And in any case, using a cover image that has a wildly different aspect ratio, as in this case, will lead to very distorted looking images in newer versions of ADE, which instead of not resizing, resize but dont preserve the aspect ratio.

03-15-2011, 11:45 PM	#21
jodykihara Author Posts: 49 Karma: 284 Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: Canada Device: Kindle reader for PC	I see this post is dated a year ago... was this issue ever resolved? I just got Calibre and am struggling with the same thing; the only 'fix' I could find was to change the dimensions of my book cover (ie, short and fat) and that does terrible things to my design sensibilities! Does anyone know what exact dimensions e-pub readers prefer? I've googled around but haven't found an answer to this...

06-19-2011, 07:28 PM	#26
kovidgoyal creator of calibre Posts: 43,871 Karma: 22666666 Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Mumbai, India Device: Various	Talking about epubs the viewer does not resize the cover, it follows instructions in the ebook file that tell it to resize the cover. and because covers are not identified unambiguously in epubs, there is no good way to override that behavior.

06-20-2011, 10:16 AM	#28
JSWolf Resident Curmudgeon Posts: 74,049 Karma: 129333562 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Roslindale, Massachusetts Device: Kobo Libra 2, Kobo Aura H2O, PRS-650, PRS-T1, nook STR, PW3	The problem is that your cover is being sized to fit the screen or the reading space. This makes the cover look awful in a lot of cases. There is an option in Calibre to keep the aspect ratio of the cover. Use that and yes, the cover will size for the screen. But it will also not distort due to an incorrect aspect ratio.

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