Vanity fonts

[mt.msla]

Hello. Admittedly, this is my first time using Sigil to create an epub, so if I'm doing it wrong, please let me know.

I've declared a specialty font for use in my epub (Belgrano). Long story short, if the font is not installed in my pc, even though Sigil css is declared and used properly, Belgrano is not displayed in the preview window in Sigil.

I had to install the font on my laptop to view it in the preview window of Sigil. Belgrano was already installed on my desktop and thus rendered properly there.

I doubt this is a big deal, because to my (very limited) knowledge, it really doesn't matter what font I prefer / declare, because at end-stage, whatever epub reader the user is using does it's own thing anyway, right?

Was this a big waste of time? Possibly. But let me know? And otherwise, 'Hello world!'

- Andy

[DNSB]

Generally, If I really want to use a specific font in an ebook, I add it as an embedded font. Otherwise, no guarantee as to what font will be used when the font I want to use is not present on the device I'm reading on.

[Doitsu]

Originally Posted by mt.msla

I've declared a specialty font for use in my epub (Belgrano). Long story short, if the font is not installed in my pc, even though Sigil css is declared and used properly, Belgrano is not displayed in the preview window in Sigil.

Since it's your first ebook, there's most likely a typo in your CSS file, because Sigil will show embedded fonts in the Preview window, even if they're not installed on a machine.
For an example, have a look at this book with an embedded blackletter font.
You also might find my CSSFromFonts plugin helpful, which'll add a font declaration to your CSS file.

[DiapDealer]

We recently fixed a bug that prevented previewing embedded fonts in a resource tab whenever the path to Sigil's temp directory contained a space, but that didn't effect properly embedded fonts from rendering in the Preview widget. If it's not down to a css syntax or path error, it's typically down to problematic fonts whenever they won't render in a browser (like QtWebEngine or QtWebkit). There's a lot of terrible font files floating around out there. But if it renders when it's installed as a system font, that's usually a dead giveaway that it's just not being embedded in the epub correctly.

[hobnail]

Did you add the font to the EPUB? It goes in the Fonts folder, highlighted in the image below.

[hobnail]

Adding to my response above, I used my own font long ago (no idea if this is still the proper way); here's the css:

@font-face {
    font-family: ChunkFivePrint;
    font-style: normal;
    font-weight: normal;
    src:url(../Fonts/ChunkFivePrint.otf);
}

.chunk {
    font-family: "ChunkFivePrint", sans-serif;
}

[DNSB]

You can also consider using Doitsu's CSSFromFonts plugin to somewhat automate creating the CSS for embedded fonts.

[mt.msla]

Thanks all for the input. Problem solved!

[Notjohn]

I prefer not to encounter the problem. 1) you must have the legal right to distribute the fonts, 2) you must have the knowledge to embed them, 3) you have to hope that Amazon doesn't rip them out (as it sometimes does, assuming your mean to publish through KDP), and 4) your idea of great typeface may offend the reader who prefers his/her/its own great typeface, and who gives you a one-star review in consequence.

Besides, ARA General Belgrano sank with great loss of life in 1982.

[Calenorn]

Originally Posted by Notjohn

4) your idea of great typeface may offend the reader who prefers his/her/its own great typeface, and who gives you a one-star review in consequence.

Specifying the font might make sense for presentation on a website, but when ereaders give the user a choice of fonts, why fight against that? Also, what looks good on a website might not impress on a 6-inch eink screen.

[hobnail]

Originally Posted by Notjohn

I prefer not to encounter the problem. 1) you must have the legal right to distribute the fonts, 2) you must have the knowledge to embed them, 3) you have to hope that Amazon doesn't rip them out (as it sometimes does, assuming your mean to publish through KDP), and 4) your idea of great typeface may offend the reader who prefers his/her/its own great typeface, and who gives you a one-star review in consequence.

Besides, ARA General Belgrano sank with great loss of life in 1982.

In general I agree with you but if the vanity font is for chapter headings, I'll just shrug. But when they specify the body/paragraph font then the steam starts coming out of my ears. (And of course even more comes out when they specify the line spacing, borders/margins, and font size.)

[Hitch]

Originally Posted by hobnail

In general I agree with you but if the vanity font is for chapter headings, I'll just shrug. But when they specify the body/paragraph font then the steam starts coming out of my ears. (And of course even more comes out when they specify the line spacing, borders/margins, and font size.)

If it's Amazon, they can't, at least, not in the "modern" era. Not for fonts. If you even attempt to stipulate the body font, in any number of ways--set it on the paragraph tag, set it in a body div, set it in a bodysection div, etc., Amazon will just flat-out nuke it right outta de book. Like magic.

So, that's a no-fly-zone. That does not mean that there aren't pre-2014 or 2015 files out there with specified, stipulated body fonts. Ironically, most of them are trade publisher files!

(And WHAT is with trade pubbed books today coming in Kindle with block-style, space-between paragraphs, for novels? I mean, talk about STEAM!)

Hitch

[hobnail]

Originally Posted by Hitch

(And WHAT is with trade pubbed books today coming in Kindle with block-style, space-between paragraphs, for novels? I mean, talk about STEAM!)

Hitch

Yeah, I recently got one like that, a freebie on ereaderiq. They put a non-breaking space between p tags, between all paragraphs.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by Notjohn

I prefer not to encounter the problem. 1) you must have the legal right to distribute the fonts, 2) you must have the knowledge to embed them, 3) you have to hope that Amazon doesn't rip them out (as it sometimes does, assuming your mean to publish through KDP), and 4) your idea of great typeface may offend the reader who prefers his/her/its own great typeface, and who gives you a one-star review in consequence.

Besides, ARA General Belgrano sank with great loss of life in 1982.

But with a Kindle, most eBooks that have embedded fonts, the embedded fonts never/hardly get seen. The default is not for Publisher Default. However, with Kindle, if you don't do something with the base font, then the default is a poor reading experience.

With ePub, you can embed a font that's only used in some places and that font will be seen.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by Hitch

(And WHAT is with trade pubbed books today coming in Kindle with block-style, space-between paragraphs, for novels? I mean, talk about STEAM!)

Hitch

I cannot stand that and I will go into the code and fix it. Good thing I know what I am doing so it doesn't take too long.

I would love a job reformatting commercial eBooks. But not one like that Churchill eBook. Way too many footnotes to deal with.