MobileRead Forums - View Single Post - Problems with downsampled Hi-def images on a standard-defintion screens

MaudlinHaus · 11-12-2014, 12:16 PM

Hi All-

First time posting, long time reading posts here—tons of knowledge and insight

I work for a small publisher doing desktop publishing, creating graphics, and overseeing ebook conversion. We don't create our epubs in house (we send PDFs to conversion house), but since I have a background in HTML/CSS, I have the opportunity to work closely with our vendor to get the kind of output we want, standardize design, etc.

One issue we initially had with the conversion house was image resolution. We proof our books on an iPad, which has a higher density display than a standard screen, and the display of images in the books was really poor. I did some research and came across a good article detailing a few methods for creating graphics for a high-density display (http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2012...ds-retina-web/). It's not ebook-specific advice, but applying a version of the HTML/CSS principle they lay out has given us really great looking images on the iPad.

However, the hi-def images look crap in Adobe Digital Editions for desktop PC (1280x1024 screen--I know, not the most modern setup). The article warned that there'd be some downsampling and possible loss of quality on standard def screens, but the difference is really stark. Some images that have text in them are almost unreadable in ADE. What to do? Have any other posters wrestled with this issue? I want to future proof the books but I don't want to alienate desktop readers or make them think we have a crap product. Thanks in advance for any help you can offer.

11-12-2014, 12:16 PM	#1
MaudlinHaus Junior Member Posts: 3 Karma: 10 Join Date: Mar 2013 Device: iPad	Problems with downsampled Hi-def images on a standard-defintion screens Hi All- First time posting, long time reading posts here—tons of knowledge and insight I work for a small publisher doing desktop publishing, creating graphics, and overseeing ebook conversion. We don't create our epubs in house (we send PDFs to conversion house), but since I have a background in HTML/CSS, I have the opportunity to work closely with our vendor to get the kind of output we want, standardize design, etc. One issue we initially had with the conversion house was image resolution. We proof our books on an iPad, which has a higher density display than a standard screen, and the display of images in the books was really poor. I did some research and came across a good article detailing a few methods for creating graphics for a high-density display (http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2012...ds-retina-web/). It's not ebook-specific advice, but applying a version of the HTML/CSS principle they lay out has given us really great looking images on the iPad. However, the hi-def images look crap in Adobe Digital Editions for desktop PC (1280x1024 screen--I know, not the most modern setup). The article warned that there'd be some downsampling and possible loss of quality on standard def screens, but the difference is really stark. Some images that have text in them are almost unreadable in ADE. What to do? Have any other posters wrestled with this issue? I want to future proof the books but I don't want to alienate desktop readers or make them think we have a crap product. Thanks in advance for any help you can offer.