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Dutchbook · 09-24-2017, 05:38 AM

Hello all,

As you might or might not be aware, I'm quite new to the joys of E-ink. However, I immediately remembered why I didn't bother before: ePub

I like to download a book, formatted by the specification by the writer or publisher, and just read it.

This is simply not possible with ePub.

Not even mentioning the DRM that makes buying an ebook from an independent store as pleasant as shoving a baseball bat wrapped in barbed wire up there, it also makes for a ridiculous adventure trying to format the damn thing.

Example:
This is an excerpt from the PDF preview of the book. Notice the soft serif font? the size of the letters, formatted perfectly with the rest to create a readable and pleasant viewing experience?
https://imgur.com/kk8J9Wl

Murdered by the Kobo App...
https://imgur.com/jOUEmAI

After half an hour of work, and Kobo's proprietary "TsukuMin" font, I got something which was reasonable out of it
https://imgur.com/FSCgAm8

But then, Calibre struck!
https://imgur.com/Ga5WrdZ

Another hour fiddling with Calibre...
https://imgur.com/wL9mv52

Just look how far that is from what the publisher intended.

But ok, it is somewhat legible, so lets use the 'Print to PDF' option.

And the end result: https://imgur.com/PoPWkcS

Really? REALLY?

In the past, Kobo offered to download a PDF of ebooks, but now I'm stuck with a book collection that requires me to format every.effing.book.myself and try to make it readable. Who in their right mind came up with such a horrible system?

Boy, I really wonder why e-reader sales collapsed!

09-24-2017, 05:38 AM	#1
Dutchbook Zealot Posts: 102 Karma: 937960 Join Date: May 2017 Device: DPT-RP1	i Loathe ePub... Hello all, As you might or might not be aware, I'm quite new to the joys of E-ink. However, I immediately remembered why I didn't bother before: ePub I like to download a book, formatted by the specification by the writer or publisher, and just read it. This is simply not possible with ePub. Not even mentioning the DRM that makes buying an ebook from an independent store as pleasant as shoving a baseball bat wrapped in barbed wire up there, it also makes for a ridiculous adventure trying to format the damn thing. Example: This is an excerpt from the PDF preview of the book. Notice the soft serif font? the size of the letters, formatted perfectly with the rest to create a readable and pleasant viewing experience? https://imgur.com/kk8J9Wl Murdered by the Kobo App... https://imgur.com/jOUEmAI After half an hour of work, and Kobo's proprietary "TsukuMin" font, I got something which was reasonable out of it https://imgur.com/FSCgAm8 But then, Calibre struck! https://imgur.com/Ga5WrdZ Another hour fiddling with Calibre... https://imgur.com/wL9mv52 Just look how far that is from what the publisher intended. But ok, it is somewhat legible, so lets use the 'Print to PDF' option. And the end result: https://imgur.com/PoPWkcS Really? REALLY? In the past, Kobo offered to download a PDF of ebooks, but now I'm stuck with a book collection that requires me to format every.effing.book.myself and try to make it readable. Who in their right mind came up with such a horrible system? Boy, I really wonder why e-reader sales collapsed!