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Originally Posted by Sella174
Sure, and what do people do? They switch off all those fancy author/publisher defined fonts because they want to read the text.
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You don't know that. You know that's what YOU do, or perhaps, a few people with whom you've spoken. Obviously, that's not what everyone does, or even a majority. You can trust me on this--if people complained, or if Amazon saw, from the use data, that people were constantly turning fonts OFF, they'd just do away with them.
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A big factor with fonts, especially the use of fancy fonts, is how people read. A fancy font works great when your reader reads by voicing each word by breaking it into syllables. It doesn't work if your reader reads whole words or groups of words through pattern recognition. In the latter case, fancy fonts slow down the reader, so it'll probably be switched off.
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I agree with Alan's comment--what do you mean by "fancy fonts?" Decoratives, or god forfend, h/w or script fonts? Sure. But if you mean a fundamental font like Garamond, or Janson; Caslon or Bembo, etc., they're highly readable. (note to Wolfie: yes, if you embed AGaramond, in a MOBI, w/o knowing what you're doing, it's too light. It can, however, be done.)
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For the author, if fancy fonts are essential for your book, then IMO you're better off using PDF - which nearly all reading devices and printers can render correctly.
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Uh...yes, except, they aren't SOLD anyplace with any volume. What, you're regaling everyone with a "fancy font" to one of the very few places that sell them? I don't see that dog hunting, not at all.
Moreover, MOBI doesn't--or hasn't--kerned, period. Nor used ligs. Simple as that. I seriously doubt that Caecilia even has a kerning table. (Anyone know? I confess I've never looked into it. Wolfie, don't you have Caecilia in your collection?)
I don't know, as Alan said, what you mean by "fancy fonts," but unless body fonts are embedded INCORRECTLY by amateurs, ALL body fonts can be ignored and not used, in MOBI format, should the buyer/reader so wish. Thus, it's the best of both worlds--the publisher gets what s/he wants, and the reader gets what s/he wants.
Hitch