[Hitch]

Originally Posted by MicroDrie

Instead of buying an EPUB reader, I invested a long time ago in a smart-phone and tablet with the free GitDen EPUB reader. If you want to know your EPUB reader can or can't, if you have an EPUB reader with JavaScript you can use the attached EPUBtestHTML.epub to see what your E-reader can and can't.

No, all you know is what your ePUB-reading software can and can't. You don't know bupkus about what the devices themselves can do. Case in point--I just mentioned here, in a thread, about spans inside the first-paragraph style on B&N Nook readers. Worked perfectly in ADE and any number of software devices and crashed and burned like an out-of-fuel drone on a real Nook.

You can't know jack about how files work on devices, without the devices themselves. That's why so many of us in the business own a plethora of devices.

Back to the question of this post, it is clear that the manufacturers of E-readers are not in much haste to update their equipment with recent and less bugged software.

Or even not-so-recently updated software.

Considering the foregoing, the question remains, what can we recommend rsuchwani?

We've all made our recommendations, most of which basically said that you're going to have to make sacrifices one way or the other--either the graphics, or the distribution plans.

Today, almost everyone has a smartphone in their pocket. I would therefore opt for a mobile first approach with a re-flowable layout and a larger font. In addition to validating the EPUB, I would test it via a good EPUB app on a smartphone or tablet. For those who are fond of a book layout, I would print the EPUB to a PDF format with the current font size.

Well, that's one way to go, but of course, when you go to distribute the book(s), generally, the big retailers DO have associated devices.

I think the latter, printing to PDF, is the crux of the problem. When I added an EPUB extension in both Chrome and Firefox, rsuchwani EPUB was not showing properly. I missed pieces of text, or the text didn't stick to the bottom margin.

If I print a page to PDF from Sigil with the Microsoft print to PDF printer, it works flawlessly. The disadvantage is of course that you have to print and merge each page separately.

Not to mention that the regular, every-day reader of eBooks wouldn't know what Sigil is, how to print-to-PDF or any such thing. I deal with regular, everyday, not-MobileRead people every bloody day and the normal, everyday citizen knows how to a) browse the net (and MIGHT know what "a browser" is) and b) how to look at their email.

80% of the people I deal with do not know what downloading is, or how to download from a browser; they think that "downloading" means clicking an email attachment twice. Oh and the ones that don't use file extensions on their computers (both Mac and PC)? Don't get me started.

There is NO universe in which thinking that buyers or readers will load an ePUB up, in Sigil, and print-to-PDF is a remotely viable solution. I'm sorry but unless his reading demographic happens to be eBook nerds, that's just...it's downright silliness. Won't happen and you're just torturing the buyers--and more importantly, yourself--if you try to get them to do that.

If you're going to do PDFs, for the love of Mike, just distribute PDFs and stop all the faffing around and twaffling.

The question remains for rsuchwani how was the PDF created, and how did you see the errors in the EPUB?

If you say so.

Hitch