[ColetteS]

Is there a way to properly convert a PDF book file to an epub file, via an Android app or mobile website without massive loss of layout and image placement? To clarify, I am not looking to create ebooks, but to simply convert PDF to epub (or another ebook format), so I can import them into a single library/reading app.

Some background: I traditionally used Sigil for this task until last year, when I was the victim of a catastrophic hit and skip car accident that left with massive mobility issues, including only partial use of one arm, and no use of the other. My injuries have made using laptops, PCs, and their equipment (keyboards, mouse) extremely difficult. I am frequently bed-bound, and only able to sit in certain positions. I have special equipment that holds a large screen Android tablet (11") in front of me to stabilise it, and leaves my partially working arm free to do typing and tasks, with the use of an orthopedic-designed tool that works similar to a stylus, connected to my working hand.

I work from home in the research sector, so I have a extremely large e-book library, and it's pivotal to keep those books in one app, for the sake of tags systems and organisation, for quick reference between books while doing research.

PDF is extremely difficult for me as a format, due to the nature of pinching and zooming, and the limitations of my mobility, so I have a much easier time with epub and other ebook formats.

Unfortunately, most academic and research booksellers and journals release on PDF. There has been some movement towards epub and kindle format inclusion, but very little so for anything published pre-2018.

I am in no way fluent in coding, and have some limited knowledge of ebook design from using Calibre and Sigil before my injuries, but I do understand that Android/mobile based pdf to epub converters (e.g., Zamar, ePUBator, etc.) are not capable of lossless format rendering, due to the structural differences between PDF and epub, at least on the scale of something as large as a book.

I also have very little weight-bearing ability, and do much of my pleasure reading (which also entails a lot of academic reading work) on e-ink e-readers, since they are small and light weight enough for me to physically hold with my working arm for extended periods of time. PDF in general is a nightmare on such a small screen. On average, I spend 10-12 hours a day reading between the tablet and e-ink reader.

My question is, does anything exist as a work around, that would produce semi-decent conversions from PDF books to epub on Android? I am willing to learn/take courses, if there is a more complex method that requires application design or development, as most of my injuries are permanent and this is likely to be a life long issue, but I wouldn't know where to start or what those courses/learning systems would even be.

I currently use a Samsung Galaxy Tab S7, running Android 13.

I don't know if this is even possible, but the frustration over the last year in trying to make it work has been incredibly demoralising. If anyone has any suggestions, I would hugely appreciate them. Thanks