Quote:
Originally Posted by Darqref
It's not that I need or want a copy of the file that has been typeset for my eyes - it must support me *changing* that typeset, depending on how I feel at the moment. For this very specific reason, when I read fiction I want a reflow-able format. If I can't get that, then the value of my ebook reader is lower, when compared to a dead-tree book.
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So is paper really not an appropriate format for books for you either, for lack of font-size adjustment? Are you sure you don't just want the choice of regular or large print in your eBooks? Or--given the minimal additional effort required to provide a variety of point sizes--simply a reasonable choice of font sizes?
Changing the typeset/font size causes degradation of typographic quality in an entirely objective sense of the word. Given that most people do not know (nor consciously care) about typography, this is (as my lunatic rantings show) difficult to convince people of... but take any text, at any display size, at any font size... even with any font face... and a properly typeset version of it as opposed to a software reflowed one will always look better to the average person (in fact, probably to most people) in a double-blind test... because it is.
This doesn't mean that you're supposed to like a PDF eBook that you cannot comfortably read because of font-size issues, or because of legitimate complaints like an unnecessarily large margin on an already small display. It means that if a publisher or eBook maker takes the time to create a quality PDF for your device at a font size that is acceptable to you, reading that will be a more pleasant reading experience than something (however seemingly imperceptibly) butchered by software.
If you really truly *need* to arbitrarily go back and forth between different font sizes within a single book... then true enough, perhaps PDF is the wrong format for you. But be aware, PDF is the only format that can offer the same quality reading experience as a paper book generally does these days. That's a fact.
So you can either reflow, or you can get eBooks that aren't visibly poorer quality than the dead-tree version your neighbour has that doesn't require a fragile $300+ computer to read.
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Alrighty... sleepy ahi is sleepy.
Thanks for the great debate and discussion, all!
- Ahi