Quote:
Originally Posted by Solitaire1
I use PDF as my format when creating my ebooks, and the main reason is font (and format) control. Regardless of the typefaces that are/are not available on my reader, I can use any typeface in my ebooks and they will render correctly on my ereader. With other formats this has not been the case. As an example, many times with RTF my books render on my reader with a san-serif typeface regardless of the typeface in the original ebook.
Although I could go into my ereader's internals to change the default fonts, that is something that I'm not comfortable with. PDF gives me access to any typeface that I want without having to change my reader's firmware.
When it comes to my own writing (such as in stories I have written), having the fonts display properly is important since I use different fonts to convey different meanings. Changing the font (or having all of the text in one font) can change the impression that certain portions of the story convey.
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I have experimented pretty extensively with fonts in my 505 and despite my best efforts to get a decent display, there's not much that can really be done to make it pleasant with LRF, RTF, EPUB, or any other non-PDF format, so I too have taken only to custom PDF. Anything else is simply a headache, far far worse than any backlit display can give me after a few hours.
It's hard to believe commercial products would be so amazingly lacking on such a simple issue as
basic typography. I didn't even know having standards meant I was a snob until I came to MobileRead.
For people who have some Adobe products with bundled fonts, check to see if you have "caption" or "small text" sizes of them, as they will have less stroke contrast and will be slightly more stout and viewable. Arno, Garamond, Chaparral, Minion, even Jenson and Warnock all should have a few alternative optical sizes. It's a bit of a waste for EPUB or LRF I suppose, but worth checking out if you use PDF.
Quote:
Originally Posted by cmdahler
If anyone has access to more professionally designed fonts with lots of different weights in the font file, rather than going pure bold, you might try a Medium weight or a Semibold. I usually use Minion Pro for my books, and I've experimented around with both those weights. It definitely produces darker text.
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I'll agree with this as well, though Semibold starts getting pretty heavy. Medium weights are relatively acceptable, and are probably the way to go if alternative optical sizes aren't available.