Quote:
Originally Posted by denissinia
I can't speak for other graphic designer that specializes in books, but I work for a publishing house and the clients want to see their book EXACTLY as they look when they are printed.  |
Really?
But sometimes I'm reading on an iPod Touch with a ~3" diagonal screen. Other times I'm reading on a Sony reader with a 6" screen. Still other times, I'm reading on a computer with a 24" screen. Note that these screens all have different aspect ratios, different "resolution" (
a.k.a. total number of pixels), and different resolution (in pixels-per-inch).
Speaking as a reader -- your client's potential customer! -- what I want is a book that is usefully readable on all of the above devices.
And that means that you
must be thinking in terms of reflowable text, not "page layout." Failure to recognize this results in books that are unusable on at least one of my reading devices. And that leads to returns, chargebacks, and grumpy customer letters. (Note that there are plenty of things you can still do -- drop-caps, good layout, etc. -- but a match to the printed page is right out.)
I urge you to educate your customer. They are demanding a mis-feature that will seriously reduce their electronic sales. Tell them so, in no uncertain terms. Then, if they truly insist, produce PDF files. Those will look "exactly like the printed page" -- if the display device can do it. Best of all (from my point of view), it won't fool the customer into thinking that they are buying a usable ebook for any device whose screen is smaller than the page-size of the pdf file.
Xenophon
P.S. I'd ask you to mock them publicly, but that would be unprofessional (so don't do it). Instead, tell them that their target audience considers their stated goal to be worthy of public mockery...