Quote:
Originally Posted by Trane
Before I redo all 130 images... a question for all. Most are intended to be only 1/4 of the page (at full width). Is 600px width adequate? The PDF says to make them twice the intended size so that can be zoomed in 2x w/o blurriness, but this would mean re-downloading larger originals, then applying the effects in PS to each one again (border contours, etc). Opinions?
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Honestly, you're the only person who can answer that. I'm not able to see your files, nor your results. With 600px, depending on the clarity of the image in the first place, typically, you should get fairly decent results. However, if you're talking about highly-detailed diagrams, etc. I'd go up to 1000minimum, maybe even 1200.
We spend a lot of our time optimizing images, specifically to ensure that the resulting image is readable, but also, so that it doesn't bankrupt the author. This is part of the publisher's job, this sort of tweaking and tinkering, if you're going to DIY. You should produce the MOBI and view it on Previewer--remembering that Previewer is 150% of reality--and on a device, if you can. Only then will you actually KNOW. Blow them up a LOT, and see how readable they are.
You may find that you don't have to enlarge them all, only some.
One last comment: with regard to your unhappiness with Amazon: sure, they decided on a proprietary format. So what? It's all well and good to bitch about it, but I'd rather have them supporting ALL their Kindles, rather than have them Apple it, and throw out hundreds of thousands of buyers/users, just because they want to FORCE the person to buy a new device. Comparatively speaking, there
is no comparison. I've dealt with all the ePublishing retailers (B&N, Apple's iBooks, KoboBooks, etc.) and Amazon is head and shoulders above the rest, in terms of supporting authors AND their device- and book-buyers.
You complain about how Amazon made you hump? Go ahead and even try to get a
RESPONSE to an email from any of the others. You complain that they are "dumbing down" the code, to support the eInks? Well,
good for them. I still know people--not "old farts"--who read on eInks. Why shouldn't they? They bloody well bought them,
didn't they? (According to many of the book-reading mailing lists to which I belong, I think you'd all be
VERY surprised at how many people still have K2's!)
I'm sorry that you're unhappy about the white background, but Amazon goes through a lot, supporting those older devices. So do a lot of the folks that make books professionally, making "versions" that work for eInks, as well as the latest and greatest tablet. I'd have a lot less respect for Amazon if they discarded their buyers of the older devices.
Not to mention, unlike Apple, etc. with Amazon, you can download, for FREE, pretty much any type of"Kindle for..." reading app. Kindle for PC, for Mac, for Droid, for Win8, for "tablet", for iOS. Oh, and let's not forget Kindle Cloud Reader. Hell, to read an Amazon book, you don't even have to have purchased a device.
Try THAT with an Apple program. Want real fun? Make some "NookKids" eBooks. For a client outside of the USA. Guess what? That client has no way to see his own ebooks. None at all. You can't sideload NookKids' books to any "Nook 4.." app. Nor to NookKids' for iPad, nor for....get the drift? And since he's not in the US, he can't buy nor register a Nook.
I had to buy a Nook, register it to me, and ship it to NZ. Want more fun, if you want to talk about coding? Everybody here can tell you stories until your eyes bleed, about fun and games with coding for Nook devices.
But wait, there's MORE! Anyone here yet had a chance to tell you about kepub? For KoboBooks?
Yeah, sorry, kids, but
all things considered, I'll take Amazon ANY day.
Hitch