Why People developed books in mobi or prc format, If Kindle support PDF book

tushar · 08-11-2011, 02:49 AM

Hi Guys,

I don't know why my client is asking me to develop book in mobi or prc format. Because kindle is already supports pdf files.kindle mobi and prc format is very bad because of poor support of HTML and CSS

Anybody has any idea?

Billi · 08-11-2011, 03:01 AM

Hi tushar, welcome to MobileRead!

What kind of books your client is asking you to develop in mobi format, novels or textbooks? Is it simply a long text or does it have a lot of pictures, tables, diagrams?

tushar · 08-11-2011, 03:20 AM

@Bill thanks for reply

My client is asking me to develop book with lots of table and diagram and lot of pictures in it.

but my question is why peoples not use pdf files in kindle instead of mobi and prc files

HarryT · 08-11-2011, 03:50 AM

PDF is not an eBook format. It is a digital representation of a printed page, with a fixed layout. It is not possible, for example, to create a PDF for a Kindle DX with a 9.7" screen that will also look good on a Kindle 3 with a 6" screen.

PDF is an excellent format for its purpose, but that purpose is not to create eBooks.

Billi · 08-11-2011, 03:50 AM

I know what your question was

but the kind of books is not that unimportant for the choice of the right format.
- pdf is a static format. Most of the files are edited for "big" pages like A4 or Letter size and not for 6" readers. In this case it is very hard or impossible to read them on a kindle.
- mobi/prc is a reflowable format. The user itself can change the font and font size. You as a developer can't always know on which device your book will be read. Mobi files work fine on small phones, on 5" or 6" or 10" readers or on PC screens as they adjust themselves to the screensize.
- I don't know how the kindle handles this, but on a Cybook Gen3 (another reader capable of reading mobi files) you can only look up words in a dictionary in mobi files but not in pdf files.
- If you develop your files exactly for the size of a 6" device or if a certain layout (say a certain font or pictures embedded in the middle of a paragraph with flowing text around) is important than pdf files will work fine.

View Poll Results: Which kindle file format you will recommend for peoples
Pdf	1	4.35%
mobi	22	95.65%
prc	2	8.70%
text	1	4.35%
Multiple Choice Poll. Voters: 23. You may not vote on this poll

08-11-2011, 02:49 AM	#1
tushar Junior Member Posts: 2 Karma: 10 Join Date: Aug 2011 Device: Kindle	Why People developed books in mobi or prc format, If Kindle support PDF book Hi Guys, I don't know why my client is asking me to develop book in mobi or prc format. Because kindle is already supports pdf files.kindle mobi and prc format is very bad because of poor support of HTML and CSS Anybody has any idea?

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08-11-2011, 03:01 AM	#2
Billi Wizard Posts: 3,388 Karma: 14190103 Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Berlin Device: Cybook, iRex, PB, Onyx	Hi tushar, welcome to MobileRead! What kind of books your client is asking you to develop in mobi format, novels or textbooks? Is it simply a long text or does it have a lot of pictures, tables, diagrams?

08-11-2011, 03:20 AM	#3
tushar Junior Member Posts: 2 Karma: 10 Join Date: Aug 2011 Device: Kindle	@Bill thanks for reply My client is asking me to develop book with lots of table and diagram and lot of pictures in it. but my question is why peoples not use pdf files in kindle instead of mobi and prc files

08-11-2011, 03:50 AM	#4
HarryT eBook Enthusiast Posts: 85,544 Karma: 93383043 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: UK Device: Kindle Oasis 2, iPad Pro 10.5", iPhone 6	PDF is not an eBook format. It is a digital representation of a printed page, with a fixed layout. It is not possible, for example, to create a PDF for a Kindle DX with a 9.7" screen that will also look good on a Kindle 3 with a 6" screen. PDF is an excellent format for its purpose, but that purpose is not to create eBooks.

08-11-2011, 03:50 AM	#5
Billi Wizard Posts: 3,388 Karma: 14190103 Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Berlin Device: Cybook, iRex, PB, Onyx	I know what your question was but the kind of books is not that unimportant for the choice of the right format. - pdf is a static format. Most of the files are edited for "big" pages like A4 or Letter size and not for 6" readers. In this case it is very hard or impossible to read them on a kindle. - mobi/prc is a reflowable format. The user itself can change the font and font size. You as a developer can't always know on which device your book will be read. Mobi files work fine on small phones, on 5" or 6" or 10" readers or on PC screens as they adjust themselves to the screensize. - I don't know how the kindle handles this, but on a Cybook Gen3 (another reader capable of reading mobi files) you can only look up words in a dictionary in mobi files but not in pdf files. - If you develop your files exactly for the size of a 6" device or if a certain layout (say a certain font or pictures embedded in the middle of a paragraph with flowing text around) is important than pdf files will work fine.

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