problem with self-created covers on kindle paperwhite 2015

atrahhdis · 12-27-2019, 08:02 AM

Hi all,

I have been creating e-books for more than a year now using:

- markdown
- pandoc for markdown to epub conversion
- calibre for metadata editing, epub to azw3 conversion etc..

I usually use covers created by calibre but lately I decided to create my own.

After creating a custom 1200x1600 jpg and using it as a cover for my e-book, my kindle paperwhite (today I updated it to 5.12.3 but unfortunately the issue remains ) is unable to handle it correctly.

I have attached the cover, the book and a photo showing how my paperwhite shows the cover.

BTW Calibre and Moon Reader can render the cover fine.

Do you have any idea why is this happening?

Thank you in advance.

Barbara1955 · 12-27-2019, 09:47 AM

Pictures look the same to me....

atrahhdis · 12-27-2019, 10:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Barbara1955

Pictures look the same to me....

There is an artifact on top, plus the website at the bottom is not shown at all!

jhowell · 12-27-2019, 11:44 AM

I sideloaded your book on my Oasis and see the same thing.

I am not sure of the cause, but it may be related to the aspect ratio. Yours is 1.33:1. According to Amazon:

Quote:

The ideal size of your eBook cover art is a height/width ratio of 1.6:1. This means that for every 1,000 pixels in width, the image should be 1,600 pixels in height. To ensure the best quality for your image, particularly on high definition devices, the height of the image should be at least 2,500 pixels. Ideal dimensions for cover files are 2,560 x 1,600 pixels.

DaleDe · 12-27-2019, 12:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by atrahhdis

There is an artifact on top, plus the website at the bottom is not shown at all!

How much of this is picture and how much is text? Is the information at the bottom text and rolled over to the next page? The stuff at the top is the partial text of the top line which is then covered up by the picture I presume. Aspect ratio is definitely affecting the display.

Dale

jhowell · 12-27-2019, 01:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DaleDe

How much of this is picture and how much is text?

It is a single JPEG. The text is part of the image.

-----

I did another test. I converted the non-working AZW3 back to EPUB using kindleunpack and then generated a Master-MOBI file (MOBI+AZW3) from that using Amazon's Kindle Previewer software. The cover image in that file displays correctly on my Kindle when sideloaded.

Looking into the file that the Previewer produced I see that it contains the unchanged original JPEG that is not working in the calibre-produced AZW3 file. Based on that, I suspect that calibre's conversion to AZW3 is somehow a factor in this problem.

atrahhdis · 12-28-2019, 07:38 AM

Many thanks to all of you for your replies!

@jhowell this is very interesting. I only use linux, but I will try to find a way to run the mentioned amazon program as a temporary epub to azw3 converter.

In the meantime, maybe I should open a bug report to calibre project but I really don't know how to describe this issue!

By the way I have attached the original epub from which my azw3 is produced.

jhowell · 12-28-2019, 09:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by atrahhdis

@jhowell this is very interesting. I only use linux, but I will try to find a way to run the mentioned amazon program as a temporary epub to azw3 converter.

The Kindle Previewer is Amazon's GUI tool. In the background it runs KindleGen to actually produce Master-MOBI files.

You can download the command-line KindleGen program for various platforms, including Linux, at:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html?docId=1000765211

atrahhdis · 12-28-2019, 10:51 AM

Thanks for the suggestion.

I tested by converting the epub to mobi using kindlegen and then the mobi to azw3 using calibre and the cover is OK now. It's really strange and definitely a calibre bug.

j.p.s · 12-28-2019, 11:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by atrahhdis

Thanks for the suggestion.

I tested by converting the epub to mobi using kindlegen and then the mobi to azw3 using calibre and the cover is OK now. It's really strange and definitely a calibre bug.

You can use kindleunpack to split the dual mobi generated by kindlegen into a KF7 mobi and a KF8 azw3.

Notjohn · 12-29-2019, 10:03 AM

I much prefer the OP's 2/3 ratio for the ebook cover, which to my eye is what the Big Five and most other commercial publishers use. It looks better on the Amazon store, which is where sales are made. (When Amazon has its way, the reader never sees the cover on his/her/its Kindle or app, because the book opens at page one, chapter one.)

I think the OP would have a happier experience by using Sigil rather than Calibre, and uploading a validated epub.

Happy 2020! -- NJ

atrahhdis · 12-29-2019, 10:14 AM

Thank you very much for your comment.

I have tried various aspect ratios and there is always the mentioned issue. I am sure it's not a matter of ratio.

I will install sigil ASAP and play around with it, but, to be honest, I will try to keep my current markdown based workflow. It's much easier for me to create one .md file and then both use it on my hugo website and create an epub with pandoc.

Greetings,
Mike

atrahhdis · 12-29-2019, 11:42 AM

I tried editing the epub and adding the jpeg cover with sigil.

I then converted the epub to azw3 and run hyphenate this! plugin with calibre.

So the covers are OK, unless they are added using calibre.

BTW when the cover is added with sigil and the e-book is opened with kindle, the reader sees the cover instead of page 1/chapter 1.

I have attached the latest file.

odamizu · 12-29-2019, 03:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by atrahhdis

... I will install sigil ASAP and play around with it, but, to be honest, I will try to keep my current markdown based workflow. It's much easier for me to create one .md file and then both use it on my hugo website and create an epub with pandoc ...

If you're playing around with Sigil, you might experiment with this workflow using Sigil plugins:

Create markdown file per usual
Import markdown file into Sigil using MarkdownImport plugin
Edit metadata, add cover, etc. using Sigil, resulting in finished epub
Use Sigil Kindlegen plugin to export epub as azw3 (or dual-mobi)

This may produce the results you want using only two programs: your markdown editor plus Sigil

Notjohn · 01-05-2020, 07:23 AM

>BTW when the cover is added with sigil and the e-book is opened with kindle, the reader sees the cover instead of page 1/chapter 1.

But that's not the purchased book, right?

The SRL is added in the actual publishing workflow. Even when a Look Inside begins with the cover (as some of my books do), in my experience the purchased book always begins at page one, chapter one, even if that means skipping an essential prolog or introduction.

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12-27-2019, 09:47 AM	#2
Barbara1955 Non-Techy Posts: 4,455 Karma: 15499273 Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: WV---USA Device: Samsung Cell Phone & Amazon Fires & Kobo eReaders	Pictures look the same to me....

12-28-2019, 10:51 AM	#9
atrahhdis Junior Member Posts: 7 Karma: 500 Join Date: Dec 2019 Device: kindle paperwhite	Thanks for the suggestion. I tested by converting the epub to mobi using kindlegen and then the mobi to azw3 using calibre and the cover is OK now. It's really strange and definitely a calibre bug.

12-29-2019, 10:03 AM	#11
Notjohn mostly an observer Posts: 1,519 Karma: 987654 Join Date: Dec 2012 Device: Kindle	I much prefer the OP's 2/3 ratio for the ebook cover, which to my eye is what the Big Five and most other commercial publishers use. It looks better on the Amazon store, which is where sales are made. (When Amazon has its way, the reader never sees the cover on his/her/its Kindle or app, because the book opens at page one, chapter one.) I think the OP would have a happier experience by using Sigil rather than Calibre, and uploading a validated epub. Happy 2020! -- NJ

12-29-2019, 10:14 AM	#12
atrahhdis Junior Member Posts: 7 Karma: 500 Join Date: Dec 2019 Device: kindle paperwhite	Thank you very much for your comment. I have tried various aspect ratios and there is always the mentioned issue. I am sure it's not a matter of ratio. I will install sigil ASAP and play around with it, but, to be honest, I will try to keep my current markdown based workflow. It's much easier for me to create one .md file and then both use it on my hugo website and create an epub with pandoc. Greetings, Mike

01-05-2020, 07:23 AM	#15
Notjohn mostly an observer Posts: 1,519 Karma: 987654 Join Date: Dec 2012 Device: Kindle	>BTW when the cover is added with sigil and the e-book is opened with kindle, the reader sees the cover instead of page 1/chapter 1. But that's not the purchased book, right? The SRL is added in the actual publishing workflow. Even when a Look Inside begins with the cover (as some of my books do), in my experience the purchased book always begins at page one, chapter one, even if that means skipping an essential prolog or introduction.

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