Calibre PDF conversions vs. PDF4Kindle

terencek · 07-15-2013, 04:15 AM

Anyone tried PDF4Kindle (http://lifehacker.com/pdf4kindle-con...ooks-762908817) to convert PDFs, rather than Calibre? Any improvement, or are the results just as hit-and-miss?

HarryT · 07-15-2013, 04:28 AM

PDF conversion will always be "hit and miss". A PDF document is not an ebook and doesn't contain text. If you really MUST use PDF as a source to convert from, a decent OCR application such as Abbyy FineReader is generally the best way to do it.

terencek · 07-15-2013, 07:21 AM

Thanks Harry, knew that!! :-) The point is for those who do have to go the digital conversion route, which of PDF4Kindle or Calibre do a better a job. I used to use the now-defunct Mobipocket reader, which sometimes turned out a better conversion than Calibre, but Calibre seems to have improved over all its iterations. I've never tried any of the online solutions, to be honest.

dcassidy · 06-23-2014, 10:12 AM

Well I must say that the settings used in PDF4Kindle are extremely good.

I have tried a conversion of a pretty standard book e.g. Dream Traders - E.V. Thompson.

In the first run I tried using the default setting of PDF to MOBI with the only change being the Mobi Output profile of 'both' as the output of PDF4Kindle showed KF8:joint' in the title of the Mobi viewer when opened..

In comparison with Calibre it seems to be superior in the following aspects (comparison)
Book Image - Both excellent
Cover pages (3) of Book (Publishing details etc) Calibre converts all text to the same sized font and all center formatting lost. Page breaks gone. Everything squeezed up PDF4Kindle maintains font sizes from PDF but centering also gone. Page breaks also gone. Summary: PFD4K is a lot more pleasing on the eye.
Main text: Calibre a disaster on the default settings and even with the settings of line un-wrap factor was sketchy whilst PDF4K at least got rid of the excessive line breaks and generally the PDF4K is a pretty quick way of generating a MOBI file for an enjoyable read on a Kindle. I have tried so many changes to the Calibre settings without any real gain that I think I’ll use PDF4K UNLESS somebody has a decent set of settings I can use that at least come close to PDF4K.

Oh, BTW…I do love Calibre !!!

07-15-2013, 04:15 AM	#1
terencek Groupie Posts: 170 Karma: 1010944 Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: The African bush Device: Kindle 3	Calibre PDF conversions vs. PDF4Kindle Anyone tried PDF4Kindle (http://lifehacker.com/pdf4kindle-con...ooks-762908817) to convert PDFs, rather than Calibre? Any improvement, or are the results just as hit-and-miss?

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07-15-2013, 04:28 AM	#2
HarryT eBook Enthusiast Posts: 85,544 Karma: 93383099 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: UK Device: Kindle Oasis 2, iPad Pro 10.5", iPhone 6	PDF conversion will always be "hit and miss". A PDF document is not an ebook and doesn't contain text. If you really MUST use PDF as a source to convert from, a decent OCR application such as Abbyy FineReader is generally the best way to do it.

07-15-2013, 07:21 AM	#3
terencek Groupie Posts: 170 Karma: 1010944 Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: The African bush Device: Kindle 3	Thanks Harry, knew that!! :-) The point is for those who do have to go the digital conversion route, which of PDF4Kindle or Calibre do a better a job. I used to use the now-defunct Mobipocket reader, which sometimes turned out a better conversion than Calibre, but Calibre seems to have improved over all its iterations. I've never tried any of the online solutions, to be honest.

06-23-2014, 10:12 AM	#4
dcassidy Junior Member Posts: 1 Karma: 10 Join Date: Feb 2013 Device: none	Well I must say that the settings used in PDF4Kindle are extremely good. I have tried a conversion of a pretty standard book e.g. Dream Traders - E.V. Thompson. In the first run I tried using the default setting of PDF to MOBI with the only change being the Mobi Output profile of 'both' as the output of PDF4Kindle showed KF8:joint' in the title of the Mobi viewer when opened.. In comparison with Calibre it seems to be superior in the following aspects (comparison) Book Image - Both excellent Cover pages (3) of Book (Publishing details etc) Calibre converts all text to the same sized font and all center formatting lost. Page breaks gone. Everything squeezed up PDF4Kindle maintains font sizes from PDF but centering also gone. Page breaks also gone. Summary: PFD4K is a lot more pleasing on the eye. Main text: Calibre a disaster on the default settings and even with the settings of line un-wrap factor was sketchy whilst PDF4K at least got rid of the excessive line breaks and generally the PDF4K is a pretty quick way of generating a MOBI file for an enjoyable read on a Kindle. I have tried so many changes to the Calibre settings without any real gain that I think I’ll use PDF4K UNLESS somebody has a decent set of settings I can use that at least come close to PDF4K. Oh, BTW…I do love Calibre !!!

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