MobileRead Forums
Register Guidelines E-Books Today's Posts Search

Go Back   MobileRead Forums > E-Book Readers > Kobo Reader
Reload this Page How to increase contrast?

Notices

Reply
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread
Old 01-11-2021, 02:37 PM   #1
tgp7
Junior Member
tgp7 began at the beginning.
 
Posts: 2
Karma: 10
Join Date: Jan 2021
Device: Kobo Forma
How to increase contrast?
How to increase contrast?

Hi there,
I recently purchased a Kobo Forma and I’m comparing it to a Kindle Oasis 3 and I find of the Kindle has better contrast. By contrast I mean the grey colour of the e-ink compared to the grey background of the unit when unlit. I find that the more front lighting I use, the more the contrast seems to be reduced.

I have tried increasing the weight of text and I find it’s helpful, but the Kindle Oasis 3 still seems to have better contrast with the same weighting of text. I also noticed that Sony readers seem to have had a contrast feature which does not seem to be built into the kobo. Is there a plug-in?

Thanks
tgp7 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-18-2021, 02:54 AM   #2
Cootey
Absentminded Reader
Cootey ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Cootey ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Cootey ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Cootey ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Cootey ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Cootey ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Cootey ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Cootey ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Cootey ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Cootey ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Cootey ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.
 
Cootey's Avatar
 
Posts: 1,324
Karma: 7387565
Join Date: Apr 2017
Device: Kobo Mini, Libra Colour & Elipsa; Kindle Paperwhite 3 & 4; iOS apps
Quote:
Originally Posted by tgp7 View Post
How to increase contrast?



Hi there,

I recently purchased a Kobo Forma and I’m comparing it to a Kindle Oasis 3 and I find of the Kindle has better contrast. By contrast I mean the grey colour of the e-ink compared to the grey background of the unit when unlit. I find that the more front lighting I use, the more the contrast seems to be reduced.



I have tried increasing the weight of text and I find it’s helpful, but the Kindle Oasis 3 still seems to have better contrast with the same weighting of text. I also noticed that Sony readers seem to have had a contrast feature which does not seem to be built into the kobo. Is there a plug-in?



Thanks


There is no contrast setting on Kobos or Kindles, so your contrast depends on which model eInk screen your device is using. The difference between the two models is the Oasis 3 is using a Carta HD eInk display and the Forma is using the newer Mobius display. Mobius features a plastic substrate as opposed to the glass Carta HD, and therefore is much lighter even despite it being larger.

If you aren’t pleased with your Forma’s contrast you could try returning it for another unit. Perhaps your unit is defective.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
Cootey is offline   Reply With Quote
Advert
Old 02-18-2021, 06:16 AM   #3
John F
Grand Sorcerer
John F ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.John F ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.John F ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.John F ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.John F ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.John F ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.John F ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.John F ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.John F ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.John F ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.John F ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.
 
Posts: 7,941
Karma: 70766125
Join Date: Feb 2009
Device: Kobo Clara 2E
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cootey View Post
There is no contrast setting on Kobos or Kindles, so your contrast depends on which model eInk screen your device is using. The difference between the two models is the Oasis 3 is using a Carta HD eInk display and the Forma is using the newer Mobius display. Mobius features a plastic substrate as opposed to the glass Carta HD, and therefore is much lighter even despite it being larger.

...
The specs on the Oasis 3 says the weight starts at 188g, and the specs on the Forma says the weight is 197g.
John F is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-18-2021, 08:55 AM   #4
Quoth
Still reading
Quoth ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Quoth ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Quoth ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Quoth ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Quoth ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Quoth ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Quoth ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Quoth ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Quoth ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Quoth ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Quoth ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.
 
Quoth's Avatar
 
Posts: 14,023
Karma: 105092227
Join Date: Jun 2017
Location: Ireland
Device: All 4 Kinds: epub eink, Kindle, android eink, NxtPaper
Quote:
Originally Posted by John F View Post
The specs on the Oasis 3 says the weight starts at 188g, and the specs on the Forma says the weight is 197g.
But what size of batteries? How thick is the alloy chassis, needed to avoid display and PCB damage?
Quoth is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-18-2021, 09:43 AM   #5
John F
Grand Sorcerer
John F ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.John F ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.John F ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.John F ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.John F ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.John F ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.John F ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.John F ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.John F ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.John F ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.John F ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.
 
Posts: 7,941
Karma: 70766125
Join Date: Feb 2009
Device: Kobo Clara 2E
Quote:
Originally Posted by Quoth View Post
But what size of batteries? How thick is the alloy chassis, needed to avoid display and PCB damage?
I'm surprised you didn't mention the screen size difference.

Be that as it may, according to the specs, the Forma is heavier.
John F is offline   Reply With Quote
Advert
Old 02-18-2021, 10:25 PM   #6
Cootey
Absentminded Reader
Cootey ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Cootey ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Cootey ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Cootey ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Cootey ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Cootey ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Cootey ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Cootey ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Cootey ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Cootey ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Cootey ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.
 
Cootey's Avatar
 
Posts: 1,324
Karma: 7387565
Join Date: Apr 2017
Device: Kobo Mini, Libra Colour & Elipsa; Kindle Paperwhite 3 & 4; iOS apps
Quote:
Originally Posted by John F View Post
The specs on the Oasis 3 says the weight starts at 188g, and the specs on the Forma says the weight is 197g.


I was referring to the eInk displays, not the total weight of the eReaders. 🤷🏻*♂️


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
Cootey is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-19-2021, 05:38 AM   #7
John F
Grand Sorcerer
John F ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.John F ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.John F ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.John F ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.John F ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.John F ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.John F ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.John F ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.John F ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.John F ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.John F ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.
 
Posts: 7,941
Karma: 70766125
Join Date: Feb 2009
Device: Kobo Clara 2E
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cootey View Post
I was referring to the eInk displays, not the total weight of the eReaders. 🤷🏻*♂️


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
What are the weight of the two screens?

I tried to look up the weight of the two screens, but couldn't find the weight for those particular sizes, could you provide a link?

Thanks
John F is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-19-2021, 08:00 AM   #8
Ripplinger
350 Hoarder
Ripplinger ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Ripplinger ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Ripplinger ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Ripplinger ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Ripplinger ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Ripplinger ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Ripplinger ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Ripplinger ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Ripplinger ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Ripplinger ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Ripplinger ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.
 
Ripplinger's Avatar
 
Posts: 3,574
Karma: 8281267
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: Midwest USA
Device: Sony PRS-350, Kobo Glo & Glo HD, PW2
Quote:
Originally Posted by tgp7 View Post
How to increase contrast?
I only have an older Kindle PW2 to compare it to, but I always found the Kobo readers had much better contrast.

But you might find a good solution simply by loading your own font. Find one with a bit more weight to it and see if you can't improve the contrast that way. I find Roboto Slab to be the best for my crappy eyesight, or Lexia Dama, and for me it's always more comfortable to have darker text. I use the bold versions of both of those.

Another thing for me is that having the backlight on always improves contrast as well, even when I'm reading out in the bright sun.
Ripplinger is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-19-2021, 11:04 PM   #9
Cootey
Absentminded Reader
Cootey ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Cootey ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Cootey ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Cootey ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Cootey ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Cootey ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Cootey ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Cootey ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Cootey ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Cootey ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.Cootey ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.
 
Cootey's Avatar
 
Posts: 1,324
Karma: 7387565
Join Date: Apr 2017
Device: Kobo Mini, Libra Colour & Elipsa; Kindle Paperwhite 3 & 4; iOS apps
Quote:
Originally Posted by John F View Post
What are the weight of the two screens?



I tried to look up the weight of the two screens, but couldn't find the weight for those particular sizes, could you provide a link?



Thanks


I was pulling info from different websites and the mobileread wiki: https://wiki.mobileread.com/wiki/E_Ink_Mobius

I haven’t come across a direct comparison of the two different eInk screens.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
Cootey is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-20-2021, 06:40 AM   #10
John F
Grand Sorcerer
John F ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.John F ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.John F ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.John F ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.John F ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.John F ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.John F ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.John F ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.John F ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.John F ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.John F ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.
 
Posts: 7,941
Karma: 70766125
Join Date: Feb 2009
Device: Kobo Clara 2E
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cootey View Post
I was pulling info from different websites and the mobileread wiki: https://wiki.mobileread.com/wiki/E_Ink_Mobius

I haven’t come across a direct comparison of the two different eInk screens.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
I see specs for 13.3" on eink site (from EInk's site), but they are different resolutions.

I don't believe the screens for either the Oasis or Forma are listed on EInk's site.

I don't mean to nitpick, and I agree that one would think "plastic" would be lighter than "glass", I would just like to see a direct apples to apples comparison.
John F is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-29-2021, 07:04 AM   #11
howyoudoin
how YOU doin?
howyoudoin ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.howyoudoin ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.howyoudoin ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.howyoudoin ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.howyoudoin ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.howyoudoin ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.howyoudoin ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.howyoudoin ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.howyoudoin ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.howyoudoin ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.howyoudoin ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.
 
howyoudoin's Avatar
 
Posts: 1,100
Karma: 7371047
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: India
Device: Kindle Keyboard, iPad Pro 10.5”, Kobo Aura H2O, Kobo Libra 2
Weight aside, the advantage of a plastic substrate over glass is that it is more resilient when bent.
howyoudoin is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-29-2021, 01:05 PM   #12
DNSB
Bibliophagist
DNSB ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.DNSB ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.DNSB ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.DNSB ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.DNSB ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.DNSB ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.DNSB ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.DNSB ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.DNSB ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.DNSB ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.DNSB ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.
 
DNSB's Avatar
 
Posts: 46,181
Karma: 168983734
Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: Vancouver
Device: Kobo Sage, Libra Colour, Lenovo M8 FHD, Paperwhite 4, Tolino epos
Quote:
Originally Posted by John F View Post
I don't mean to nitpick, and I agree that one would think "plastic" would be lighter than "glass", I would just like to see a direct apples to apples comparison.
To quote from Eink's blurb for Mobius displays:

Quote:
For an end customer, a flexible display has several benefits outside of the flexibility of the display itself. Plastic-based TFTs allow the end product to be substantially lighter and thinner than products using glass-based TFTs. In addition, glass-based TFTs can be fragile; use of plastic-based TFTs can result in a more rugged end product with less breakage in the electronics due to drops or stress tension.

The weight savings with plastic TFTs can make a significant difference in the end products' specs
And a quote from Nathan's the-ebook-reader.com blog:

Quote:
By comparison Mobius displays weigh less than half as much as an equivalent glass-based display. E Ink states that a 13.3″ Mobius panel only weighs about 60 grams.
DNSB is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-29-2021, 02:09 PM   #13
John F
Grand Sorcerer
John F ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.John F ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.John F ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.John F ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.John F ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.John F ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.John F ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.John F ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.John F ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.John F ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.John F ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.
 
Posts: 7,941
Karma: 70766125
Join Date: Feb 2009
Device: Kobo Clara 2E
Quote:
Originally Posted by DNSB View Post
To quote from Eink's blurb for Mobius displays:



And a quote from Nathan's the-ebook-reader.com blog:
Thanks. Nice to see it in writing.

And eink says that a glass 150 dpi panel weighs 90g. I guess those extra mobius pixels add weight?
John F is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-29-2021, 03:30 PM   #14
DNSB
Bibliophagist
DNSB ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.DNSB ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.DNSB ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.DNSB ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.DNSB ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.DNSB ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.DNSB ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.DNSB ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.DNSB ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.DNSB ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.DNSB ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.
 
DNSB's Avatar
 
Posts: 46,181
Karma: 168983734
Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: Vancouver
Device: Kobo Sage, Libra Colour, Lenovo M8 FHD, Paperwhite 4, Tolino epos
Quote:
Originally Posted by John F View Post
Thanks. Nice to see it in writing.

And eink says that a glass 150 dpi panel weighs 90g. I guess those extra mobius pixels add weight?
What size of glass 150 dpi panel? 13.3"???
DNSB is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-29-2021, 06:00 PM   #15
John F
Grand Sorcerer
John F ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.John F ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.John F ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.John F ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.John F ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.John F ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.John F ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.John F ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.John F ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.John F ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.John F ought to be getting tired of karma fortunes by now.
 
Posts: 7,941
Karma: 70766125
Join Date: Feb 2009
Device: Kobo Clara 2E
Quote:
Originally Posted by DNSB View Post
What size of glass 150 dpi panel? 13.3"???
Yes. Same size, different dpi.

https://www.eink.com/modules.html

They list the mobius 13.3" at 68g.
John F is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Tags
contrast, forma, kobo, oasis 2019

« Previous Thread | Next Thread »

Forum Jump

Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
US 902 price increase Klim Chugunkin PocketBook 20 12-03-2010 06:24 PM
PRS-505 Contrast increase possible? Mike_73 Sony Reader 5 01-11-2010 09:12 AM
Strange increase in contrast mmmkay Sony Reader 12 12-17-2009 11:40 PM
price increase ? Loopy65 Bookeen 7 06-24-2008 05:41 PM
I can not increase the size or the letters Treomaniaco Sony Reader 4 02-01-2008 06:03 PM


All times are GMT -4. The time now is 02:04 PM.

Contact Us - FAQ - Guidelines - Privacy - Top

MobileRead.com is a privately owned, operated and funded community.