Fat fonts for Kindle KPW2

[slantybard]

FYI - I found that putting "font-family" into the extra css space on the calibre conversion breaks the embedding of my fonts when trying to remove old font embedding before adding my own.

Originally Posted by Katsunami

Using a bold font as regular is not a good idea, if there's any chance the book also has bold text. I think an "extra bold" font would be quite ugly...

The custom font can be comprised of elements from more than one font.

• normal
• italic
• bold
• bold italic

In the past I've used a heavier, or bold, font for normal and italic, and used a different font for bold and bold italic to differentiate them without making them too bold. It is not the best solution of course, but until Kindles allow us to adjust font thickness it will work, for me that is.

@font-face {
  font-family: "CaeciliaHeavy";
  font-weight: normal;
  font-style: normal;
  src: url("../Fonts/Caecilia-Bold.otf");
}

@font-face {
  font-family: "CaeciliaHeavy";
  font-weight: normal;
  font-style: italic;
  src: url("../Fonts/Caecilia-BoldItalic.otf");
}

@font-face {
  font-family: "CaeciliaHeavy";
  font-weight: bold;
  font-style: normal;
  src: url("../Fonts/Caecilia-Heavy.otf");
}

@font-face {
  font-family: "CaeciliaHeavy";
  font-weight: bold;
  font-style: italic;
  src: url("../Fonts/Caecilia-HeavyItalic.otf");
}

body { 
  font-family: "CaeciliaHeavy";
}

[Barty]

I'd like to ask everyone in this thread to please e mail kindle support and ask for a way to load custom like the pw1 has. If no one complains, they will assume no one cares.

Originally Posted by Barty

I'd like to ask everyone in this thread to please e mail kindle support and ask for a way to load custom like the pw1 has. If no one complains, they will assume no one cares.

We've been doing that for years. Amazon tends to ignore 95% of our requests. The PW1 can currently be hacked to use custom fonts, but the key word is hacked. Amazon never intended to allow that function and have closed the loophole in the PW2. I suspect when the PW1 gets its next major FW update it too will lose that ability.

[JSWolf]

My suggestion (for the moment) is to use KindleUnpack to shift KF8 to ePub, use epubcheck to check for errors, fix the errors in Sigil. You can also remove any embedded fonts and all their references. You can embed your fonts and convert to AZW3/KF8.

[Barty]

Originally Posted by jswinden

We've been doing that for years. Amazon tends to ignore 95% of our requests. The PW1 can currently be hacked to use custom fonts, but the key word is hacked. Amazon never intended to allow that function and have closed the loophole in the PW2. I suspect when the PW1 gets its next major FW update it too will lose that ability.

Hmm, I thought all you had to do was put use_alt_fonts in home folder and put your fonts in fonts folder. I don't consider that hacking.

Embedding font is a hassle. I constantly tweak my font, and I don't want to have to constantly reconvert and reload my books. Data abhors redundancy

Originally Posted by Barty

Hmm, I thought all you had to do was put use_alt_fonts in home folder and put your fonts in fonts folder. I don't consider that hacking.

Embedding font is a hassle. I constantly tweak my font, and I don't want to have to constantly reconvert and reload my books. Data abhors redundancy

Whatever you want to call use_alt_fonts, Amazon did not like it as they have moved to block it in the PW2 and will most likely block it in the PW1.

[slantybard]

FYI, the behaviour of calibre 1.7 has made font embedding better. When choosing to strip fonts and embedding new fonts in the same conversion, the embedding now takes priority.

Take a look at this thread:
https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=224995

[JSWolf]

I have created a new version of Charis SIL that is even more bold then before. It looks pretty good on the PW2. Give it a go.

https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=184056

[booknut]

I don't have a problem with embedding fonts with Calibre but hate the constant fiddling since you never know what a font will look like once it's on the PW so it's a lot of plugging in and unplugging of the Kindle before I have a font I can live with. But I am sure some brilliant forum visitor out there will come up with a solution for the PW2.

[Katsunami]

After you have found a font you like, are you still going to look for another one for the next book?

You could also copy a book in your library, embed a different font in each, and upload all of them.

[EbokJunkie]

booknut

Kindle Previewer may help you in your font quest.

[Barty]

Originally Posted by Katsunami

After you have found a font you like, are you still going to look for another one for the next book?

You could also copy a book in your library, embed a different font in each, and upload all of them.

Actually, I do. I find another font I like better. I find a problem with the font and need to tweak it. I want to tweak the weight. The font has missing glyphs. Etc.

In the time I've had kindles, I've used four different modified fonts -- souvenir, Amasis, helvetica, Franklin gothic.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by EbokJunkie

booknut

Kindle Previewer may help you in your font quest.

Yes and no. Yes, you can tell if you might like it. But you cannot tell if you will as the PW2 will display differently then an LCD computer screen.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by Barty

Actually, I do. I find another font I like better. I find a problem with the font and need to tweak it. I want to tweak the weight. The font has missing glyphs. Etc.

In the time I've had kindles, I've used four different modified fonts -- souvenir, Amasis, helvetica, Franklin gothic.

Try the modified Charis SIL I liked earlier in this thread. It does have many glyphs as well as good weight and is easy to read with.