Is changing the font hard/worth it?

kennyk · 10-12-2008, 08:21 PM

I hear there are some better fonts than is included with the 505. Is it difficult to do?

crc · 10-12-2008, 10:15 PM

I've changed mine, and it's not that difficult. There's a very nice guide by Valloric that explains the whole process step by step.

pepak · 10-13-2008, 09:49 AM

Quote:

Is changing the font worth it?

Depends. It is definitely worth it if your books contain characters not present in the default font.

HarryT · 10-13-2008, 10:04 AM

If changing fonts is important to you, it may be advisable to get a device which allows you to load your own fonts as a properly-supported feature, rather than having to do it as a "hack".

Valloric · 10-13-2008, 02:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HarryT

If changing fonts is important to you, it may be advisable to get a device which allows you to load your own fonts as a properly-supported feature, rather than having to do it as a "hack".

Well I don't think the technique the guide explains is much of a "hack", it's very simple and easy. Sure, it must be easier to do it on the Cybook, but after you replace the Reader's fonts with the ones you intend to use, the point becomes rather mute. It's not like you're going to swap in completely new fonts every other day (even though you could with the guide), so I don't see much benefit from the Cybook in this regard.

seajewel · 10-13-2008, 03:00 PM

Definitely easy, definitely worth it. The default font is ugly and spindly looking on e-ink screens. I've replaced it with a slab serif font (kindle's is a slab serif font.. check it out on amazon page) and it looks so much better imo.

JGB · 10-13-2008, 05:18 PM

Absolutely.
I just tried it after debating for a few days(and building up a collection of fonts to try out.
It is easier to read and I find it the best improvement so far.

rasbadar · 10-14-2008, 08:14 AM

Worth it.
No question!
Use a "slab" font (I've bought the kindle font Caecilia from Linotype)
You'll neverever want to go back to the flimsy default font.

greets
ras

HarryT · 10-14-2008, 08:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Valloric

Well I don't think the technique the guide explains is much of a "hack", it's very simple and easy. Sure, it must be easier to do it on the Cybook, but after you replace the Reader's fonts with the ones you intend to use, the point becomes rather mute. It's not like you're going to swap in completely new fonts every other day (even though you could with the guide), so I don't see much benefit from the Cybook in this regard.

One additional benefit of the CyBook's font handling is that it has proper support for font families - ie one gets "real" italic and bold fonts, rather than the Sony's synthesised italics. I would consider that to be a significant benefit; others, of course, may not.

radius · 10-14-2008, 06:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HarryT

One additional benefit of the CyBook's font handling is that it has proper support for font families - ie one gets "real" italic and bold fonts, rather than the Sony's synthesised italics. I would consider that to be a significant benefit; others, of course, may not.

One workaround on the Sony for the crap synthesized italics is to include the italic font in the book. Page turn speed is largely unaffected (presumably because each page displays very few italicized words) and it looks much nicer.

It does bloat the size of each book by one or two megs though.

Also, if you use epub instead of lrf, it looks as though you can specify the font you want in CSS and point to a URL on the Reader itself instead of embedding the font (this way you can have one set of fonts for many books instead of embedding the font separately in each book). Look the the thread here on Mobileread.

I agree that font handling is a strength of the Cybook though; I'm jealous of the number of sizes available to Cybook owners.

kennyk · 10-14-2008, 08:10 PM

Okay, thanks for the tips. I'll have to try this out.

Valloric · 10-15-2008, 01:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by radius

One workaround on the Sony for the crap synthesized italics is to include the italic font in the book. Page turn speed is largely unaffected (presumably because each page displays very few italicized words) and it looks much nicer.

It does bloat the size of each book by one or two megs though.

Maybe it's just me, but that's completely unacceptable. An average book is 400KB. Turning that into 2.5MB... no way.

Quote:

Originally Posted by radius

Also, if you use epub instead of lrf, it looks as though you can specify the font you want in CSS and point to a URL on the Reader itself instead of embedding the font (this way you can have one set of fonts for many books instead of embedding the font separately in each book). Look the the thread here on Mobileread.

I've seen the thread, and I agree, it's an amazing feature. It's just one more reason to switch to epub completely when we get editor support for it (on which I'll probably work on myself).

ProDigit · 10-17-2008, 07:41 PM

I wonder if it's possible to create a font somehow; or if you see a font you like, to 'recreate' the font based on a .bmp,or .jpg you see online.

In specific a font that will fit and work on the 505..

http://www.pickafont.com/ has plenty for free download. Do you think one can fit the 505?

BTW,Sony CS sucks.. It's hard to get to them,since they have no CS section for ebook readers on esupport.sony.com.

10-12-2008, 08:21 PM	#1
kennyk Junior Member Posts: 6 Karma: 10 Join Date: May 2008 Device: PRS-505	Is changing the font hard/worth it? I hear there are some better fonts than is included with the 505. Is it difficult to do?

10-17-2008, 07:41 PM	#13
ProDigit Karmaniac Posts: 2,553 Karma: 11499146 Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Miami FL Device: PRS-505, Jetbook, + Mini, +Color, Astak Ez Reader Pro, PPW1, Aura H2O	Creating your font I wonder if it's possible to create a font somehow; or if you see a font you like, to 'recreate' the font based on a .bmp,or .jpg you see online. In specific a font that will fit and work on the 505.. http://www.pickafont.com/ has plenty for free download. Do you think one can fit the 505? BTW,Sony CS sucks.. It's hard to get to them,since they have no CS section for ebook readers on esupport.sony.com.

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10-12-2008, 10:15 PM	#2
crc unknown Posts: 57 Karma: 38 Join Date: May 2008 Location: Oakford, PA, USA Device: Kindle Voyage	I've changed mine, and it's not that difficult. There's a very nice guide by Valloric that explains the whole process step by step.

10-13-2008, 10:04 AM	#4
HarryT eBook Enthusiast Posts: 85,560 Karma: 93980341 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: UK Device: Kindle Oasis 2, iPad Pro 10.5", iPhone 6	If changing fonts is important to you, it may be advisable to get a device which allows you to load your own fonts as a properly-supported feature, rather than having to do it as a "hack".

10-13-2008, 03:00 PM	#6
seajewel Fanatic Posts: 589 Karma: 1451235 Join Date: Jun 2008 Device: Sony PRS-505, Sony PRS-950	Definitely easy, definitely worth it. The default font is ugly and spindly looking on e-ink screens. I've replaced it with a slab serif font (kindle's is a slab serif font.. check it out on amazon page) and it looks so much better imo.

10-13-2008, 05:18 PM	#7
JGB Groupie Posts: 168 Karma: 1010000 Join Date: Jul 2008 Device: PRS505	Absolutely. I just tried it after debating for a few days(and building up a collection of fonts to try out. It is easier to read and I find it the best improvement so far.

10-14-2008, 08:14 AM	#8
rasbadar Enthusiast Posts: 35 Karma: 10 Join Date: Sep 2008 Device: PRS-650, PRS-505	Worth it. No question! Use a "slab" font (I've bought the kindle font Caecilia from Linotype) You'll neverever want to go back to the flimsy default font. greets ras

10-14-2008, 08:10 PM	#11
kennyk Junior Member Posts: 6 Karma: 10 Join Date: May 2008 Device: PRS-505	Okay, thanks for the tips. I'll have to try this out.