PDF to Kindle - how bad is it?

[daffy4u]

The conversion through Amazon worked very well. There are working links to each chapter as well as to the glossary, appendix and index. Also text-to-speech works as does the dictionary.

I've picked a few pages and am showing them in 2 font sizes (3 and 4).

[enarchay]

Originally Posted by daffy4u

The conversion through Amazon worked very well. There are working links to each chapter as well as to the glossary, appendix and index. Also text-to-speech works as does the dictionary.

I've picked a few pages and am showing them in 2 font sizes (3 and 4).

What are these images taken from, exactly?

[daffy4u]

double post

[daffy4u]

Originally Posted by enarchay

What are these images taken from, exactly?

The Kindle is able to make screen grabs (like a print screen) in gif files, so these are images of the pages on my Kindle. Of course they look better on the Kindle because of the 16 levels of gray scale but you get a very good idea of page layouts.

[enarchay]

Originally Posted by daffy4u

The Kindle is able to make screen grabs (like a print screen) in gif files, so these are images of the pages on my Kindle. Of course they look better on the Kindle because of the 16 levels of gray scale but you get a very good idea of page layouts.

You don't by chance have a digital camera so I could see how some of the pages look on the Kindle 2 itself?

If not, do you think you could scan a few more pages for me (more of written content , than the appendixes - e.g. pick any of the chapters?)

[daffy4u]

Originally Posted by enarchay

You don't by chance have a digital camera so I could see how some of the pages look on the Kindle 2 itself?

I can scan the screens for you but it will have to wait until tomorrow. What is your concern so I make sure I get what you need.

[enarchay]

Originally Posted by daffy4u

I can scan the screens for you but it will have to wait until tomorrow. What is your concern so I make sure I get what you need.

By scan you mean what you did before? Or do you have a camera? (I'm assuming you mean the former: )

I would like to see how footnotes, indentation, and paragraphs look. When I tried converting some PDFs, footnotes ended very large and detached from the text, and sometimes there would be extra spaces between lines and stuff. So if you don't mind, I guess just zoom to a chapter and look for a page with footnotes and indented text (i.e. a block quote).

Do you think most conversions will turn out like the book I sent you? These are the types of books I plan to read - philosophy books, like Blackwell companions, or books by specific authors: nothing with a ton of images, I don't think - if I buy the Kindle 2, so I wanted to make sure they looked good. I could send you other books for testing, but not sure if it is worth the time if the one I already sent you is sufficient for inference.

Btw, how do scanned-PDFs look on the Kindle 2? I have some books that are scanned from actual paperbacks. Maybe I should send you one of those for testing?

Thanks for all the help.

[daffy4u]

Originally Posted by enarchay

By scan you mean what you did before? Or do you have a camera? (I'm assuming you mean the former: )

I would like to see how footnotes, indentation, and paragraphs look. When I tried converting some PDFs, footnotes ended very large and detached from the text, and sometimes there would be extra spaces between lines and stuff.

Do you think most conversions will turn out like the book I sent you? These are the types of books I plan to read if I buy the Kindle 2, so I wanted to make sure they looked good. I could send you other books for testing, but not sure if it is worth the time if the one I already sent you is sufficient for inference.

Btw, how do scanned-PDFs look on the Kindle 2? I have some books that are scanned from actual paperbacks. Maybe I should send you one of those for testing?

Thanks for all the help.

I'm going to attach the conversion from Amazon which you can view with MobiPocket Reader. As soon as you download it, let me know so I can delete it. I'll scan some pages and post them tomorrow.

I don't know how a scanned pdf will work until I try it. I have a feeling it will have to processed as images.

If you're going to be heavy on the PDFs, you may want to get a Kindle DX which is larger and reads PDF files natively. It's designed for academics and heavy newspaper readers.

[enarchay]

Originally Posted by daffy4u

I'll scan some pages and post them tomorrow.

What do you mean scan?

I don't know how a scanned pdf will work until I try it. I have a feeling it will have to processed as images.

Will it not work if it is processed as images? Want me to attach a book so you can try it? Let me know.

If you're going to be heavy on the PDFs, you may want to get a Kindle DX which is larger and reads PDF files natively. It's designed for academics and heavy newspaper readers.

Well... if I get an ereader, it will probably be a birthday present, and my birthday is in seven days. The DX isn't coming out until "this summer." Moreover, I'm not sure if I could afford it, and even if I could, I don't think I'm willing to spend that much money on basically a bigger Kindle 2 that can read PDFs - personally, I think the Kindle 2 should come standard with native PDF support. In a year or so, there will probably be much better ereaders, so I don't want to spend a ton of money.

I've been debating over whether to get the Sony PRS-505, PRS-700, or the Kindle 2. (See my other thread if you want to help!) The big stumbling block I was having with the Kindle 2 is the fact that it does not natively support PDF or DOC, since I have a lot of books in PDF format, and want to read articles and blog posts on it - which I would put into DOC format or RTF. That's why I made this thread. I still don't really know what to think.

Speaking of DOC or RTF files, how do they come out on the Kindle 2 typically? Do you have any scans as an example?

I downloaded the book, so you can delete it.

[daffy4u]

Originally Posted by enarchay

What do you mean scan?

I mean, I'll put the Kindle on my scanner and scan the whole thing so you can see what it looks like. I prefer not to take digital pictures because there are to many elements to control and I don't consider myself a photographer.

Will it not work if it is processed as images? Want me to attach a book so you can try it? Let me know.

That's why I said I won't know until I try it. I don't use PDF files for reading so this is all a big experiment for me. We'll have to see about the scanned PDF after I see how my day is tomorrow.

I've been debating over whether to get the Sony PRS-505, PRS-700, or the Kindle 2. (See my other thread if you want to help!) The big stumbling block I was having with the Kindle 2 is the fact that it does not natively support PDF or DOC, since I have a lot of books in PDF format, and want to read articles and blog posts on it - which I would put into DOC format or RTF. That's why I made this thread. I still don't really know what to think.

The Sonys do read PDFs natively and think the 700 is supposed to be better than the 505. Is anyone making samples from either the 505 or 700 for you? You might be able to take an SD card with your PDF samples to a Borders or Target store to see how they work in person (I have read some people have been able to do this depending on the store).

Speaking of DOC or RTF files, how do they come out on the Kindle 2 typically? Do you have any scans as an example?

I have used MobiPocket Creator to convert any simple Word docs (no tables or graphs) for Kindle use. I change my Word page settings so that the page is 4.5 x 5.5 inches to that pages will convert for a 6 inch screen.

K2 just upgraded so that it has RTF support but it's a format I never use, so I haven't had to convert it.

You know you can buy a Kindle 2 and run it through it's paces for 30 days or less and get your back if it doesn't work for you.

[enarchay]

Originally Posted by daffy4u

I mean, I'll put the Kindle on my scanner and scan the whole thing so you can see what it looks like.

Alright. Excellent.

The Sonys do read PDFs natively and think the 700 is supposed to be better than the 505. Is anyone making samples from either the 505 or 700 for you? You might be able to take an SD card with your PDF samples to a Borders or Target store to see how they work in person (I have read some people have been able to do this depending on the store).

Well, I've read a lot of complaints that the Sony 700's screen isn't very clear and it glares easily. Some reviewers actually recommend the 505 over the 700. That's why I was considering the Kindle 2 - also since the Kindle 2 has some other attractive features (wireless, dictionary, wikipedia, etc.) that the 700 lacks. My local borders has a 700 on display, but it's locked in place so you can't really see how angles affect how the screen looks.

I've never thought about how PDFs display on it since I assumed they would look good as the 700 natively supports PDF. I might take an SD card in and see how some PDF books look on it.

K2 just upgraded so that it has RTF support but it's a format I never use, so I haven't had to convert it.

Are you sure about that? When I checked, it looked like the Kindle 2 only supported RTF through conversion. If it does, that'd be great, since I could just paste word and HTML documents into RTF and upload them that way. That'd be fine, I think.

Also, there's an email service where you send PDF files and it converts them to word documents. You could then save the word document as RTF. That might turn out better than converting the PDF to Kindle 2 format.

You know you can buy a Kindle 2 and run it through it's paces for 30 days or less and get your back if it doesn't work for you.

Oh, that's great! I'll probably buy it then and if it doesn't work out, I know the Sony is waiting for me.

[daffy4u]

Originally Posted by enarchay

Are you sure about that? When I checked, it looked like the Kindle 2 only supported RTF through conversion. If it does, that'd be great, since I could just paste word and HTML documents into RTF and upload them that way. That'd be fine, I think.

I think you misunderstood me. RTF *does* have to be converted. I was saying that since I don't use the RTF format, I haven't had a need to convert it so I don't know how the conversion looks. Before the software upgrade, RTF formatted files *could not* be converted for Kindle use.

From the Kindle 2 User Guide

KINDLE USER’S GUIDE 3rd EDITION · 15 ·
Convert Your Own Documents
In addition to all of the great reading material you can get from the Kindle Store, Amazon can also convert your own documents so you can read them on Kindle. You can e-mail Microsoft Word, TXT, HTML, RTF, PDF, or image files like JPEGs and GIFs to your dedicated Kindle e-mail address (found on the Settings page on Kindle or the Manage Your Kindle page on Amazon.com). We will convert the document into Kindle format and wirelessly deliver it directly to your Kindle for a small fee or back to your computer for free. Currently, the conversion of PDF documents is an experimental feature on Kindle, and some complex PDF files might not format correctly on your Kindle.

[daffy4u]

Here are the scans. Upon further inspection there are more conversion errors than I first noticed. I have marked the error in red on each image that has an error. I've also so pulled to corresponding pages from the original PDF for comparison. There may be more and different errors. This is a very large document and I don't have the inclination to go through it page by page.

If you click on each image a total of 3 times, you'll get larger versions. All images have been reduced by 50% and do not represent the Kindle's actual screen size.

The Kindle 2 images were scanned on font size 1 to get the most information on screen and keep me from having to make additional scans. This size may be too small to read in reality.

[enarchay]

But this was through Kindle's service, so I might be able to get it to look better through converting it myself, right?

Were you going to scan what it looks like on the Kindle itself today?

[daffy4u]

Originally Posted by enarchay

But this was through Kindle's service, so I might be able to get it to look better through converting it myself, right?

Were you going to scan what it looks like on the Kindle itself today?

Those are the scans from the Kindle. I'm not sure what you're looking for but I'm beginning to feel you should go with the 700 so that there is no conversion and the layout will be the same.

If you've never owned an e-ink device the screen of the 700 being a bit less sharp will not be noticeable to you.

Or maybe a netbook could be considered.