'best format'?

senjak · 11-19-2009, 09:45 AM

Hello!

Now that I've actually managed to pry my e-book out of Sony's grasp, I'm wondering what the 'best format' is to read on the PRS-600?

I have lots of text, word and pdf files that I've generated over the years and Calibre for conversion.

What would be the most useful format to have documents in?

Thanks for any advice you can offer.

Senjak

HarryT · 11-20-2009, 03:02 AM

Go with ePub.

luvduchovny · 11-20-2009, 12:29 PM

I'm with Harry. EPub gives the documents (or at least on my reader) nice dark, sharp fonts that makes reading easier.

Elfwreck · 11-20-2009, 01:12 PM

If you love doc formatting, PDFs made for the 6" screen are best. (And if you only love doc formatting a little bit, making PDFs of your favorites is fun.) Otherwise, ePub is most readable. LRF is likely to become a legacy format soon, and it doesn't allow the options that ePub does. But if right-justification is crucial to you, LRF is best for now.

RTF is "good" only in the sense that it's *fast*: I can copy the contents of a webpage into Word, raise the base font to 17pts, and throw it on the Reader in seconds; everything else takes considerably longer, which I don't always have time/energy for. But that's very much "I just want to read this; I don't really care what it looks like (but I need to keep the italics and author metadata)".

Solitaire1 · 11-20-2009, 11:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Elfwreck

If you love doc formatting, PDFs made for the 6" screen are best. (And if you only love doc formatting a little bit, making PDFs of your favorites is fun.) Otherwise, ePub is most readable. LRF is likely to become a legacy format soon, and it doesn't allow the options that ePub does. But if right-justification is crucial to you, LRF is best for now.

RTF is "good" only in the sense that it's *fast*: I can copy the contents of a webpage into Word, raise the base font to 17pts, and throw it on the Reader in seconds; everything else takes considerably longer, which I don't always have time/energy for. But that's very much "I just want to read this; I don't really care what it looks like (but I need to keep the italics and author metadata)".

I will put in my vote for PDF. For me, the biggest advantage of PDF for ebooks is that it allows me to have complete control over my ebook's formatting.

No matter how elaborate the formatting, when rendered as a PDF the ebook displays perfectly on my ebook reader. This includes justification (ragged left, ragged right, centered, and full), multiple typefaces (I usually include at least three different typefaces in my ebooks) generating and inserting a table of contents complete with accurate page numbers, widow/orphan control, and graphics.

The only other ebook format I've made significant use of on my reader is RTF. With RTF, my biggest problem I've had is trying to get it to consistently display the general typeface I want (serif, san-serif, or monospaced). This problem is what caused me to choose PDF as the format for my ebooks.

HarryT · 11-21-2009, 07:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Solitaire1

I will put in my vote for PDF. For me, the biggest advantage of PDF for ebooks is that it allows me to have complete control over my ebook's formatting.

Its biggest disadvantage, however, is that you end up with a book that's formatted for one specific page size. I want to have a book that looks good on my 5" CyBook Opus, my 6" Sony, and my 10" iRex DR1000. Having to re-format the book for each new device size seems like madness to me.

danegeld · 11-21-2009, 10:54 AM

I tried several different formats, but eventually ended up with native LRF. I would prefer using ePub, but my PRS-700 (and I assume other Sony readers) doesn't support full justification in ePub files. I find ragged right margins annoying to read for any length of time. I also tried PDFs, but they don't work very well because they have to be formatted to an exact size and changing the type size on the reader messes up the formatting. A format that doesn't easily reflow is going to cause problems.

I reformat all of my books, about 750 of them so far, with Book Designer, changing the font to Gill Sans, which I find readable for long periods. Knowing that at some point in the future the format is likely to change, I always save an HTML version, very often a cleaned up plain-text version, and sometimes an InDesign file, along with the LRF. These backup files can be used to generate new versions in a different format if I need something different in the future. When you work with any kind of digital media, it's important to remember that it's your responsibility to future-proof it and make sure it will be possible to convert it to newer formats as they come along. I've tested my system and can generate a new version of any book in my collection in less than 5 minutes. Obviously, it takes considerable effort up front, but the result is a collection that I'll be able to use for many years.

CarolB · 11-21-2009, 05:41 PM

What is "justification" and why is it something that matters on an e-reader? Can you use a pdf on a 6" Sony screen and have it look okay and write on it without doing something to it first? (I know less than nothing about all of this).

Avistew · 11-21-2009, 07:59 PM

Justification is the way the text looks. You know, centered, or to the left, or to the right... or "justified", which means it's made to be in a straight line both on the left and on the right.
As opposed to have it be all aligned on the left, but completely different on the right.

I have the hardest time reading anything that isn't justified, let alone an entire book. It's too bad because ePub seems like it would be pretty good otherwise.

Solitaire1 · 11-24-2009, 04:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Avistew

Justification is the way the text looks. You know, centered, or to the left, or to the right... or "justified", which means it's made to be in a straight line both on the left and on the right.
As opposed to have it be all aligned on the left, but completely different on the right.

I have the hardest time reading anything that isn't justified, let alone an entire book. It's too bad because ePub seems like it would be pretty good otherwise.

For me, it depends on many factors. For my own ebooks, I prefer the text to be ragged right. I find that easier to read with larger fonts that I prefer (I use 14 point Georgia as my main font).

For me, full justification is fine as long as the size of the text is not too large and the width of the column is not too thin. I don't recall many printed books with a base font size as large as 14 point (they are likely between 10 and 12 point). I do think it looks better when you use full justification if you indent the first line of each paragraph and don't double space between the paragraphs.

Full justification only becomes a problem for me when the text column is thin. For example, in some newspaper stories I've seen lines that consist of two words (one word flush left, one word flush right, and a large space between the words) because the next word is too large to fit on that line. Although it's minor, it sometimes interrupts my reading because it calls attention to itself.

xtine · 11-24-2009, 05:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by luvduchovny

I'm with Harry. EPub gives the documents (or at least on my reader) nice dark, sharp fonts that makes reading easier.

Is it just my reader or does ePub font seem a shade lighter than LRF? Gray-ish almost. Or could it be because LRF font size is a tad bigger than ePub, therefore darker?

HarryT · 11-24-2009, 06:22 AM

In both formats, the font size is specified by the book itself, so it will probably vary from book to book, if they come from different sources.

xtine · 11-24-2009, 07:10 AM

Harry, the original file format of the book is HTML, which I then converted to LRF & ePub, to compare. I've tried several other files as well, and LRF font comes out bigger (and darker) every time (although I prefer the size of the ePub font myself). If only all book fonts were as dark as the menu fonts.

ChristopherTD · 11-24-2009, 07:31 AM

I am puzzled by this as well. The status icons are rich dark black, but actual book text on my PRS600 seems very washed out. If it was blacker I think I would be happy with the device. Clearly the screen is capable of it - perhaps a firmware upgrade will improve matters?

kennyc · 11-24-2009, 07:38 AM

For my money Epub is the emerging standard and we will hopefully eventually get all the sellers providing it and contributing to improving it....

Best Format is going to depend on what you are trying to do with the books and what you mean by Best Format -- best for compatibility across devices, best display, maximum number of font sizes, images, etc. etc.

11-19-2009, 09:45 AM	#1
senjak Junior Member Posts: 5 Karma: 10 Join Date: Nov 2009 Device: Sony PRS-600	'best format'? Hello! Now that I've actually managed to pry my e-book out of Sony's grasp, I'm wondering what the 'best format' is to read on the PRS-600? I have lots of text, word and pdf files that I've generated over the years and Calibre for conversion. What would be the most useful format to have documents in? Thanks for any advice you can offer. Senjak

11-24-2009, 07:31 AM	#14
ChristopherTD Addict Posts: 343 Karma: 1010002 Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: London. UK Device: Marvin Reader on iPad Air (via Calibre)	I am puzzled by this as well. The status icons are rich dark black, but actual book text on my PRS600 seems very washed out. If it was blacker I think I would be happy with the device. Clearly the screen is capable of it - perhaps a firmware upgrade will improve matters? Last edited by ChristopherTD; 11-24-2009 at 07:39 AM.

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11-20-2009, 03:02 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	Go with ePub.

11-20-2009, 12:29 PM	#3
luvduchovny Zealot Posts: 145 Karma: 137186 Join Date: Mar 2009 Device: Sony Reader PRS-500, PRS-600, PRS-650, PRS-T1, PRS-T3	I'm with Harry. EPub gives the documents (or at least on my reader) nice dark, sharp fonts that makes reading easier.

11-20-2009, 01:12 PM	#4
Elfwreck Grand Sorcerer Posts: 5,187 Karma: 25133758 Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: SF Bay Area, California, USA Device: Pocketbook Touch HD3 (Past: Kobo Mini, PEZ, PRS-505, Clié)	If you love doc formatting, PDFs made for the 6" screen are best. (And if you only love doc formatting a little bit, making PDFs of your favorites is fun.) Otherwise, ePub is most readable. LRF is likely to become a legacy format soon, and it doesn't allow the options that ePub does. But if right-justification is crucial to you, LRF is best for now. RTF is "good" only in the sense that it's fast: I can copy the contents of a webpage into Word, raise the base font to 17pts, and throw it on the Reader in seconds; everything else takes considerably longer, which I don't always have time/energy for. But that's very much "I just want to read this; I don't really care what it looks like (but I need to keep the italics and author metadata)".

11-21-2009, 10:54 AM	#7
danegeld Enthusiast Posts: 27 Karma: 52 Join Date: Mar 2009 Device: Sony PRS-700	I tried several different formats, but eventually ended up with native LRF. I would prefer using ePub, but my PRS-700 (and I assume other Sony readers) doesn't support full justification in ePub files. I find ragged right margins annoying to read for any length of time. I also tried PDFs, but they don't work very well because they have to be formatted to an exact size and changing the type size on the reader messes up the formatting. A format that doesn't easily reflow is going to cause problems. I reformat all of my books, about 750 of them so far, with Book Designer, changing the font to Gill Sans, which I find readable for long periods. Knowing that at some point in the future the format is likely to change, I always save an HTML version, very often a cleaned up plain-text version, and sometimes an InDesign file, along with the LRF. These backup files can be used to generate new versions in a different format if I need something different in the future. When you work with any kind of digital media, it's important to remember that it's your responsibility to future-proof it and make sure it will be possible to convert it to newer formats as they come along. I've tested my system and can generate a new version of any book in my collection in less than 5 minutes. Obviously, it takes considerable effort up front, but the result is a collection that I'll be able to use for many years.

11-21-2009, 05:41 PM	#8
CarolB Connoisseur Posts: 78 Karma: 10 Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Canada Device: Sony 600	What is "justification" and why is it something that matters on an e-reader? Can you use a pdf on a 6" Sony screen and have it look okay and write on it without doing something to it first? (I know less than nothing about all of this).

11-21-2009, 07:59 PM	#9
Avistew Member Posts: 10 Karma: 10 Join Date: Nov 2009 Device: Sony Reader 505	Justification is the way the text looks. You know, centered, or to the left, or to the right... or "justified", which means it's made to be in a straight line both on the left and on the right. As opposed to have it be all aligned on the left, but completely different on the right. I have the hardest time reading anything that isn't justified, let alone an entire book. It's too bad because ePub seems like it would be pretty good otherwise.

11-24-2009, 06:22 AM	#12
HarryT eBook Enthusiast Posts: 85,544 Karma: 93383099 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: UK Device: Kindle Oasis 2, iPad Pro 10.5", iPhone 6	In both formats, the font size is specified by the book itself, so it will probably vary from book to book, if they come from different sources.

11-24-2009, 07:10 AM	#13
xtine Addict Posts: 355 Karma: 1432252 Join Date: Oct 2009 Device: Kobo Forma	Harry, the original file format of the book is HTML, which I then converted to LRF & ePub, to compare. I've tried several other files as well, and LRF font comes out bigger (and darker) every time (although I prefer the size of the ePub font myself). If only all book fonts were as dark as the menu fonts.

11-24-2009, 07:38 AM	#15
kennyc The Dank Side of the Moon Posts: 35,898 Karma: 119230421 Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Denver, CO Device: Kindle2; Kindle Fire	For my money Epub is the emerging standard and we will hopefully eventually get all the sellers providing it and contributing to improving it.... Best Format is going to depend on what you are trying to do with the books and what you mean by Best Format -- best for compatibility across devices, best display, maximum number of font sizes, images, etc. etc.