Preferred Font Size in eBooks

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by ahi

Do you mean, "*not* worth", Harry? Either way, I think we are pretty much on the same page, even if our tastes differ on certain points.

No, I meant that I am willing to pay the price of sacrificing "perfect" typography in return for the ability to select myself which font, and at what font size, to read a book in.

[ahi]

Originally Posted by HarryT

No, I meant that I am willing to pay the price of sacrificing "perfect" typography in return for the ability to select myself which font, and at what font size, to read a book in.

That's what I meant to say--I phrased my question badly.

Since font face and font size are themselves fairly significant aspects of typography, can I ask what your personal preferences are in that arena?

What font do you prefer for reading and why? And do you generally prefer larger font sizes than standard, or smaller? Or does it perhaps depend on the situation.

[=X=]

Originally Posted by ahi

What is your preferred font size?

If a publisher releases eBooks as PDF files (that use the proper 4.9"x6.9" paper size), what font sizes should those files use? (My assumption being that multiple files should be made available to provide the eBook in multiple font sizes.)

Hi Ahi,
I personally like 8/9pt fonts. I think 10 is on the larger side but tolerable. 12 pts forget it I feel like I'm reading a large print book or a children's book.

I don't mind PDF, I even go so far as to say PDF looks much better than all the other formats. I like it the the best so long as it's tailored to my preference. FeedBook is an excellent example of how it generates a PDF based on a users profile. I can set the margin, font, and font size.

What you are going to see here is that folks have different size screens, different resolution, and on top of that different preferences. Unless you generate the PDF on the fly I don't think you will satisfy most clients.


Which really is what most people are voicing their discontent for PDF. They want control on the layout which is allowed by the other formats save PDF.

=X=

[Bannson]

Originally Posted by ahi

Bannson, that looks less than delightful, but nowhere as horrible as I expected after a PDF conversion. What format does Kindle natively support, other than its own? Or can non-Kindle owners easily (i.e.: without payment or excessive registration) convert from Mobipocket into the Kindle's own format?

you should see what free culture looks like, its even worse. some how the page numbers were carried over in the conversion.

the kindle natively supports .TXT, .AZW (thats amazons format), .MOBI and .PRC. you can get files converted to all of these converted for free if you want but if you use amazons conversion service you get .AZW

[gwynevans]

Originally Posted by =X=

What you are going to see here is that folks have different size screens, different resolution, and on top of that different preferences. Unless you generate the PDF on the fly I don't think you will satisfy most clients.

I'd have to disagree - while it does take a number of different files, I think ahi's covered most of the bases with his files here...

Originally Posted by =X=

Which really is what most people are voicing their discontent for PDF. They want control on the layout which is allowed by the other formats save PDF.

I wonder... Personally, I don't like trying to read A4/Letter PDFs on my Reader, but I've got no problem at all with ones that are targeted at it's screen size with a 'normal' size font. As you point out, there's no control of the layout, but I do wonder if we're into an 80/20 situation here, where it's good enough for most users...

[ahi]

Auto-generated PDFs no longer have the chief advantage of PDFs: a discerning human eye/mind guiding them to typographic excellence. At that point, it may as well be an ePub.

But like gwynevans says, I think I covered the bases pretty well. Possibly a 5 inch version might be useful... but, frankly, at that screen size typography with 10pt font becomes difficult and is probably next to impossible with 12pt font. I might try it, but going with ePub might be best for those devices. (By my personal reckoning primarily because they are fundamentally ill suited for book reading due to their overly diminutive size.)

[=X=]

Originally Posted by gwynevans

I'd have to disagree - while it does take a number of different files, I think ahi's covered most of the bases with his files here...

Sure I guess I should have said 'all' instead of 'most'. After seeing this poll I realized I'm one of the outliers. I can tolerate Ahi's PDF books but I really don't care much for the fontsize and margin. I just gotten use to being able to control the font size/margins with FeedBook's PDF, MobiPocket and Calibre. Where I can reduce my fonts and remove margins.

Originally Posted by gwynevans

I wonder... Personally, I don't like trying to read A4/Letter PDFs on my Reader, but I've got no problem at all with ones that are targeted at it's screen size with a 'normal' size font. As you point out, there's no control of the layout, but I do wonder if we're into an 80/20 situation here, where it's good enough for most users...

I actually prefer PDF (target for the SONY) over any other format. I have a book I converted from LIT to PDF (Rule #1) and the PDF looks fantastic compared to the LIT.

The question is what is 'normal' I think Ahi is trying to find that definition by the nature of this poll. And based on this poll I fall in the 20% which means most people perfer 12pts and that is HUGE I would be very frustrated with that size I'd get thumb cramps turning the page so much .

=X=

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by ahi

That's what I meant to say--I phrased my question badly.

Since font face and font size are themselves fairly significant aspects of typography, can I ask what your personal preferences are in that arena?

What font do you prefer for reading and why? And do you generally prefer larger font sizes than standard, or smaller? Or does it perhaps depend on the situation.

Yes, it varies with the situation, and I regard that as a major benefit of an eBook over a paper book. In poor light, or if I'm tired, I can switch to a larger font size to make it easier on the eyes or, on the other hand, if I'm reading poetry, I can use a smaller font size to avoid line wrapping. I generally read using the "Georgia" font, which is a Microsoft serif font specifically designed to look good on low-resolution devices.

[Hajo]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

If you do want to have PDF, please do so for the 6" screen size. That would mean the PDF would be usable on the 6" screen sized eink devices.

Considering that there are a few comparably cheap 5"-devices coming to market soon, i personally would shun the effort, although I am interested in good typography and consider most margins as too narrow.

Hajo

[Sweetpea]

Originally Posted by ahi

This makes me think that the best solution would be if multiple PDF files (one for each font size) could be encased in a single one, letting the reader choose which they want to view.

That would be a highly inconvenient way of doing things.

Let's take HarryT's remark:

In poor light, or if I'm tired, I can switch to a larger font size to make it easier on the eyes or, on the other hand, if I'm reading poetry, I can use a smaller font size to avoid line wrapping.

You're getting tired, now you must first download the PDF with the larger font size, go to the page you were reading (which won't be the same page you left off as the font-size changed, thus the page numbering!) and when you want to read again the next day (when you're not tired) you'll have to find your location again in the first document.

Personally, I won't buy PDF files that contain novels.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by Hajo

Considering that there are a few comparably cheap 5"-devices coming to market soon, i personally would shun the effort, although I am interested in good typography and consider most margins as too narrow.

Hajo

I believe that the forthcoming 5" screens have the same pixel resolution (800x600) as the existing 6" screens, so any PDF document formatted for the current 6" screens would display equally well on a 5" device.

[Hajo]

Originally Posted by HarryT

I believe that the forthcoming 5" screens have the same pixel resolution (800x600) as the existing 6" screens, so any PDF document formatted for the current 6" screens would display equally well on a 5" device.

Equally well for sure, but smaller nontheless.

[ahi]

Originally Posted by Sweetpea

That would be a highly inconvenient way of doing things.

Let's take HarryT's remark:

You're getting tired, now you must first download the PDF with the larger font size, go to the page you were reading (which won't be the same page you left off as the font-size changed, thus the page numbering!) and when you want to read again the next day (when you're not tired) you'll have to find your location again in the first document.

Personally, I won't buy PDF files that contain novels.

The horse is starting to decay, and so I shall stop beating it. I see text resizing as no more fundamental to properly designed eBooks than scene reordering to properly made movies.

PDFs are the only way to have complex (or, for that matter, even simple) content typeset correctly and displayed the same way. I don't mean to suggest that people should be forced to use PDFs though when there are alternatives.

If somebody has a legitimate font resizing need, let them pursue ways to accommodate it. They will, however, be using a $200 - $300 devices to read books that are objectively speaking (albeit perhaps not subjectively?) of poorer quality than the $5 - $50 paperback edition their neighbour owns.

Sensibly enough, if they have a genuine need for font resizing--but less great a trade-off, if they simply cling to font resizing out habit because early eBook offerings were/are so poor that they can only be made readable by the use thereof.

- Ahi


DAMN! This poor horse.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by ahi

Sensibly enough, if they have a genuine need for font resizing--but less great a trade-off, if they simply cling to font resizing out habit because early eBook offerings were/are so poor that they can only be made readable by the use thereof.

I take the opposite viewpoint: why cling to the outmoded idea of a fixed-layout page simply because that is what paper books have? Electronic devices offer the potential for reflowable content, user selection of text size, margins, etc, which paper books cannot, all of which goes to enhance the reading experience.

[Hajo]

To typeset complex or even simple content correctly, you have to know the page size and aspect ratio.