new prs-300: first impressions using RTF

garbanzo · 03-17-2010, 04:54 AM

first impressions: i'm impressed!

got my new reader a few days ago on a trip to the US. been playing with different formats (epub, LRF), and so far, i like RTF the best.

RTF is slow on first read. the reader just sits and spins for up to a minute while formatting the book. same happens with font size changes. but after the book has been formatted once in each font size, the reader seems to remember what to do, and the book is fast to reload.

i formatted the RTF i'm currently reading in Word, but copy/pasted into WordPad and saved from there to keep the filesize smaller (526kb vs 883kb). i put page breaks before each chapter, and used a large blue font for chapter headings. page breaks show up perfectly on the reader, and the chapter headings are a nice shade of gray. bold and italic all work very well. had zero formatting issues with quotes, dashes, and other characters, which i was very happy about.

RTF font is 11pt Calibri, but shows up as serif on the reader. 11pt is a bit small - i have to set it to Large to read it. might do some experimenting with font size to keep from having to switch sizes when loading a book for the first time.

so far, aside from the slow initial loading time, i don't see any problems with RTF. i don't care about images or TOC - i only intend to read novels, and i read one at a time from start to finish. RTF files are easy to format and can be viewed/edited on just about any computer.

will post more as i experiment more...

jamadams · 03-17-2010, 05:17 AM

Glad you are enjoying it!

banjobama · 03-17-2010, 12:00 PM

I like RTF on my 600 too. You are right about it loading slow at first, but once it's done, it's done. Good trick of saving with WordPad instead of Word. I have never heard of that.

garbanzo · 03-18-2010, 08:13 AM

tried some more LRF. many of the ones posted here work nicely, but some of the books i've found elsewhere don't look as good. overall, i'm still more pleased with the quality of RTF on the Reader.

i've discovered that Cambria forces the reader to use a serif font, while Calibri makes it use sans serif. 14pt works nicely for me.

also, full justifying text in an RTF makes it full justified on the Reader! the text fills the whole screen, so no messing with margins or worrying about wasted space.

it will take a while to convert and format my library, but i don't read but a couple of books a week, so i have time

tnronin · 03-18-2010, 02:40 PM

Thanks for the pointers in the RTF format. I hadn't thought of doing books in that format.

03-17-2010, 04:54 AM	#1
garbanzo bean Posts: 82 Karma: 338 Join Date: Feb 2010 Device: Boox Nova 2	new prs-300: first impressions using RTF first impressions: i'm impressed! got my new reader a few days ago on a trip to the US. been playing with different formats (epub, LRF), and so far, i like RTF the best. RTF is slow on first read. the reader just sits and spins for up to a minute while formatting the book. same happens with font size changes. but after the book has been formatted once in each font size, the reader seems to remember what to do, and the book is fast to reload. i formatted the RTF i'm currently reading in Word, but copy/pasted into WordPad and saved from there to keep the filesize smaller (526kb vs 883kb). i put page breaks before each chapter, and used a large blue font for chapter headings. page breaks show up perfectly on the reader, and the chapter headings are a nice shade of gray. bold and italic all work very well. had zero formatting issues with quotes, dashes, and other characters, which i was very happy about. RTF font is 11pt Calibri, but shows up as serif on the reader. 11pt is a bit small - i have to set it to Large to read it. might do some experimenting with font size to keep from having to switch sizes when loading a book for the first time. so far, aside from the slow initial loading time, i don't see any problems with RTF. i don't care about images or TOC - i only intend to read novels, and i read one at a time from start to finish. RTF files are easy to format and can be viewed/edited on just about any computer. will post more as i experiment more...

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
My thoughts, PRS-300, PRS-600, PRS-505, PRS-700, Kindle 2	zacheryjensen	Sony Reader	78	12-05-2010 07:33 PM
PRS-300 for 2600 Airmiles (Canada) - first impressions	dcalder	Sony Reader	2	11-05-2009 08:57 AM
In-Store impressions of 300 and 600	gravescp	Sony Reader	4	09-06-2009 10:48 PM
PRS-300 First Impressions (and pics)	Mholtmeier	Sony Reader	1	09-05-2009 08:16 PM
Canadian perspective of the recent Sony ebook readers - PRS-300/PRS-600/PRS-2121	nrapallo	News	1	08-29-2009 10:38 AM

03-17-2010, 05:17 AM	#2
jamadams Connoisseur Posts: 59 Karma: 712900 Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Hull, UK Device: Kindle PW, Kindle Keyboard, Kobo Touch, Sony PRS-505, 600 & Librié	Glad you are enjoying it!

03-17-2010, 12:00 PM	#3
banjobama Busy Read'n Posts: 980 Karma: 5039283 Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Auburn, WA Device: Pocketbook Touch Lux 5	I like RTF on my 600 too. You are right about it loading slow at first, but once it's done, it's done. Good trick of saving with WordPad instead of Word. I have never heard of that.

03-18-2010, 08:13 AM	#4
garbanzo bean Posts: 82 Karma: 338 Join Date: Feb 2010 Device: Boox Nova 2	tried some more LRF. many of the ones posted here work nicely, but some of the books i've found elsewhere don't look as good. overall, i'm still more pleased with the quality of RTF on the Reader. i've discovered that Cambria forces the reader to use a serif font, while Calibri makes it use sans serif. 14pt works nicely for me. also, full justifying text in an RTF makes it full justified on the Reader! the text fills the whole screen, so no messing with margins or worrying about wasted space. it will take a while to convert and format my library, but i don't read but a couple of books a week, so i have time

03-18-2010, 02:40 PM	#5
tnronin Zealot Posts: 118 Karma: 210 Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Mid-Tennessee Device: PRS-300	Thanks for the pointers in the RTF format. I hadn't thought of doing books in that format.

Advert

Advert