Best document format for reading with smallest file size.

[j.p.s]

Originally Posted by gmw

You converted from djvu to PDF - the resulting blow out in size may suggest either a poor tool or bad choice of options. It may have generated images of the pages. Another thing that can really blow out PDF size is choosing Print optimisation options - for on-screen viewing you don't need that, even for printing it can be of dubious value. Conversion is something you have to play with until you get the compromises that best suit your purpose. ... And even so, conversion to PDF would not be my first choice for on-screen reading.

One of the design goals of djvu is efficient compression of scanned images of text, so it would be expected that a conversion from djvu to pdf would be larger.

[dwig]

Originally Posted by j.p.s

One of the design goals of djvu is efficient compression of scanned images of text, so it would be expected that a conversion from djvu to pdf would be larger.

Correct.

You won't find a more efficient compressed format than DJVU when dealing with conversions containing scanned "text", whether there is an additional OCR real text layer or not. In fact, almost nothing will even come close to DJVU's compact file size.

The only way to get anything as small or smaller than the DJVU version would be to OCR the text and delete all images, leaving only the text. This is very difficult to do accurately and requires human oversight and manual editing to do well.

[gmw]

Originally Posted by j.p.s

One of the design goals of djvu is efficient compression of scanned images of text, so it would be expected that a conversion from djvu to pdf would be larger.

Perhaps, but the result still depends on the source material and how the PDF was generated. It's very easy to generate huge PDFs by accident when just a tweak here or there might easily cut it by 90%. I've had it happen.

[sjfan]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

DVI is Digital Visual Interface. It's the precursor to HDMI.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_Visual_Interface

It is, as well as being the Digital Video Interactive file format and the District Court of the Virgin Islands.

But the device independent file format is what we were discussing:

The device independent file format (DVI) is the output file format of the TeX typesetting program, designed by David R. Fuchs and implemented by Donald E. Knuth in 1982. Unlike the TeX markup files used to generate them, DVI files are not intended to be human-readable; they consist of binary data describing the visual layout of a document in a manner not reliant on any specific image format, display hardware or printer. DVI files are typically used as input to a second program (called a DVI driver) which translates DVI files to graphical data.

The WEB source (WEB as in the literate programming system, not the World Wide Web or any other meaning of web) serves as the DVI format specification as well.

[leebase]

Originally Posted by Cinisajoy

Can I clarify? You do mean free full time, not on sale free at Amazon. I have seen that error before. The person thought because they got it free on Amazon it was always free.
Yes: there are always free at Amazon. Quick way to tell the difference, if it is in KU, it is on sale. If it isn't, it was price matched free from usually Kobo.

If I have legally acquired the first copy....then it's "my book" (even though it's not really as you get a license for a book, not the actual book, these days).

This is just my own ethic that I'm not suggesting is "the right one". I only put it forth in the "how do I convert xzy to abc". If I have a legally obtained version (paper book or ebook)....then I don't bother with converting.

[Cinisajoy]

Originally Posted by leebase

If I have legally acquired the first copy....then it's "my book" (even though it's not really as you get a license for a book, not the actual book, these days).

This is just my own ethic that I'm not suggesting is "the right one". I only put it forth in the "how do I convert xzy to abc". If I have a legally obtained version (paper book or ebook)....then I don't bother with converting.

I misread your post and I am sorry.
Though I have had people think because they got it free on Amazon they could share it because they didn't pay for it, not realizing it was just on sale.
Not that you are sharing but I did want to make sure you and everyone else knew free didn't mean always free.

[leebase]

Originally Posted by Cinisajoy

I misread your post and I am sorry.
Though I have had people think because they got it free on Amazon they could share it because they didn't pay for it, not realizing it was just on sale.
Not that you are sharing but I did want to make sure you and everyone else knew free didn't mean always free.

It's a good distinction. I don't share digital books.