How to get cover to fill screen?

seagull · 03-07-2011, 02:27 PM

Hello,
When I add a cover to a book through Calibre it never seems to fit the screen on my Kindle. I understand that the Kindle resizes images over 600x800 but even when my image is exactly 600x800 it seems to have a border of maybe about 1/2" down the sides (but not top and bottom). I have downloaded a book through Amazon that had a cover that filled the screen but it was 1200x1600! How do I get a cover image to fill the screen?

foghat · 03-07-2011, 02:57 PM

I use irfanview to re-size whatever cover I download to 600x800 and it fills the screen.

Often when you re-size an image, the program will maintain the original aspect ratio, so it can be difficult to get an exact 600x800 image. With irfanview, you have the option to ignore the original aspect ratio. Using this sometimes makes the image look a little 'off', but it is never really that noticeable.

As an aside, I use the cover image for the book I am currently reading as my kindle screen saver. It always fills the screen.

JSWolf · 03-07-2011, 02:59 PM

Why would you want the cover to look stretched just to fill the screen? That can possibly look odd in a lot of cases.

foghat · 03-07-2011, 03:38 PM

^ Nope, not in my experience. usually the native resolution is pretty close to 600x800. Most cases, I bet you couldn't even tell that the dimensions have changed - unless maybe you really studied it.

seagull · 03-08-2011, 05:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Why would you want the cover to look stretched just to fill the screen? That can possibly look odd in a lot of cases.

I wouldn't stretch a small image but rather scale a large image.

FF2 · 03-08-2011, 11:10 AM

To create screensavers from my photos, I approximated the 600x800 rectangle for cropping, also using irfanview, and then resized. In most cases the shrink/stretch was minimal and not very apparent.

DiapDealer · 03-08-2011, 11:22 AM

In the Calibre mobi output preferences, make sure you do not have the option checked to "Rescale images for Palm devices" when converting.

If it's just a plain old gif/jpg/png image used as cover art, then the 600x800 image should fill the whole screen. If it's an inline image that's included in an html page, the image would need to be a bit smaller. I believe I've seen 520x622 listed as the largest inline image size?

dwig · 03-08-2011, 11:31 AM

I do my resizing and editing in Photoshop (I currently use CS4) and have had no problems with 600x800 images not filling the display on my K3.

You need to be certain that the tool you use for resizing scales both dimensions or does a "crop to fit". Many only scale the image "to fit" a particular size. They create the largest image that fits without altering the aspect ratio and without cropping. If the original image is not 3:4 ratio then such tools will create resized images that are either 600 x (something less than 800) or (something less than 600) x 800, whichever is necessary to keep both dimensions less than or equal to the "to fit" size.

foghat · 03-08-2011, 11:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by seagull

I wouldn't stretch a small image but rather scale a large image.

Ideally. For most to the covers I have searched for, I find it difficult to find images larger than ~600x~800. Of course I am lazy and just do a google image search.

Honestly, it is not really an issue, as the kindle screen doesn't display images all that well, relatively speaking, so you don't really notice the lost detail that comes with blowing up an image.

seagull · 03-08-2011, 03:27 PM

Figured it out thanks!

It was rather silly in retrospect, the resized image was correct but because I forgot to do a MOBI to MOBI conversion in Calibre the resized image wasn't being displayed at all.

seagull · 03-08-2011, 03:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by foghat

Ideally. For most to the covers I have searched for, I find it difficult to find images larger than ~600x~800. Of course I am lazy and just do a google image search.

Honestly, it is not really an issue, as the kindle screen doesn't display images all that well, relatively speaking, so you don't really notice the lost detail that comes with blowing up an image.

I find some nice covers here (right click, view image and edit the width in the url), here and here

EDIT: And also here, the Australian sites seem to have high-res covers for some reason

JSWolf · 03-15-2011, 12:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by foghat

^ Nope, not in my experience. usually the native resolution is pretty close to 600x800. Most cases, I bet you couldn't even tell that the dimensions have changed - unless maybe you really studied it.

In some cases, it's not noticeable and others it is. So it's just easier to get a cover that's at the correct aspect ratio. Because for the ones that is noticeable, it is annoying. Plus, if I look at the ePub with ADE on my computer, I do see the stretching of the image and it is too wide and very noticeable all the time. So overall, it is noticeable as I view on my computer before I move to my Reader.

03-07-2011, 02:27 PM	#1
seagull Addict Posts: 247 Karma: 89950 Join Date: Dec 2009 Device: Amazon Kindle 2	How to get cover to fill screen? Hello, When I add a cover to a book through Calibre it never seems to fit the screen on my Kindle. I understand that the Kindle resizes images over 600x800 but even when my image is exactly 600x800 it seems to have a border of maybe about 1/2" down the sides (but not top and bottom). I have downloaded a book through Amazon that had a cover that filled the screen but it was 1200x1600! How do I get a cover image to fill the screen?

03-07-2011, 02:57 PM	#2
foghat Evangelist Posts: 464 Karma: 1006520 Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Alberta, Canada Device: Kindle PW3	I use irfanview to re-size whatever cover I download to 600x800 and it fills the screen. Often when you re-size an image, the program will maintain the original aspect ratio, so it can be difficult to get an exact 600x800 image. With irfanview, you have the option to ignore the original aspect ratio. Using this sometimes makes the image look a little 'off', but it is never really that noticeable. As an aside, I use the cover image for the book I am currently reading as my kindle screen saver. It always fills the screen. Last edited by foghat; 03-07-2011 at 02:59 PM.

03-08-2011, 11:10 AM	#6
FF2 Wizard Posts: 1,105 Karma: 1025784 Join Date: Oct 2010 Device: WiFi Kindle3	To create screensavers from my photos, I approximated the 600x800 rectangle for cropping, also using irfanview, and then resized. In most cases the shrink/stretch was minimal and not very apparent. Attached Thumbnails

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03-07-2011, 02:59 PM	#3
JSWolf Resident Curmudgeon Posts: 73,866 Karma: 128597114 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Roslindale, Massachusetts Device: Kobo Libra 2, Kobo Aura H2O, PRS-650, PRS-T1, nook STR, PW3	Why would you want the cover to look stretched just to fill the screen? That can possibly look odd in a lot of cases.

03-07-2011, 03:38 PM	#4
foghat Evangelist Posts: 464 Karma: 1006520 Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Alberta, Canada Device: Kindle PW3	^ Nope, not in my experience. usually the native resolution is pretty close to 600x800. Most cases, I bet you couldn't even tell that the dimensions have changed - unless maybe you really studied it.

03-08-2011, 11:22 AM	#7
DiapDealer Grand Sorcerer Posts: 27,545 Karma: 193191846 Join Date: Jan 2010 Device: Nexus 7, Kindle Fire HD	In the Calibre mobi output preferences, make sure you do not have the option checked to "Rescale images for Palm devices" when converting. If it's just a plain old gif/jpg/png image used as cover art, then the 600x800 image should fill the whole screen. If it's an inline image that's included in an html page, the image would need to be a bit smaller. I believe I've seen 520x622 listed as the largest inline image size?

03-08-2011, 11:31 AM	#8
dwig Wizard Posts: 1,613 Karma: 6718479 Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Paradise (Key West, FL) Device: Current:Surface Go & Kindle 3 - Retired: DellV8p, Clie UX50, ...	I do my resizing and editing in Photoshop (I currently use CS4) and have had no problems with 600x800 images not filling the display on my K3. You need to be certain that the tool you use for resizing scales both dimensions or does a "crop to fit". Many only scale the image "to fit" a particular size. They create the largest image that fits without altering the aspect ratio and without cropping. If the original image is not 3:4 ratio then such tools will create resized images that are either 600 x (something less than 800) or (something less than 600) x 800, whichever is necessary to keep both dimensions less than or equal to the "to fit" size.

03-08-2011, 03:27 PM	#10
seagull Addict Posts: 247 Karma: 89950 Join Date: Dec 2009 Device: Amazon Kindle 2	Figured it out thanks! It was rather silly in retrospect, the resized image was correct but because I forgot to do a MOBI to MOBI conversion in Calibre the resized image wasn't being displayed at all.