Clara HD Double-page spreads on purchased e-book

GianluC03 · 12-02-2020, 07:18 AM

Hi everyone, I just purchased Bakuman 1 from the kobo store and I didn't find an option to enable the double-page spread when necessary. I think it's definitely possible to do so because I used to create mangas with KCC and I could enable the double-page spread without a problem, the two pages were viewed as one horizontally. Is there any way I can do this on a purchased ebook? Using calibre or some other program7plugin to modify the file maybe?

davidfor · 12-02-2020, 06:22 PM

I have never heard mention of a double-page option for viewing purchased comics. It isn't something the viewer does, it is something that in how the book is created. From memory, KCC does this by generating pages in that format to be sent to the device. If the purchased book isn't like this, you would need to download the copy from the Kobo store and then convert it. As the Bakuman 1 I can see in the store is "EPUB 3 (Adobe DRM)", you need to download it using ADE, strip the DRM and then do the appropriate conversion. KCC might be able to do it, or you might need to convert to CBZ and then use KCC. And changing the extension of the DRM-free epub to CBZ might be enough for that to work.

Galunid · 12-03-2020, 04:05 AM

It should be doable in KOReader, although only if the comic isn't DRM protected (you could of course strip it).

GianluC03 · 12-04-2020, 02:33 AM

Thank you guys, I think I'll try both options and see what works better but... I know I sound stupid, but how do I strip the DRM? I already downloaded the file through ADE

davidfor · 12-04-2020, 03:48 AM

The simplest way is with calibre plus the DRM plugins that are available from https://apprenticealf.wordpress.com/.

GianluC03 · 12-04-2020, 05:24 AM

I've installed the plugin and added the book, but there isn't an option to convert from epub to cbz in calibre

davidfor · 12-04-2020, 06:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GianluC03

I've installed the plugin and added the book, but there isn't an option to convert from epub to cbz in calibre

That's why I suggested changing the extension to cbz. Calibre does not have a output conversion plugin for comic book formats, so you need to do it yourself. Alternatively, unpack the epub and zip up just the comic pages.

GianluC03 · 12-04-2020, 02:16 PM

Ok I converted the file into zip, then I took the images and used KCC to create a brand-new manga. Two problems with this, first one, the pages are all the "same", so the double spread option couldn't recognize the images that were meant to be visualized together. So i had to merge the two images, only then It automatically rotated the image but after all of this I realized that the quality of the images was much worse than the originals. In fact, the new file was like 20 mb and the original was 135 mb. I don't know if I'm missing something, but I don't think this will do, please correct me if I'm wrong. Meanwhile I've installed KOReader but had a lot of problem with this one, like the direction automatically became LTR even though it was working properly on the standard software so I think I'll have to open a new thread in the KOReader forum.

davidfor · 12-04-2020, 06:36 PM

Was there a calibre conversion in there? If so, make sure you use the Tablet output profile. Other output profiles will probably resize the images.

Otherwise, it is probably KCC. From memory, it is optimising the images for the device. You probably should do any changes to the image before running it. And make sure you have chosen the correct device for the output.

GianluC03 · 12-05-2020, 02:45 AM

Actually on Calibre I have an option like "e-reader" instead of "tablet". Also, the problem is the quality of the images itself, actually I like the fact that KCC kinda upscales the images when there are big white margins which are absolutely useless on e-reader in my opinion (it's not like they immerse you more in the comic), so is there a way to not get images with lower quality with the same options?

davidfor · 12-05-2020, 03:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GianluC03

Actually on Calibre I have an option like "e-reader" instead of "tablet".

As I said, use the tablet profile. The only purpose of the profile is to set the maximum size of the images. Anything larger than the maximum defined for the profile will be downscaled. For the tablet profile, this will not happen.

GianluC03 · 12-05-2020, 05:27 AM

Ok I did as you said and now the quality itself of the images is good, the only thing I noticed is that they are a bit different than the originals, the original manga is more like bright than the hand-made one, I wonder if it has something to do with gamma correction, any suggestion? Also, another really strange problem which has never happened to me, is that the images in the hand-made one are not full screen sized because of the line "bakuman 1" which appears constantly both over and under every page, and it causes these to reduce their size. Maybe I messed up some settings without realizing it? Sorry for the trouble

GianluC03 · 12-05-2020, 05:36 AM

Actually now that I think about it, I'm doing some comparison between a Manga volume that I have physically and his digital version, and I notice the digital to be much more bright, it's like you can't really feel the ink, the manga result a bit "more black" so maybe the fact that the pages are less bright now it's not completely a problem?

davidfor · 12-05-2020, 05:56 AM

I have no idea about the difference to the images. If you have selected the tablet profile, the conversion shouldn't change the images. KCC is resizing the images, so that might be doing it.

It would also depend on the format that is on the device and you you download. The copy of Backuman 1 I found in the Kobo store said it was ePub 3. This should download to the device as kepub. But, the version you downloaded was probably the epub version. These may or may not be the same. You can get a copy of the epub using the Kobo desktop application and then the Obok plugin to remove the DRM. The kepub and epub may be different versions depending on when they were uploaded to Kobo.

The image displayed also depends on whether you are putting the book on the device as an epub or a kepub. They use different renders and how they display images is different. I've never bothered comparing them as I rarely look at images other than the cover on the devices.

For "bakuman 1" appearing at the top and bottom of the screen. That sounds like the header and footer. These can be turned off in the reading settings. With them turned on, it does change the size of the viewport, so the images are probably being resized as they are being displayed. But, if these were not displayed before, what format were you actually using? There is one set of options for these for that controls their display from epub, kepub and some other formats. But, the header and footer are never displayed for the comic formats or PDF.

Anyway, you are way past my knowledge for comic reading on these devices. I rarely read comics and most of my experience is just testing to see what happens. I've never really paid attention to the quality of the actual image. Most of my testing of this has been with a random set of images, rather than actual comic pages. The few times I have actually read a comic on one of my ereaders, I found that using CBZ or CBR was more than adequate.

GianluC03 · 12-05-2020, 07:29 AM

Ok so, the header and the footer settings were on, so I disabled them and it worked right away. I opened the original images from my pc, and tried to compare the them to the original manga on kobo and the hand-made one on kobo. It's kinda hard to tell, because of course pc and kobo have different colors, but it seemed to me that the original images were more like the original manga, so as you said probably the problem is KCC, because by the way I've also converted the hand-made one to kepub 'cause it' s smoother on the kobo. Well, I understand that you don't know enough about comics to help from now on, but thank you so much for helping until now.

12-02-2020, 07:18 AM	#1
GianluC03 Member Posts: 15 Karma: 10 Join Date: Apr 2020 Device: Kobo Clara HD	Double-page spreads on purchased e-book Hi everyone, I just purchased Bakuman 1 from the kobo store and I didn't find an option to enable the double-page spread when necessary. I think it's definitely possible to do so because I used to create mangas with KCC and I could enable the double-page spread without a problem, the two pages were viewed as one horizontally. Is there any way I can do this on a purchased ebook? Using calibre or some other program7plugin to modify the file maybe?

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12-02-2020, 06:22 PM	#2
davidfor Grand Sorcerer Posts: 24,907 Karma: 47303748 Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Sydney, Australia Device: Kobo:Touch,Glo, AuraH2O, GloHD,AuraONE, ClaraHD, Libra H2O; tolinoepos	I have never heard mention of a double-page option for viewing purchased comics. It isn't something the viewer does, it is something that in how the book is created. From memory, KCC does this by generating pages in that format to be sent to the device. If the purchased book isn't like this, you would need to download the copy from the Kobo store and then convert it. As the Bakuman 1 I can see in the store is "EPUB 3 (Adobe DRM)", you need to download it using ADE, strip the DRM and then do the appropriate conversion. KCC might be able to do it, or you might need to convert to CBZ and then use KCC. And changing the extension of the DRM-free epub to CBZ might be enough for that to work.

12-03-2020, 04:05 AM	#3
Galunid Zealot Posts: 122 Karma: 43580 Join Date: Apr 2016 Device: KPW3, Kobo Clara HD, Onyx Boox Nova 2	It should be doable in KOReader, although only if the comic isn't DRM protected (you could of course strip it).

12-04-2020, 02:33 AM	#4
GianluC03 Member Posts: 15 Karma: 10 Join Date: Apr 2020 Device: Kobo Clara HD	Thank you guys, I think I'll try both options and see what works better but... I know I sound stupid, but how do I strip the DRM? I already downloaded the file through ADE

12-04-2020, 03:48 AM	#5
davidfor Grand Sorcerer Posts: 24,907 Karma: 47303748 Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Sydney, Australia Device: Kobo:Touch,Glo, AuraH2O, GloHD,AuraONE, ClaraHD, Libra H2O; tolinoepos	The simplest way is with calibre plus the DRM plugins that are available from https://apprenticealf.wordpress.com/.

12-04-2020, 05:24 AM	#6
GianluC03 Member Posts: 15 Karma: 10 Join Date: Apr 2020 Device: Kobo Clara HD	I've installed the plugin and added the book, but there isn't an option to convert from epub to cbz in calibre

12-04-2020, 02:16 PM	#8
GianluC03 Member Posts: 15 Karma: 10 Join Date: Apr 2020 Device: Kobo Clara HD	Ok I converted the file into zip, then I took the images and used KCC to create a brand-new manga. Two problems with this, first one, the pages are all the "same", so the double spread option couldn't recognize the images that were meant to be visualized together. So i had to merge the two images, only then It automatically rotated the image but after all of this I realized that the quality of the images was much worse than the originals. In fact, the new file was like 20 mb and the original was 135 mb. I don't know if I'm missing something, but I don't think this will do, please correct me if I'm wrong. Meanwhile I've installed KOReader but had a lot of problem with this one, like the direction automatically became LTR even though it was working properly on the standard software so I think I'll have to open a new thread in the KOReader forum.

12-04-2020, 06:36 PM	#9
davidfor Grand Sorcerer Posts: 24,907 Karma: 47303748 Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Sydney, Australia Device: Kobo:Touch,Glo, AuraH2O, GloHD,AuraONE, ClaraHD, Libra H2O; tolinoepos	Was there a calibre conversion in there? If so, make sure you use the Tablet output profile. Other output profiles will probably resize the images. Otherwise, it is probably KCC. From memory, it is optimising the images for the device. You probably should do any changes to the image before running it. And make sure you have chosen the correct device for the output.

12-05-2020, 02:45 AM	#10
GianluC03 Member Posts: 15 Karma: 10 Join Date: Apr 2020 Device: Kobo Clara HD	Actually on Calibre I have an option like "e-reader" instead of "tablet". Also, the problem is the quality of the images itself, actually I like the fact that KCC kinda upscales the images when there are big white margins which are absolutely useless on e-reader in my opinion (it's not like they immerse you more in the comic), so is there a way to not get images with lower quality with the same options?

12-05-2020, 05:27 AM	#12
GianluC03 Member Posts: 15 Karma: 10 Join Date: Apr 2020 Device: Kobo Clara HD	Ok I did as you said and now the quality itself of the images is good, the only thing I noticed is that they are a bit different than the originals, the original manga is more like bright than the hand-made one, I wonder if it has something to do with gamma correction, any suggestion? Also, another really strange problem which has never happened to me, is that the images in the hand-made one are not full screen sized because of the line "bakuman 1" which appears constantly both over and under every page, and it causes these to reduce their size. Maybe I messed up some settings without realizing it? Sorry for the trouble

12-05-2020, 05:36 AM	#13
GianluC03 Member Posts: 15 Karma: 10 Join Date: Apr 2020 Device: Kobo Clara HD	Actually now that I think about it, I'm doing some comparison between a Manga volume that I have physically and his digital version, and I notice the digital to be much more bright, it's like you can't really feel the ink, the manga result a bit "more black" so maybe the fact that the pages are less bright now it's not completely a problem?

12-05-2020, 05:56 AM	#14
davidfor Grand Sorcerer Posts: 24,907 Karma: 47303748 Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Sydney, Australia Device: Kobo:Touch,Glo, AuraH2O, GloHD,AuraONE, ClaraHD, Libra H2O; tolinoepos	I have no idea about the difference to the images. If you have selected the tablet profile, the conversion shouldn't change the images. KCC is resizing the images, so that might be doing it. It would also depend on the format that is on the device and you you download. The copy of Backuman 1 I found in the Kobo store said it was ePub 3. This should download to the device as kepub. But, the version you downloaded was probably the epub version. These may or may not be the same. You can get a copy of the epub using the Kobo desktop application and then the Obok plugin to remove the DRM. The kepub and epub may be different versions depending on when they were uploaded to Kobo. The image displayed also depends on whether you are putting the book on the device as an epub or a kepub. They use different renders and how they display images is different. I've never bothered comparing them as I rarely look at images other than the cover on the devices. For "bakuman 1" appearing at the top and bottom of the screen. That sounds like the header and footer. These can be turned off in the reading settings. With them turned on, it does change the size of the viewport, so the images are probably being resized as they are being displayed. But, if these were not displayed before, what format were you actually using? There is one set of options for these for that controls their display from epub, kepub and some other formats. But, the header and footer are never displayed for the comic formats or PDF. Anyway, you are way past my knowledge for comic reading on these devices. I rarely read comics and most of my experience is just testing to see what happens. I've never really paid attention to the quality of the actual image. Most of my testing of this has been with a random set of images, rather than actual comic pages. The few times I have actually read a comic on one of my ereaders, I found that using CBZ or CBR was more than adequate.

12-05-2020, 07:29 AM	#15
GianluC03 Member Posts: 15 Karma: 10 Join Date: Apr 2020 Device: Kobo Clara HD	Ok so, the header and the footer settings were on, so I disabled them and it worked right away. I opened the original images from my pc, and tried to compare the them to the original manga on kobo and the hand-made one on kobo. It's kinda hard to tell, because of course pc and kobo have different colors, but it seemed to me that the original images were more like the original manga, so as you said probably the problem is KCC, because by the way I've also converted the hand-made one to kepub 'cause it' s smoother on the kobo. Well, I understand that you don't know enough about comics to help from now on, but thank you so much for helping until now.