Google Play Books size limit

[Kumabjorn]

Since there is no section for Google Play Books I figured this is the closest place since GPB uses the e-pub format. If a better section is available, moderators should feel free to move this thread.

GPB has a maximum upload limit of 100 MB, a very reasonable limit in my mind. However, Walter Isaacson's latest tome on Leonardo da Vinci weighs in at a whooping 444 MB (lots of illustrations), thus Google won't let me upload it. Because of all the illustrations I'd really like to read it on a large tablet that displays colors. So is there any way I can make it available to my Android devices in order to maintain syncing? Or am I forced to copy it over to the tablet using USB and in that case where is the folder I need to put it in so it shows up in GPB?

[Jeff L]

A little late on this. If you're still interested, you can open the epub and extract the images folder. Run the files through an image editor like Irfan, which has bulk processing, to change the compression settings.

The resulting files will be smaller. Technically, there will be some loss of information, but when I compare the before and after images, I can't really tell the difference.

You can play with the settings until you get something you like and keep the original for later viewing as well.

[Kumabjorn]

Thank you for the tip. I bought mine on Dito and then discovered that GPB also sold it (although $ 3 more) so I guess there are no restrictions when it comes down from their servers, only up to them.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by Jeff L

A little late on this. If you're still interested, you can open the epub and extract the images folder. Run the files through an image editor like Irfan, which has bulk processing, to change the compression settings.

The resulting files will be smaller. Technically, there will be some loss of information, but when I compare the before and after images, I can't really tell the difference.

You can play with the settings until you get something you like and keep the original for later viewing as well.

Even better. You can use Calibre's editor to do this. First thing to do is compress losslessly and see if that makes things small enough. If not, you can compress more until you have what you want.

[Kumabjorn]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Even better. You can use Calibre's editor to do this. First thing to do is compress losslessly and see if that makes things small enough. If not, you can compress more until you have what you want.

I'll be sure to check that out, but it is a long step from 4 GB to less than 100 MB.

[Hitch]

Originally Posted by Kumabjorn

I'll be sure to check that out, but it is a long step from 4 GB to less than 100 MB.

I thought you said 444MB? Not Gigs?

Hitch

[GrannyGrump]

Would it be an option to split it into four or five volumes? Not too hard to do, using Sigil. Calibre Editor users might also have easy ways you could do that.

[JSWolf]

There is the Split ePub plugin for Calibre.

[Kumabjorn]

Originally Posted by Hitch

I thought you said 444MB? Not Gigs?

Hitch

Ooops,I did it again. I counted that as 4.4 GB not 0.4 GB.

[j.p.s]

Originally Posted by Kumabjorn

Walter Isaacson's latest tome on Leonardo da Vinci weighs in at a whooping 444 MB (lots of illustrations)

Have you unzipped the epub and checked the total space used by the images?

I've been curious how many images there are and what are the dimensions of the typical and the largest images.

[Hitch]

Originally Posted by j.p.s

Have you unzipped the epub and checked the total space used by the images?

I've been curious how many images there are and what are the dimensions of the typical and the largest images.

If I were a betting woman, I'd guesstimate that some idjit made the book using INDD. (InDesign). Nothing wrong with that, in and of itself, but there's a LOT wrong with it if the idjit doesn't know to optimize the images. It would be dead easy to make a 400mb file, with "only" a few hundred images or even less. EASY. It would also be easy to make it larger than needed with the inclusion of non-subset fonts, too.

Hitch

[JSWolf]

I've seen too many INDD created ePub where the graphic used as the section separator was duplicated for each section.

Speaking of embedded fonts, Penguin/Random House is putting in a Next Reads section and they embed 3 different fonts for this. That section and the fonts can be deleted no problem. If there are embedded fonts that are not to be deleted, they get subsetted.

Also, if there are any previews/adverts for other books, that can be deleted. Sometimes the adverts for other books can be pretty big with a lot of graphics.

One thing I do is if the graphics used for the cover and the titlepage are more than 1600 lines, in the Calibre Editor, I resize them to 1600 lines. Also, I losslessly compress at 80 and that reduces the graphics size.