Question about font sizes on prs-600

foghat · 03-12-2010, 11:51 AM

Hi all,

I'm trying to figure out how small the fonts will go on the 600.

Does the size of the fonts change depending on the book? i.e. in one book, will a small font display, say, ~300 words on a page, and then in another book display, say ~500 words. Assuming full page of text and same margins on both books.

I like the fonts to be on the smaller size. Does anyone have any pictures of their 600 with the small font selected. In a perfect world the picture would be of a converted pdb from fictionwise (or such).

I just don't want to be in the situation where the fonts are too big even on the smallest setting. The one 600 I looked at in the store didn't have any books on it. Doh!

Mike_73 · 03-12-2010, 01:29 PM

Did you check out the reader in Germany??? (at least it sounds like that)
I tried to get a sales person to let me try some pdfs from SD-Card, and I was told that Sony explicitly prohibited to take the reader out of the display. What a Bulls...
I asked if they could open up a new reader and that I would buy it if it fits my requirements for pdfs, but I was told I had to buy and couldn't even return it if it works (but not to my needs).

Sorry, this wasn't helpfull at all, but I just had to put this somewhere.

But believe me, the small setting is way too small on all pdfs I have. But the 600 at least has 5 different font sizes. Most times I read in Medium or Large.

foghat · 03-12-2010, 02:59 PM

Nope not in germany. In Canada. The reader was out on display and I could play around with it, but there were no books on it. The 300 right next to it had some books on it, but as I understand it the fonts are a little different between the 2.

At this point my concern is font size on novels. From what I've seen, it would appear the fonts can go larger than likely anyone would ever use, but could probably stand to go a size or so smaller as well.

Mike_73 · 03-12-2010, 03:03 PM

On small you usually get the layout (sorry, I'm only reading in pdf) as is in the file. So if there are margins or big headers, you get them as they would be in the pbook.
So if there's margins around the text, the font gets really small. If you go to the next size, the margins go away and text is increased. I did russify my reader and I can actually get screenshots using the "special" functions the fw-modification has built in. I can just try to upload the different sizes of a txt test file.

banjobama · 03-12-2010, 03:20 PM

Usually small is the perfect size for me. I downloaded The Stand from the Sony store and that font was a little on the small side, but once I got used to it, it was fine.

The size of "small" does depend on the book. If no one has taken a picture by the time I get off work, I can do it once I get home.

foghat · 03-12-2010, 03:36 PM

^ that would be awesome thanks. If not too much trouble maybe a shot of The Stand and one that has a little bigger 'small' font.

Mike_73 · 03-12-2010, 03:45 PM

Ok, here is what I could get. I wrote a word document with font sizes 8 - 20. The page setup is letter (allthough that may be a little big. Books usually come in smaller pages).
I've put 1" margins on all sides. This way you can resemble on your pc how the document would look like on your pc screen.

And these are the screenshots from my reader:

I hope this helps.

foghat · 03-12-2010, 04:24 PM

^Thanks a lot. That helps for giving a good indication as to the differences between the 600's different font sizes.

What I am also curious about is how a novel looks on the small and maybe medium font size. As with your pictures, I don't know which of the Test Font Sizes would actually be the equivalent font size to a novel's font size.

grooks · 03-12-2010, 04:41 PM

How a specifc book looks depends on how it was made. Some retailers/publishers may use a base font of 12 pt and some may use a font of 14 pt. I could probably take an example of 5 ebooks on my Reader and each ebook will look different on the small font setting.

You can also run into varying examples of different margin sizes. Typically Sony uses large margins on their ePub books. Other vendors may use smaller margins.

foghat · 03-12-2010, 04:46 PM

^ya, I understand that. Like I said in my first post, ideally the sample would be from a fictionwise .pdb file that was converted to epub. Not sure if there is a difference in the way the 600 hands things vs. Stanza on my iphone, but I've never had the font size change from book to book (all books from fictionwise)

omk3 · 03-12-2010, 04:50 PM

Well if you convert yourself, in calibre you can set the base font to anything you want.

banjobama · 03-12-2010, 06:27 PM

Here are three pictures. The first two are of The Stand with the smallest small font, and the third one is an H.P. Lovecraft book which I downloaded from manybooks.net. I feel this version of small is perfect.

It's hard to tell the difference in the pictures. I'm going to post two more following this that don't have a glare from the flash so you can actually see the words.

banjobama · 03-12-2010, 06:28 PM

It's easier to tell the difference in these two pictures. The first is The Stand and the second is Lovecraft.

grooks · 03-12-2010, 08:02 PM

The picture of The Stand is very representative of ePubs I've seen recently. My choice of font size varies depending on the lighting and whether my eyes are tired.

foghat · 03-12-2010, 11:03 PM

Thanks a lot for those pictures. The Stand looks about perfect to me - perhaps a touch small, but very good. That said, all 3 sizes are appear fine. These make me feel more comfortable about the font size.

omk3, good point about picking the font and size when doing the conversion. do you do this?

03-12-2010, 11:51 AM	#1
foghat Evangelist Posts: 464 Karma: 1006520 Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Alberta, Canada Device: Kindle PW3	Question about font sizes on prs-600 Hi all, I'm trying to figure out how small the fonts will go on the 600. Does the size of the fonts change depending on the book? i.e. in one book, will a small font display, say, ~300 words on a page, and then in another book display, say ~500 words. Assuming full page of text and same margins on both books. I like the fonts to be on the smaller size. Does anyone have any pictures of their 600 with the small font selected. In a perfect world the picture would be of a converted pdb from fictionwise (or such). I just don't want to be in the situation where the fonts are too big even on the smallest setting. The one 600 I looked at in the store didn't have any books on it. Doh!

03-12-2010, 03:45 PM	#7
Mike_73 Guru Posts: 750 Karma: 1323 Join Date: Dec 2009 Device: PRS-505, PRS-600, iPad 16GB Wifi, Kindle Voyage, Nexus 6, Razr HD	Ok, here is what I could get. I wrote a word document with font sizes 8 - 20. The page setup is letter (allthough that may be a little big. Books usually come in smaller pages). I've put 1" margins on all sides. This way you can resemble on your pc how the document would look like on your pc screen. And these are the screenshots from my reader: I hope this helps. Last edited by Mike_73; 03-12-2010 at 03:47 PM.

03-12-2010, 06:27 PM	#12
banjobama Busy Read'n Posts: 980 Karma: 5039283 Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Auburn, WA Device: Pocketbook Touch Lux 5	Here are three pictures. The first two are of The Stand with the smallest small font, and the third one is an H.P. Lovecraft book which I downloaded from manybooks.net. I feel this version of small is perfect. It's hard to tell the difference in the pictures. I'm going to post two more following this that don't have a glare from the flash so you can actually see the words. Attached Thumbnails

03-12-2010, 06:28 PM	#13
banjobama Busy Read'n Posts: 980 Karma: 5039283 Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Auburn, WA Device: Pocketbook Touch Lux 5	It's easier to tell the difference in these two pictures. The first is The Stand and the second is Lovecraft. Attached Thumbnails

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03-12-2010, 01:29 PM	#2
Mike_73 Guru Posts: 750 Karma: 1323 Join Date: Dec 2009 Device: PRS-505, PRS-600, iPad 16GB Wifi, Kindle Voyage, Nexus 6, Razr HD	Did you check out the reader in Germany??? (at least it sounds like that) I tried to get a sales person to let me try some pdfs from SD-Card, and I was told that Sony explicitly prohibited to take the reader out of the display. What a Bulls... I asked if they could open up a new reader and that I would buy it if it fits my requirements for pdfs, but I was told I had to buy and couldn't even return it if it works (but not to my needs). Sorry, this wasn't helpfull at all, but I just had to put this somewhere. But believe me, the small setting is way too small on all pdfs I have. But the 600 at least has 5 different font sizes. Most times I read in Medium or Large.

03-12-2010, 02:59 PM	#3
foghat Evangelist Posts: 464 Karma: 1006520 Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Alberta, Canada Device: Kindle PW3	Nope not in germany. In Canada. The reader was out on display and I could play around with it, but there were no books on it. The 300 right next to it had some books on it, but as I understand it the fonts are a little different between the 2. At this point my concern is font size on novels. From what I've seen, it would appear the fonts can go larger than likely anyone would ever use, but could probably stand to go a size or so smaller as well.

03-12-2010, 03:03 PM	#4
Mike_73 Guru Posts: 750 Karma: 1323 Join Date: Dec 2009 Device: PRS-505, PRS-600, iPad 16GB Wifi, Kindle Voyage, Nexus 6, Razr HD	On small you usually get the layout (sorry, I'm only reading in pdf) as is in the file. So if there are margins or big headers, you get them as they would be in the pbook. So if there's margins around the text, the font gets really small. If you go to the next size, the margins go away and text is increased. I did russify my reader and I can actually get screenshots using the "special" functions the fw-modification has built in. I can just try to upload the different sizes of a txt test file.

03-12-2010, 03:20 PM	#5
banjobama Busy Read'n Posts: 980 Karma: 5039283 Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Auburn, WA Device: Pocketbook Touch Lux 5	Usually small is the perfect size for me. I downloaded The Stand from the Sony store and that font was a little on the small side, but once I got used to it, it was fine. The size of "small" does depend on the book. If no one has taken a picture by the time I get off work, I can do it once I get home.

03-12-2010, 03:36 PM	#6
foghat Evangelist Posts: 464 Karma: 1006520 Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Alberta, Canada Device: Kindle PW3	^ that would be awesome thanks. If not too much trouble maybe a shot of The Stand and one that has a little bigger 'small' font.

03-12-2010, 04:24 PM	#8
foghat Evangelist Posts: 464 Karma: 1006520 Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Alberta, Canada Device: Kindle PW3	^Thanks a lot. That helps for giving a good indication as to the differences between the 600's different font sizes. What I am also curious about is how a novel looks on the small and maybe medium font size. As with your pictures, I don't know which of the Test Font Sizes would actually be the equivalent font size to a novel's font size.

03-12-2010, 04:41 PM	#9
grooks Wizard Posts: 1,326 Karma: 30250 Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Fort Myers, FL Device: Pocketbook Era, Kobo Forma	How a specifc book looks depends on how it was made. Some retailers/publishers may use a base font of 12 pt and some may use a font of 14 pt. I could probably take an example of 5 ebooks on my Reader and each ebook will look different on the small font setting. You can also run into varying examples of different margin sizes. Typically Sony uses large margins on their ePub books. Other vendors may use smaller margins.

03-12-2010, 04:46 PM	#10
foghat Evangelist Posts: 464 Karma: 1006520 Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Alberta, Canada Device: Kindle PW3	^ya, I understand that. Like I said in my first post, ideally the sample would be from a fictionwise .pdb file that was converted to epub. Not sure if there is a difference in the way the 600 hands things vs. Stanza on my iphone, but I've never had the font size change from book to book (all books from fictionwise)

03-12-2010, 04:50 PM	#11
omk3 Wizard Posts: 1,454 Karma: 37243 Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Europe Device: pocketbook 360, kindle 4	Well if you convert yourself, in calibre you can set the base font to anything you want.

03-12-2010, 08:02 PM	#14
grooks Wizard Posts: 1,326 Karma: 30250 Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Fort Myers, FL Device: Pocketbook Era, Kobo Forma	The picture of The Stand is very representative of ePubs I've seen recently. My choice of font size varies depending on the lighting and whether my eyes are tired.

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03-12-2010, 11:03 PM	#15
foghat Evangelist Posts: 464 Karma: 1006520 Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Alberta, Canada Device: Kindle PW3	Thanks a lot for those pictures. The Stand looks about perfect to me - perhaps a touch small, but very good. That said, all 3 sizes are appear fine. These make me feel more comfortable about the font size. omk3, good point about picking the font and size when doing the conversion. do you do this?