textbooks epub or pdf?

gris · 01-03-2014, 05:06 PM

Hi!

I'm looking for e-textbooks. I'm wondering?
They are about A4 or bigger. I can buy them as epub or pdf. Pdf is not really good with readers. Only with large screen ones like the onyx.

But it is not really a reader format. You need a really good reader to view them properly. What I like at pdfs is that they contain the layout from the books which is looking much better that is epub not.

For I cannot preview or give the epubs back and since these books are expensive it is a bit risky. That is why i ask here.

Textbooks have text, that can be easily changed with epub. But what is with the graphics that are sometimes quite big, about half a site and sometimes small. Do they change with it.

Or can they be zoomed? Or if the graphic is too big can epub be scrolled or does it just cut off the picture, which i fear.

I know many people here are interested in the onyx because of large pdf, maybe someone has experience with large textbooks, science books in epub. So I don't know which format to choose for them.

eschwartz · 01-03-2014, 05:40 PM

Generally speaking, many/most textbooks depend on a complex format that ePUB just can't handle, which is why PDF's are used. Amazon for instance, always sells them as the Print Replica (.azw4) format, which is PDF in a wrapper.

For textbooks, I would suggest getting them as a PDF and reading on a tablet/computer, you will probably get a much better experience than with ePUB.

gris · 01-03-2014, 05:54 PM

if it is possible to zoom on pictures with epub? at calibre?

bleph · 01-04-2014, 01:04 AM

I generally prefer PDFs too though I rarely read textbooks. I find that I cannot remember the stuff I read if I use reflow. On the Boox M92 using PDFreader to open epub, you can zoom in on images by increasing font size. Not sure if you can do that on Coolreader or FBreader as I don't use them (no annotation abilities)

Jellby · 01-04-2014, 03:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gris

But what is with the graphics that are sometimes quite big, about half a site and sometimes small. Do they change with it.

Or can they be zoomed? Or if the graphic is too big can epub be scrolled or does it just cut off the picture, which i fear.

What you can do with with the graphics (zoom, scroll) is up to the reader, but most readers, as far as I know, do none. They just display the image, and if the ebook design is at least semi-decent, it will be scaled down to fit the screen if necessary.

But with an ePub you can always extract the images and view them externally, assuming you remove the DRM if there is one.

01-03-2014, 05:06 PM	#1
gris Connoisseur Posts: 55 Karma: 10 Join Date: Nov 2012 Device: m92, sonyt2,	textbooks epub or pdf? Hi! I'm looking for e-textbooks. I'm wondering? They are about A4 or bigger. I can buy them as epub or pdf. Pdf is not really good with readers. Only with large screen ones like the onyx. But it is not really a reader format. You need a really good reader to view them properly. What I like at pdfs is that they contain the layout from the books which is looking much better that is epub not. For I cannot preview or give the epubs back and since these books are expensive it is a bit risky. That is why i ask here. Textbooks have text, that can be easily changed with epub. But what is with the graphics that are sometimes quite big, about half a site and sometimes small. Do they change with it. Or can they be zoomed? Or if the graphic is too big can epub be scrolled or does it just cut off the picture, which i fear. I know many people here are interested in the onyx because of large pdf, maybe someone has experience with large textbooks, science books in epub. So I don't know which format to choose for them.

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01-03-2014, 05:40 PM	#2
eschwartz Ex-Helpdesk Junkie Posts: 19,422 Karma: 85397180 Join Date: Nov 2012 Location: The Beaten Path, USA, Roundworld, This Side of Infinity Device: Kindle Touch fw5.3.7 (Wifi only)	Generally speaking, many/most textbooks depend on a complex format that ePUB just can't handle, which is why PDF's are used. Amazon for instance, always sells them as the Print Replica (.azw4) format, which is PDF in a wrapper. For textbooks, I would suggest getting them as a PDF and reading on a tablet/computer, you will probably get a much better experience than with ePUB.

01-03-2014, 05:54 PM	#3
gris Connoisseur Posts: 55 Karma: 10 Join Date: Nov 2012 Device: m92, sonyt2,	if it is possible to zoom on pictures with epub? at calibre?

01-04-2014, 01:04 AM	#4
bleph Member Posts: 20 Karma: 298 Join Date: Apr 2013 Device: Boox M90, M92 Black	I generally prefer PDFs too though I rarely read textbooks. I find that I cannot remember the stuff I read if I use reflow. On the Boox M92 using PDFreader to open epub, you can zoom in on images by increasing font size. Not sure if you can do that on Coolreader or FBreader as I don't use them (no annotation abilities)

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