ePub to Mobi or the other way around

apastuszak · 02-15-2011, 09:31 PM

I have both a Kindle 3 and Nook in my household. Because of this, I have the option to buy from either site and then transfer.

I'm not going to get into a discussion of removing DRM from eBooks; that's not what I need to ask.

What I want to know is, is it better to covert a ePub to a mobi, or a mobi to an ePub?

JSWolf · 02-15-2011, 09:31 PM

It is better to go ePub to Mobi.

apastuszak · 02-15-2011, 09:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JSWolf

It is better to go ePub to Mobi.

Thanks for the reply.

What are the technical reasons for this, if you don't mind me asking.

Andy

ldolse · 02-15-2011, 09:40 PM

Epub is the open, published standard for ebook formatting, most publishers author in epub, then convert their epubs to mobi. With epub you're more likely to get something closer to the original publisher's intent, and you have control over the conversion to mobi from epub.

The mobi spec is an older spec based on html 3.2 with proprietary, unpublished extensions, epub is based on current standards. If you start with epub you have more options to control/tweak the conversion to mobi, but if you start with mobi some formatting information would have already been lost in many cases.

wallcraft · 02-15-2011, 09:54 PM

I agree with JSWolf that ePub is the better format to archive (and therefore to buy). However, many publishers still target the least capable format (MOBI), and so there may be little difference between MOBI and ePub in any given ebook. So I would not hesitate to buy from Amazon if the Kindle version is significantly cheaper, and sometimes only Amazon has a particular ebook.

At one time I avoided TOPAZ, but now I buy this if it is the only option. Conversion from TOPAZ to ePub is not perfect, but often good enough.

02-15-2011, 09:31 PM	#1
apastuszak Fanatic Posts: 509 Karma: 125599 Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: Bensalem, PA Device: Kindle Scribe, Nook Glowlight 4, Apple iPad Pro 12.9"	ePub to Mobi or the other way around I have both a Kindle 3 and Nook in my household. Because of this, I have the option to buy from either site and then transfer. I'm not going to get into a discussion of removing DRM from eBooks; that's not what I need to ask. What I want to know is, is it better to covert a ePub to a mobi, or a mobi to an ePub?

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02-15-2011, 09:31 PM	#2
JSWolf Resident Curmudgeon Posts: 78,954 Karma: 144284074 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Roslindale, Massachusetts Device: Kobo Libra 2, Kobo Aura H2O, PRS-650, PRS-T1, nook STR, PW3	It is better to go ePub to Mobi.

02-15-2011, 09:40 PM	#4
ldolse Wizard Posts: 1,337 Karma: 123455 Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Malaysia Device: PRS-650, iPhone	Epub is the open, published standard for ebook formatting, most publishers author in epub, then convert their epubs to mobi. With epub you're more likely to get something closer to the original publisher's intent, and you have control over the conversion to mobi from epub. The mobi spec is an older spec based on html 3.2 with proprietary, unpublished extensions, epub is based on current standards. If you start with epub you have more options to control/tweak the conversion to mobi, but if you start with mobi some formatting information would have already been lost in many cases.

02-15-2011, 09:54 PM	#5
wallcraft reader Posts: 6,977 Karma: 5183568 Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Mississippi, USA Device: Kindle 3, Kobo Glo HD	I agree with JSWolf that ePub is the better format to archive (and therefore to buy). However, many publishers still target the least capable format (MOBI), and so there may be little difference between MOBI and ePub in any given ebook. So I would not hesitate to buy from Amazon if the Kindle version is significantly cheaper, and sometimes only Amazon has a particular ebook. At one time I avoided TOPAZ, but now I buy this if it is the only option. Conversion from TOPAZ to ePub is not perfect, but often good enough.

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