Epub to PDF for printing - page size

[Westcork]

I am converting from Epub to PDF for printing. I have adjusted margins, font, font size, ticked the override paper size box and selected a4. The final product is excellent except for one thing - the output is letter size instead of a4. Am I missing some setting? Any suggestions please

[kovidgoyal]

Remeber that individual conversion settings override defaults. See http://manual.calibre-ebook.com/conv...for-conversion

[Westcork]

Thank you Kovidgoyal for responding. I have followed the guidelines to convert an Epub to PDf. I have entered a4 measurements (210x297) but when I go to print a page it is still letter size. Below is a copy of my conversion settings for this conversion.

Spoiler:

Convert book 1 of 1
Resolved conversion options
calibre version: 2.48.0
{'asciiize': False,
'author_sort': None,
'authors': None,
'base_font_size': 0.0,
'book_producer': None,
'change_justification': u'original',
'chapter': u"//*[((name()='h1' or name()='h2') and re:test(., '\\s*((chapter|book|section|part)\\s+)|((prolog|pr ologue|epilogue)(\\s+|$))', 'i')) or @class = 'chapter']",
'chapter_mark': u'pagebreak',
'comments': None,
'cover': None,
'custom_size': u'210x297',
'debug_pipeline': None,
'dehyphenate': True,
'delete_blank_paragraphs': True,
'disable_font_rescaling': False,
'duplicate_links_in_toc': False,
'embed_all_fonts': False,
'embed_font_family': None,
'enable_heuristics': False,
'expand_css': False,
'extra_css': None,
'filter_css': u'',
'fix_indents': True,
'font_size_mapping': None,
'format_scene_breaks': True,
'html_unwrap_factor': 0.4,
'input_encoding': None,
'input_profile': <calibre.customize.profiles.InputProfile object at 0x04808B50>,
'insert_blank_line': False,
'insert_blank_line_size': 0.5,
'insert_metadata': False,
'isbn': None,
'italicize_common_cases': True,
'keep_ligatures': False,
'language': None,
'level1_toc': None,
'level2_toc': None,
'level3_toc': None,
'line_height': 0.0,
'linearize_tables': False,
'margin_bottom': 30.0,
'margin_left': 25.0,
'margin_right': 25.0,
'margin_top': 20.0,
'markup_chapter_headings': True,
'max_toc_links': 50,
'minimum_line_height': 120.0,
'no_chapters_in_toc': False,
'no_inline_navbars': False,
'old_pdf_engine': False,
'output_profile': <calibre.customize.profiles.GenericEink object at 0x04808D50>,
'override_profile_size': True,
'page_breaks_before': u'/',
'paper_size': u'letter',
'pdf_add_toc': False,
'pdf_default_font_size': 18,
'pdf_footer_template': u'<p style="text-align:center; color:black">Page _PAGENUM_</p>',
'pdf_header_template': None,
'pdf_mark_links': False,
'pdf_mono_family': u'Courier New',
'pdf_mono_font_size': 16,
'pdf_page_numbers': True,
'pdf_sans_family': u'Calibri',
'pdf_serif_family': u'Calibri',
'pdf_standard_font': u'serif',
'prefer_metadata_cover': False,
'preserve_cover_aspect_ratio': False,
'pretty_print': False,
'pubdate': None,
'publisher': None,
'rating': None,
'read_metadata_from_opf': u'C:\\Users\\Gus\\AppData\\Local\\Temp\\calibre_vj eaqe\\qt1iia.opf',
'remove_fake_margins': True,
'remove_first_image': False,
'remove_paragraph_spacing': False,
'remove_paragraph_spacing_indent_size': 1.5,
'renumber_headings': True,
'replace_scene_breaks': u'',
'search_replace': '[]',
'series': None,
'series_index': None,
'smarten_punctuation': False,
'sr1_replace': None,
'sr1_search': None,
'sr2_replace': None,
'sr2_search': None,
'sr3_replace': None,
'sr3_search': None,
'start_reading_at': None,
'subset_embedded_fonts': False,
'tags': None,
'timestamp': None,
'title': None,
'title_sort': None,
'toc_filter': None,
'toc_threshold': 6,
'toc_title': None,
'uncompressed_pdf': False,
'unit': u'millimeter',
'unsmarten_punctuation': False,
'unwrap_lines': True,
'use_auto_toc': False,
'verbose': 2}
InputFormatPlugin: EPUB Input running
on C:\Users\Gus\AppData\Local\Temp\calibre_vjeaqe\giw l2y.epub
Parsing all content...
Parsing text/part0025_split_001.html ...
Parsing page_styles.css ...
Parsing stylesheet.css ...
Parsing text/part0025_split_000.html ...
Referenced file u'text/part0010_split_000.html' not found
Referenced file u'text/part0024_split_000.html' not found
Reading TOC from NCX...
Merging user specified metadata...
Detecting structure...
Detected chapter: CHAPTER 15
Flattening CSS and remapping font sizes...
Source base font size is 11.99998pt
Removing fake margins...
Found 1 items of level: div_1
Found 105 items of level: p_1
div_1 left margin stats: Counter()
div_1 right margin stats: Counter()
Negative text indent detected at level p_1, ignoring this level
Cleaning up manifest...
Trimming unused files from manifest...
Creating PDF Output...
Converting input as a text based book...
Serializing oeb input to disk for processing...
Rendering pages to PDF...
Processing C:\Users\Gus\AppData\Local\Temp\calibre_vjeaqe\7xh wit_pdf_out\text\part0025_split_000.html...
Processing C:\Users\Gus\AppData\Local\Temp\calibre_vjeaqe\7xh wit_pdf_out\text\part0025_split_001.html...
Could not find destination for link: part0010_split_000.html in file c:\users\gus\appdata\local\temp\calibre_vjeaqe\7xh wit_pdf_out\text\part0025_split_001.html
Could not find destination for link: part0024_split_000.html in file c:\users\gus\appdata\local\temp\calibre_vjeaqe\7xh wit_pdf_out\text\part0025_split_001.html
Rendered PDF in 2.36 seconds:
PDF output written to C:\Users\Gus\AppData\Local\Temp\calibre_vjeaqe\y44 vwr.pdf

[kovidgoyal]

You have set a custom size, that will take precedence. Remove it.

[Westcork]

Thank you Kovidgoyal. I have followed your instruction and removed custom size, selecting a4 instead. The output is still letter size. Below is a copy of my settings for this conversion.
Convert book 1 of 1
Resolved conversion options
calibre version: 2.48.0
{'asciiize': False,
'author_sort': None,
'authors': None,
'base_font_size': 0.0,
'book_producer': None,
'change_justification': u'original',
'chapter': u"//*[((name()='h1' or name()='h2') and re:test(., '\\s*((chapter|book|section|part)\\s+)|((prolog|pr ologue|epilogue)(\\s+|$))', 'i')) or @class = 'chapter']",
'chapter_mark': u'pagebreak',
'comments': None,
'cover': None,
'custom_size': None,
'debug_pipeline': None,
'dehyphenate': True,
'delete_blank_paragraphs': True,
'disable_font_rescaling': False,
'duplicate_links_in_toc': False,
'embed_all_fonts': False,
'embed_font_family': None,
'enable_heuristics': False,
'expand_css': False,
'extra_css': None,
'filter_css': u'',
'fix_indents': True,
'font_size_mapping': None,
'format_scene_breaks': True,
'html_unwrap_factor': 0.4,
'input_encoding': None,
'input_profile': <calibre.customize.profiles.InputProfile object at 0x03296B90>,
'insert_blank_line': False,
'insert_blank_line_size': 0.5,
'insert_metadata': False,
'isbn': None,
'italicize_common_cases': True,
'keep_ligatures': False,
'language': None,
'level1_toc': None,
'level2_toc': None,
'level3_toc': None,
'line_height': 0.0,
'linearize_tables': False,
'margin_bottom': 30.0,
'margin_left': 25.0,
'margin_right': 25.0,
'margin_top': 20.0,
'markup_chapter_headings': True,
'max_toc_links': 50,
'minimum_line_height': 120.0,
'no_chapters_in_toc': False,
'no_inline_navbars': False,
'old_pdf_engine': False,
'output_profile': <calibre.customize.profiles.GenericEink object at 0x03296D90>,
'override_profile_size': True,
'page_breaks_before': u'/',
'paper_size': u'a4',
'pdf_add_toc': False,
'pdf_default_font_size': 18,
'pdf_footer_template': u'<p style="text-align:center; color:black">Page _PAGENUM_</p>',
'pdf_header_template': None,
'pdf_mark_links': False,
'pdf_mono_family': u'Courier New',
'pdf_mono_font_size': 16,
'pdf_page_numbers': True,
'pdf_sans_family': u'Calibri',
'pdf_serif_family': u'Calibri',
'pdf_standard_font': u'serif',
'prefer_metadata_cover': False,
'preserve_cover_aspect_ratio': False,
'pretty_print': False,
'pubdate': None,
'publisher': None,
'rating': None,
'read_metadata_from_opf': u'C:\\Users\\Gus\\AppData\\Local\\Temp\\calibre__h ptss\\8uuo99.opf',
'remove_fake_margins': True,
'remove_first_image': False,
'remove_paragraph_spacing': False,
'remove_paragraph_spacing_indent_size': 1.5,
'renumber_headings': True,
'replace_scene_breaks': u'',
'search_replace': '[]',
'series': None,
'series_index': None,
'smarten_punctuation': False,
'sr1_replace': None,
'sr1_search': None,
'sr2_replace': None,
'sr2_search': None,
'sr3_replace': None,
'sr3_search': None,
'start_reading_at': None,
'subset_embedded_fonts': False,
'tags': None,
'timestamp': None,
'title': None,
'title_sort': None,
'toc_filter': None,
'toc_threshold': 6,
'toc_title': None,
'uncompressed_pdf': False,
'unit': u'inch',
'unsmarten_punctuation': False,
'unwrap_lines': True,
'use_auto_toc': False,
'verbose': 2}
InputFormatPlugin: EPUB Input running
on C:\Users\Gus\AppData\Local\Temp\calibre__hptss\v2o thp.epub
Parsing all content...
Parsing stylesheet.css ...
Parsing text/part0025_split_001.html ...
Parsing text/part0025_split_000.html ...
Parsing page_styles.css ...
Referenced file u'text/part0024_split_000.html' not found
Referenced file u'text/part0010_split_000.html' not found
Reading TOC from NCX...
Merging user specified metadata...
Detecting structure...
Detected chapter: CHAPTER 15
Flattening CSS and remapping font sizes...
Source base font size is 11.99998pt
Removing fake margins...
Found 1 items of level: div_1
Found 105 items of level: p_1
div_1 left margin stats: Counter()
div_1 right margin stats: Counter()
Negative text indent detected at level p_1, ignoring this level
Cleaning up manifest...
Trimming unused files from manifest...
Creating PDF Output...
Converting input as a text based book...
Serializing oeb input to disk for processing...
Rendering pages to PDF...
Processing C:\Users\Gus\AppData\Local\Temp\calibre__hptss\cnc qns_pdf_out\text\part0025_split_000.html...
Processing C:\Users\Gus\AppData\Local\Temp\calibre__hptss\cnc qns_pdf_out\text\part0025_split_001.html...
Could not find destination for link: part0010_split_000.html in file c:\users\gus\appdata\local\temp\calibre__hptss\cnc qns_pdf_out\text\part0025_split_001.html
Could not find destination for link: part0024_split_000.html in file c:\users\gus\appdata\local\temp\calibre__hptss\cnc qns_pdf_out\text\part0025_split_001.html
Rendered PDF in 2.469 seconds:
PDF output written to C:\Users\Gus\AppData\Local\Temp\calibre__hptss\mus jds.pdf

[kovidgoyal]

Now you have your paper size set to a4

[Westcork]

Ok Kovidgoyal. I have paper size set to a4. Is that incorrect? What should be the setting?

[kovidgoyal]

You need to set it to letter

[Westcork]

Ok Kovidgoyal. I am printing to a4 paper using adobe acrobat x pro. Do I set paper size to letter even when I will be printing to a4. Our standard paper size is a4, we never use letter paper in Ireland.

[Westcork]

Ok Kovidgoyal. I think I have solved it. Thank you for all your help and of course for Calibre. The setting that I found most suitable for converting epub to pdf for a4 printing seems to be:
Output profile - Default output profile
Override paper size
Set Paper size - a4
Margins
Top 20pt, bottom 40pt sides 25pt
Font
Serif family - Calibri
Sans family - Calibri
Default font size – 18
Monospace font size - 16
Page number
<p style="text-align:center; color:black">Page _PAGENUM_</p>

[r0bis]

Thank you Westcork and Kovid,

This is very useful. Sometimes I need to convert articles in epub format to PDF for sharing and printing with colleagues who do mainly paper based reading. This summary is of great help.

There is another good link, but for my needs Westcork's summary is perfect.

https://maxrohde.com/2015/01/28/rend...-with-calibre/

Cheers,

Rob