Graphics are oversized on readers

Harzmounty · 02-12-2026, 12:11 PM

Sometimes chapters have little graphics as starting header.

When opening such an epub with Calibre reader on my PC these graphis are as meant, small.

When submitting these epubs to my readers, these initially tini graphics are enlarged over the whole page.
Is there a way to convert these epubs in order to have these graphics reduced in size, or have them completely deleted?

Readers are: Kindle Fire HD8 and Samsung S6 Tablet, on both readers I am using Readera Pro as epub reader.

Suggestions welcome

Sirtel · 02-12-2026, 01:17 PM

You can resize or delete them in the calibre editor or Sigil. I'm not aware of any way it can be done with conversion.

DNSB · 02-12-2026, 01:17 PM

The only ways I can see to do this properly is either to switch from Readera Pro or to edit the ebooks to either delete the images or set the graphic size in a way compatible with Readera Pro. An epub to epub conversion is unlikely to help much since you have stated that the calibre ebook-viewer displays the graphics correctly.

Jaws · 02-14-2026, 02:52 AM

The real problem is that the reader is mapping pixel size one to one for the graphics — and the graphics were probably composed at a higher pixels-per-inch count than you're expecting. This is a common, but not universal, problem with books originating with certain publishers: When they create e-books, their workflow grabs the for-ink-on-paper graphics and just throws them into the e-book.

For example, a glyph that's supposed to be about 1cm wide may well be more than 400 pixels wide in the bitmap file, because the default resolution for graphics at a lot of publishers is 1200dpi...

There really isn't a universal solution, especially if you've never seen the printed version so you don't know how much of the page the graphic is supposed to take up. I tend to just go in using the editor function, look at how chapter openings are set up, and change the HTML for the image so it references a percentage of page width. That won't catch other problems, though; for that, you've got to read the book on your ereader, then send it back for more editing...

Harzmounty · 02-20-2026, 04:48 AM

I was able to improve graphics behaviour by moving form ReadEra to Moon+Reader.
Moon has a setting to ignore embeded CSS information. This is reducing the graphic size sigifficantly

JSWolf · 02-20-2026, 06:38 AM

If we could see the original HTML code and the CSS, we could tell if it's the eBook or the software that's the problem.

Using Moon+ to ignore the CSS is a really bad idea. You don't want to do that. This is one reason why I think Moon+ is garbage. You don't ever have an option to ignore the CSS.

Sirtel · 02-20-2026, 08:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Using Moon+ to ignore the CSS is a really bad idea. You don't want to do that. This is one reason why I think Moon+ is garbage. You don't ever have an option to ignore the CSS.

Yes, many people want to do exactly that. To you it may be an anathema, but to them it's a necessary and useful feature.

JSWolf · 02-20-2026, 11:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sirtel

Yes, many people want to do exactly that. To you it may be an anathema, but to them it's a necessary and useful feature.

It won't look nearly as good as my edited ePub.

DNSB · 02-20-2026, 02:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JSWolf

It won't look nearly as good as my edited ePub.

Most people will not notice the difference between a hand tweaked ePub on a decent renderer and a CSS ignoring renderer

Sirtel · 02-20-2026, 02:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JSWolf

It won't look nearly as good as my edited ePub.

No, but they don't edit their epubs and have not the least bit of desire to learn how to do it. All they want is something to override the publisher's defaults. This is also one of the reasons why KOReader is so popular - it offers overrides to most everything in the book css.

Ma'am-I-Am · 02-22-2026, 04:12 AM

I'm having a similar problem. If I open the epub for editing, the tiny graphics (dots, in this case) between paragraphs is just fine and displays in the file preview panel tiny as intended.

However, if I open it in Calibre viewer, the dots are stretched lengthwise and widthwise. This is also the case if I send the epub to my Kindle via Send to Kindle or if I convert the epub to azw3 (page setup output as tablet to preserve other image sizes).

Is this pretty much the same problem as the OP, i.e nothing can really be done except to delete the decor?

Sirtel · 02-22-2026, 06:03 AM

The simplest way is to delete. Or you can edit the code for those images (maybe they have fixed height/width or margins).

Without seeing the code it's impossible to say what's wrong.

JSWolf · 02-22-2026, 07:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ma'am-I-Am

I'm having a similar problem. If I open the epub for editing, the tiny graphics (dots, in this case) between paragraphs is just fine and displays in the file preview panel tiny as intended.

However, if I open it in Calibre viewer, the dots are stretched lengthwise and widthwise. This is also the case if I send the epub to my Kindle via Send to Kindle or if I convert the epub to azw3 (page setup output as tablet to preserve other image sizes).

Is this pretty much the same problem as the OP, i.e nothing can really be done except to delete the decor?

Please post the relevant code and relevant CSS so we can see what's going on. We can't really help without seeing the code.

Ma'am-I-Am · 02-22-2026, 08:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Please post the relevant code and relevant CSS so we can see what's going on. We can't really help without seeing the code.

Hmm. Not sure what you need. How about I send you the book? It's a book of short stories and the dots show up in the 2nd story. The dots are 42x7px. There is also a signature @ 302x59 px which blows up to fill the page.

Can you trust me enough and can you take the time to look at it? Once I have a solution, maybe OP and I can apply it to other books.

DNSB · 02-22-2026, 10:30 PM

You can install the ScrambleEbook plugin in calibre and post the output here.

02-12-2026, 12:11 PM	#1
Harzmounty Member Posts: 11 Karma: 2824 Join Date: Jan 2019 Device: Kindle Fire HD 8, Samsung S6	Graphics are oversized on readers Sometimes chapters have little graphics as starting header. When opening such an epub with Calibre reader on my PC these graphis are as meant, small. When submitting these epubs to my readers, these initially tini graphics are enlarged over the whole page. Is there a way to convert these epubs in order to have these graphics reduced in size, or have them completely deleted? Readers are: Kindle Fire HD8 and Samsung S6 Tablet, on both readers I am using Readera Pro as epub reader. Suggestions welcome

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02-12-2026, 01:17 PM	#2
Sirtel Grand Sorcerer Posts: 14,748 Karma: 245110511 Join Date: Jan 2014 Location: Estonia Device: Kobo Sage & Libra 2	You can resize or delete them in the calibre editor or Sigil. I'm not aware of any way it can be done with conversion.

02-12-2026, 01:17 PM	#3
DNSB Bibliophagist Posts: 50,539 Karma: 178402706 Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Vancouver Device: Kobo Sage, Libra Colour, Lenovo M8 FHD, Paperwhite 4, Tolino epos	The only ways I can see to do this properly is either to switch from Readera Pro or to edit the ebooks to either delete the images or set the graphic size in a way compatible with Readera Pro. An epub to epub conversion is unlikely to help much since you have stated that the calibre ebook-viewer displays the graphics correctly.

02-14-2026, 02:52 AM	#4
Jaws JCL Punch-Card Collector Posts: 96 Karma: 34468 Join Date: Jun 2014 Location: Antarctica Device: Aggressively Device Independent	The real problem is that the reader is mapping pixel size one to one for the graphics — and the graphics were probably composed at a higher pixels-per-inch count than you're expecting. This is a common, but not universal, problem with books originating with certain publishers: When they create e-books, their workflow grabs the for-ink-on-paper graphics and just throws them into the e-book. For example, a glyph that's supposed to be about 1cm wide may well be more than 400 pixels wide in the bitmap file, because the default resolution for graphics at a lot of publishers is 1200dpi... There really isn't a universal solution, especially if you've never seen the printed version so you don't know how much of the page the graphic is supposed to take up. I tend to just go in using the editor function, look at how chapter openings are set up, and change the HTML for the image so it references a percentage of page width. That won't catch other problems, though; for that, you've got to read the book on your ereader, then send it back for more editing...

02-20-2026, 04:48 AM	#5
Harzmounty Member Posts: 11 Karma: 2824 Join Date: Jan 2019 Device: Kindle Fire HD 8, Samsung S6	I was able to improve graphics behaviour by moving form ReadEra to Moon+Reader. Moon has a setting to ignore embeded CSS information. This is reducing the graphic size sigifficantly

02-20-2026, 06:38 AM	#6
JSWolf Resident Curmudgeon Posts: 82,192 Karma: 150871427 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Roslindale, Massachusetts Device: Kobo Libra 2, Kobo Aura H2O, PRS-650, PRS-T1, nook STR, PW3	If we could see the original HTML code and the CSS, we could tell if it's the eBook or the software that's the problem. Using Moon+ to ignore the CSS is a really bad idea. You don't want to do that. This is one reason why I think Moon+ is garbage. You don't ever have an option to ignore the CSS.

02-22-2026, 04:12 AM	#11
Ma'am-I-Am Preferred pronouns: We/Us Posts: 235 Karma: 533346 Join Date: Jun 2014 Location: <--- Over There, USA Device: Kindle PW 2	I'm having a similar problem. If I open the epub for editing, the tiny graphics (dots, in this case) between paragraphs is just fine and displays in the file preview panel tiny as intended. However, if I open it in Calibre viewer, the dots are stretched lengthwise and widthwise. This is also the case if I send the epub to my Kindle via Send to Kindle or if I convert the epub to azw3 (page setup output as tablet to preserve other image sizes). Is this pretty much the same problem as the OP, i.e nothing can really be done except to delete the decor?

02-22-2026, 06:03 AM	#12
Sirtel Grand Sorcerer Posts: 14,748 Karma: 245110511 Join Date: Jan 2014 Location: Estonia Device: Kobo Sage & Libra 2	The simplest way is to delete. Or you can edit the code for those images (maybe they have fixed height/width or margins). Without seeing the code it's impossible to say what's wrong.

02-22-2026, 10:30 PM	#15
DNSB Bibliophagist Posts: 50,539 Karma: 178402706 Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Vancouver Device: Kobo Sage, Libra Colour, Lenovo M8 FHD, Paperwhite 4, Tolino epos	You can install the ScrambleEbook plugin in calibre and post the output here.

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