Hello from someone who builds fixed-layout EPUBs

Getglyc · Today, 12:01 PM

Hi all. I'm Ben. I read on an iPad Air in Apple Books, and I've spent the past year building fixed-layout EPUB cookbooks, which turns out to be an excellent way to discover every sharp edge in the format.

The thing that still surprises me is how differently the two renderers treat the same file. My pages are designed around two-page spreads. Apple Books shows them exactly as laid out; Kindle hardware gives me single pages no matter what rendition:spread declares. I've mostly made peace with that, but I'd like to know whether anyone here has landed on a build that behaves in both, or whether the honest answer is that you pick one and accept the other looks worse.

I also learned the hard way that Kindle quietly ignores inset, object-fit and display:flex. That's a memorable afternoon when your file validates clean, passes epubcheck with zero warnings, and still clips a table mid-word.

Glad to have found this place. It seems to be the rare forum where people talk about the file rather than the story.

Sirtel · Today, 03:07 PM

Welcome to MobileRead!

Why not just use PDF instead of messing around with fixed-layout epubs?

DNSB · Today, 04:20 PM

As you already noticed, Amazon's Kindles do not support all the features of ePub3's fixed layout or reflowable.
You may want to dig through Amazon's Kindle Publishing Guidelines especially the Attributes and Tags Supported by Enhanced Typesetting for KFX format and HTML and CSS Tags Supported in Kindle Format 8 for KF8/azw3 format. If insomnia still bothers you, you can check the rest of the Kindle Publishing Guidelines pages.

Getglyc · Today, 06:55 PM

Thanks both.

Sirtel - fair question, and I do ship a PDF; the print edition is one. Two things push me to fixed-layout EPUB anyway.

The first is boring and decisive: the Kindle store won't sell a PDF as an ebook. If you want to be in the store at all, EPUB is the format. Apple Books is the same.

The second is that in Apple Books a fixed-layout EPUB behaves like a book - real two-page spreads, library integration, sync, bookmarks. A PDF is a document sitting in a reader app. For a cookbook propped on a counter, the spread matters more than I expected: ingredients on the left, method on the right, no scrolling with wet hands.

On your Kobo, though, I suspect a PDF genuinely would be better. Fixed layout is a bet on the renderer, and Apple is the one that pays out.

DNSB - thank you, that's the pointer I needed. I'd been inferring the unsupported list from things breaking rather than reading it, which explains the afternoon I lost to display:flex. Reading the Enhanced Typesetting attribute tables now.

Follow-up, since you both use Kobo: does Kobo honour rendition:spread on fixed-layout EPUB, or is it single-page like Kindle? I've never tested on one.

Today, 12:01 PM	#1
Getglyc Junior Member Posts: 2 Karma: 10 Join Date: Sep 2026 Device: iPad Air (Apple Books)	Hello from someone who builds fixed-layout EPUBs Hi all. I'm Ben. I read on an iPad Air in Apple Books, and I've spent the past year building fixed-layout EPUB cookbooks, which turns out to be an excellent way to discover every sharp edge in the format. The thing that still surprises me is how differently the two renderers treat the same file. My pages are designed around two-page spreads. Apple Books shows them exactly as laid out; Kindle hardware gives me single pages no matter what rendition:spread declares. I've mostly made peace with that, but I'd like to know whether anyone here has landed on a build that behaves in both, or whether the honest answer is that you pick one and accept the other looks worse. I also learned the hard way that Kindle quietly ignores inset, object-fit and display:flex. That's a memorable afternoon when your file validates clean, passes epubcheck with zero warnings, and still clips a table mid-word. Glad to have found this place. It seems to be the rare forum where people talk about the file rather than the story.

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Today, 03:07 PM	#2
Sirtel Grand Sorcerer Posts: 15,686 Karma: 250801379 Join Date: Jan 2014 Location: Estonia Device: Kobo Sage & Libra 2	Welcome to MobileRead! Why not just use PDF instead of messing around with fixed-layout epubs?

Today, 04:20 PM	#3
DNSB Bibliophagist Posts: 54,308 Karma: 182161621 Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Vancouver Device: Kobo Sage, Libra Colour, Lenovo M8 FHD, Paperwhite 4, Tolino epos	As you already noticed, Amazon's Kindles do not support all the features of ePub3's fixed layout or reflowable. You may want to dig through Amazon's Kindle Publishing Guidelines especially the Attributes and Tags Supported by Enhanced Typesetting for KFX format and HTML and CSS Tags Supported in Kindle Format 8 for KF8/azw3 format. If insomnia still bothers you, you can check the rest of the Kindle Publishing Guidelines pages.

Today, 06:55 PM	#4
Getglyc Junior Member Posts: 2 Karma: 10 Join Date: Sep 2026 Device: iPad Air (Apple Books)	Thanks both. Sirtel - fair question, and I do ship a PDF; the print edition is one. Two things push me to fixed-layout EPUB anyway. The first is boring and decisive: the Kindle store won't sell a PDF as an ebook. If you want to be in the store at all, EPUB is the format. Apple Books is the same. The second is that in Apple Books a fixed-layout EPUB behaves like a book - real two-page spreads, library integration, sync, bookmarks. A PDF is a document sitting in a reader app. For a cookbook propped on a counter, the spread matters more than I expected: ingredients on the left, method on the right, no scrolling with wet hands. On your Kobo, though, I suspect a PDF genuinely would be better. Fixed layout is a bet on the renderer, and Apple is the one that pays out. DNSB - thank you, that's the pointer I needed. I'd been inferring the unsupported list from things breaking rather than reading it, which explains the afternoon I lost to display:flex. Reading the Enhanced Typesetting attribute tables now. Follow-up, since you both use Kobo: does Kobo honour rendition:spread on fixed-layout EPUB, or is it single-page like Kindle? I've never tested on one.

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