Georgia fonts on PRS-600

[MSJim]

I need help. My reader displays all my converted ePub books in what looks like Times New Roman. I’d like them to be in Georgia font.
I’m starting with a RTF source file which is set to and displays in Georgia, in MS Word. I save the file as HTM, filtered.
Add it to Calibre, where it shows as a ZIP file, and then do the RTF to EPUB conversion
So far I’ve tried to apply bits and pieces of guidance from the Calibre user manual and various MR posts about changing fonts with no success. Here’s what I’ve done so far:
Created a folder (fonts) in the root of my PRS-600 directory. In my case it is M:\fonts.
Copied the Georgia ttf font files to said folder.
Added some script to the Preferences/Conversions/Look & Feel/Extra CSS pane, see below.
Performed the conversion (ZIP to EPUB)
I had expected the CSS addins to force the reader to display the books in Georgia font.
I have SIGIL, and can see the CSS code I added, but all I get is Times New Roman.
I’m fairly sure my lack of knowledge of HTML is a big part of the problem. What am I missing and/or doing wrong.
BTW. The Calibre viewer shows the fonts as intended, but the reader does not.

Extra CSS code:

@font-face {
font-family: "Georgia";
font-weight: normal;
font-style: normal;
src: url(res:///Data/fonts/georgia.ttf);
}

@font-face {
font-family: "Georgia";
font-weight: bold;
font-style: normal;
src: url(res:///Data/fonts/georgiab.ttf);
}

@font-face {
font-family: "Georgia";
font-weight: normal;
font-style: italic;
src: url(res:///Data/fonts/georgiai.ttf);
}

@font-face {
font-family: "Georgia";
font-weight: bold;
font-style: italic;
src: url(res:///Data/fonts/georgiaz.ttf);
}

body { font-family: "Georgia", serif; }

[dmapr]

Check to see if the HTML generated by Word gives a more explicit font-family specification to individual tags like p, h*, etc. If so these will take precedence over the body specification.

[jackie_w]

Here's something to try (no guarantees)

In Extra CSS, change all the instances of

@font-face {font-family: "Georgia"; ...

to

@font-face {font-family: serif; ...

and change

body {font-family: "Georgia", serif; }

to

body {font-family: serif;}

leaving the only references to Georgia in the .ttf filenames.

[MSJim]

Thanks for the suggestions. I’ve tried both recommendations but so far nothing has changed the displayed font on my reader. I’ve decided that the problem must lie with the way PRS-600 renders the fonts in an ePub file, not with the content or format of the file.

I’ve been using a three line “Quick brown fox..,” test file with Times New Roman, Georgia, and Arial fonts. The Arial isn’t important to me – just threw it in for variety.

I’ve changed the fonts at three stages of the production: RTF, HTM, and EPUB. In each test, the Calibre ePub viewer showed the correct font, but the PRS-600 showed all three lines in what appears to me to be Times New Roman. However, when I transfer the unconverted file in RTF format straight to the reader, it shows the Arial line correctly, and the other two as Times New Roman. (Calibre still shows all three lines correctly in the RTF version.)

It looks like the reader might be displaying any serif font as Times New Roman, and sans serif fonts as Arial. Further testing of ePub files would be necessary to prove this is true in all cases.

I don’t think the problem is with the ePub file. I just haven’t been able to get the reader to display a serif font as other than Times New Roman.

Any other ideas on how to get around this? I’ve seen posts about putting other fonts on the 300, but, if I’m doing it right, it doesn’t work for my 600.

Since this doesn’t seem to be a Calibre related problem, I’ll post it in the Sony Reader forum.

[kiklop74]

Originally Posted by MSJim

I need help. My reader displays all my converted ePub books in what looks like Times New Roman. I’d like them to be in Georgia font.

What you did does not work well with calibre since Calibre ignores font-family settings with same name and uses just the first one when being placed in extra_css. What does work is following (I will use Liberation fonts since they are free):

1. Convert your text into well formed HTML
2. Place Liberation Serif fonts into same folder where HTML resides
3. Add this to the HTML after the title tag :

<style type="text/css">
@font-face { font-family: "Liberation Serif"; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; src: url(LiberationSerif-Regular.ttf) }
@font-face { font-family: "Liberation Serif"; font-style: normal; font-weight: bold; src: url(LiberationSerif-Bold.ttf) }
@font-face { font-family: "Liberation Serif"; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; src: url(LiberationSerif-Italic.ttf) }
@font-face { font-family: "Liberation Serif"; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold; src: url(LiberationSerif-BoldItalic.ttf) }
body {font-family: "Liberation Serif",serif} 
</style>

4. Import this HTML as new book into calibre and configure metadata.
5. Convert to EPUB and you will end up with e-book with embedded fonts.


Here is an example of e-book I generated using this procedure - Alice in wonderland

[m2b999]

Originally Posted by kiklop74

What you did does not work well with calibre since Calibre ignores font-family settings with same name and uses just the first one when being placed in extra_css. What does work is following (I will use Liberation fonts since they are free):

1. Convert your text into well formed HTML
2. Place Liberation Serif fonts into same folder where HTML resides
3. Add this to the HTML after the title tag :

<style type="text/css">
@font-face { font-family: "Liberation Serif"; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; src: url(LiberationSerif-Regular.ttf) }
@font-face { font-family: "Liberation Serif"; font-style: normal; font-weight: bold; src: url(LiberationSerif-Bold.ttf) }
@font-face { font-family: "Liberation Serif"; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; src: url(LiberationSerif-Italic.ttf) }
@font-face { font-family: "Liberation Serif"; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold; src: url(LiberationSerif-BoldItalic.ttf) }
body {font-family: "Liberation Serif",serif} 
</style>

4. Import this HTML as new book into calibre and configure metadata.
5. Convert to EPUB and you will end up with e-book with embedded fonts.


Here is an example of e-book I generated using this procedure - Alice in wonderland

Is there a way you can do that in kindle 3?

I tried converting ePub book to MOBI format in order to let my kindle support it, but since it was an Arabic book kindle showed squares and question marks instead of regular letters.

[kiklop74]

No. Kindle does not support font embedding in mobi or azw format. You can only do that with PDF but than you can not use calibre for producing such pdf.

[m2b999]

Well, that doesn't sound good for me.

Since you're expert in sony readers, would embedding Arabic fonts with epub format work? I'm thinking of returning my kindle and getting sony pocket edition reader.

[kiklop74]

Originally Posted by m2b999

Well, that doesn't sound good for me.

Since you're expert in sony readers, would embedding Arabic fonts with epub format work? I'm thinking of returning my kindle and getting sony pocket edition reader.

I had a bad experience with right-to-left language rendering on my PRS-505. A test is required here. Can you point me to some web page with text in arabic and I'll try to make an epub to see if it renders properly.

[m2b999]

I mean I can direct to an Arabic books library full of ePub format.

Go to this website: http://www.ibooks.ae/

At the right hand side, you'll see some books and next to them the sign for a book and downward arrow (download link).

Just click on it and it will download the book in Arabic epub format.

[m2b999]

let me know what's going to happen when you upload them to the sony reader.

BTW, what's your intake about the three new versions of sony readers.

LINK

[m2b999]

BTW, thanks!

[kiklop74]

I think you should try getting one of the Hanlin V3 clones. They support by default lots of languages and user can add custom fonts. That way you should be able to read books without modifying them.

See http://mybebook.com/ for one of those clones

Information on changing the fonts on those devices can be found here https://wiki.mobileread.com/wiki/Hanlin_V3

[kiklop74]

Also based on this thread https://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=79709

No reader that is based on Adobe DE (almost all commercial devices with EPUB support) do not handle right-to-left languages properly. That is also my experience.

I just created a sample epub with arabic text embedded font and it is incorrectly rendered in adobe de.

I think the only viable options are:
1. Use only PDF format with embedded arabic fonts for any e-ink device (Sony, Kindle etc.)
2. Get a tablet device that has one of the EPUB readers that do support RTL languages properly. For example iPad with stanza or iBooks or any android or windows based tablet that has Firefox browser where you could install EPUBReader plugin.

[m2b999]

So, basically none of the popular companies e-readers can support Arabic (Sony, Kindle ...)

So does the Hanlin readers support Arabic ePub format?

As you said, PDF is the only way out for my Kindle as for the moment.

For the tablets, I tried the stanza and ibooks on my iphone for Arabic epub books, and they worked great, but I wanted an e-reader for their e-ink, anti-glare, and longer battery features.

Thanks for the test drive on your reader