pdf to epub results in 'garbage'?

wulfie · 09-23-2010, 04:39 AM

Okay, this is driving me batty, I'm trying to convert some pdf files to epub in calibre. the job takes forever and the resulting epub is nothing but odd characters all over the page, just total garbage. Is there a 'fix' for this? Any help/input would be greatly appreciated.

itimpi · 09-23-2010, 04:45 AM

What size as these PDF files? It sounds as if they may be image scans with just a little (scrambled) OCR text underlaying the images. A large file size would be indicative of this type of PDF. If that is the case then you will not be able to convert these files using Calibre.

wulfie · 09-23-2010, 04:51 AM

the file in question is 1.5mb, is there any other application I can use to convert these to txt or any other format that I can then use in calibre to get them to epub?

HarryT · 09-23-2010, 06:04 AM

If the PDF contains page scans, there's no text there. You'd need to use an OCR program to convert to a text format first.

wulfie · 09-23-2010, 06:12 AM

can you recommend any good ocr apps?

Perkin · 09-23-2010, 07:00 AM

Abby Finereader, can load a pdf and OCR it, then save in various formats, rtf, html doc etc.

Starson17 · 09-23-2010, 08:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Perkin

Abby Finereader, can load a pdf and OCR it, then save in various formats, rtf, html doc etc.

I concur that Abby Finereader is an excellent choice, but you probably won't find a friend who owns it, and it's kind of single purpose. Adobe Acrobat Pro isn't as good at OCR, but if you're not doing too many books, and are willing to hand edit any errors, it has usable OCR and a lot of other uses that might justify the cost of buying. It's also a a lot easier to find someone who has it and would do the OCR for you.

09-23-2010, 04:39 AM	#1
wulfie Member Posts: 12 Karma: 10 Join Date: Sep 2010 Device: Pandigital Novel	pdf to epub results in 'garbage'? Okay, this is driving me batty, I'm trying to convert some pdf files to epub in calibre. the job takes forever and the resulting epub is nothing but odd characters all over the page, just total garbage. Is there a 'fix' for this? Any help/input would be greatly appreciated.

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09-23-2010, 04:45 AM	#2
itimpi Wizard Posts: 4,553 Karma: 950151 Join Date: Nov 2008 Device: Sony PRS-950, iphone/ipad (Marvin/iBooks/QuickReader)	What size as these PDF files? It sounds as if they may be image scans with just a little (scrambled) OCR text underlaying the images. A large file size would be indicative of this type of PDF. If that is the case then you will not be able to convert these files using Calibre.

09-23-2010, 04:51 AM	#3
wulfie Member Posts: 12 Karma: 10 Join Date: Sep 2010 Device: Pandigital Novel	the file in question is 1.5mb, is there any other application I can use to convert these to txt or any other format that I can then use in calibre to get them to epub?

09-23-2010, 06:04 AM	#4
HarryT eBook Enthusiast Posts: 85,544 Karma: 93383043 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: UK Device: Kindle Oasis 2, iPad Pro 10.5", iPhone 6	If the PDF contains page scans, there's no text there. You'd need to use an OCR program to convert to a text format first.

09-23-2010, 06:12 AM	#5
wulfie Member Posts: 12 Karma: 10 Join Date: Sep 2010 Device: Pandigital Novel	can you recommend any good ocr apps?

09-23-2010, 07:00 AM	#6
Perkin Guru Posts: 657 Karma: 64171 Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Kent, England, Sol 3, ZZ9 plural Z Alpha Device: Sony PRS-300, Kobo Aura HD, iPad (Marvin)	Abby Finereader, can load a pdf and OCR it, then save in various formats, rtf, html doc etc.

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