Formatting PDFs for ereaders (SOLVED)
-
Scott
- Site Admin
- Posts: 4105
- Joined: 31 Jul 2006, 23:00
- Currently Reading: The Unbound Soul
- Bookshelf Size: 363
- Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-scott.html
- Reading Device: B00JG8GOWU
- Publishing Contest Votes: 960
- Signature Addition: View official OnlineBookClub.org review of In It Together: The Beautiful Struggle Uniting Us All
Formatting PDFs for ereaders (SOLVED)
I received a great question today from an author. The author had the problem that his 400-page PDF file designed for 8.5" x 11" pages was too large.
This is actually not only a problem for authors in this same situation, but is also a problem for people attempting to read PDF on their ereader device and is not only an issue of file size but also of formatting. Even if one puts the large file on their Nook or Kindle, PDFs designed for large pages or large screens are often unreadable on a small 6" screen especially on a device whose native support for PDFs is limited. The big margins, headers, footers and graphics might work fine on paper but not on an ereader screen. For this reason, while it is possible to compress PDF files too make them smaller, this is not the ideal way to go about it for ebooks.
Instead, we want to convert the PDF into an ereader-optimized PDF. Namely, this means taking something like the following:
...and turn it into a new PDF that is just text on a page without the margins, the special graphics for new chapters, the page number in the footer, the fancy first-paragraph lettering, the use of multiple columns, and probably even the paragraph indents and other things like that. This will make the PDF much more readable on ereaders, but will also reduce the file size by giving us a chance to make a much simpler file.
The solution is actually fairly simple. We simply use free software to convert the PDF into an ereader-optimized file.
The number one free tool for managing and converting ebooks (not just PDFs) is calibre. It is free and straightforward. I recommend using it as your first try for converting complicated PDFs into more ereader-optimized files. Calibre essentially attempts to read the PDF word-by-word, turning into straight text and then recompiles that into a new, simpler PDF that would presumably have a much smaller file size. Calibre works well with the vast majority of PDFs, but may give poor results with some very complicated ones such as with the picture above.
Check the results of Calibre and if it isn't giving a good readable file, then use K2pdfopt. K2pdfopt is designed to optimize PDF documents for small screen e-readers. Calibre attempts to convert the document into raw text and try to reformat it, but K2pdfopt instead carefully crops and realigns the pieces as though they were a series of images.
If anyone has any further questions or advice about this, please post them.
This is actually not only a problem for authors in this same situation, but is also a problem for people attempting to read PDF on their ereader device and is not only an issue of file size but also of formatting. Even if one puts the large file on their Nook or Kindle, PDFs designed for large pages or large screens are often unreadable on a small 6" screen especially on a device whose native support for PDFs is limited. The big margins, headers, footers and graphics might work fine on paper but not on an ereader screen. For this reason, while it is possible to compress PDF files too make them smaller, this is not the ideal way to go about it for ebooks.
Instead, we want to convert the PDF into an ereader-optimized PDF. Namely, this means taking something like the following:
...and turn it into a new PDF that is just text on a page without the margins, the special graphics for new chapters, the page number in the footer, the fancy first-paragraph lettering, the use of multiple columns, and probably even the paragraph indents and other things like that. This will make the PDF much more readable on ereaders, but will also reduce the file size by giving us a chance to make a much simpler file.
The solution is actually fairly simple. We simply use free software to convert the PDF into an ereader-optimized file.
The number one free tool for managing and converting ebooks (not just PDFs) is calibre. It is free and straightforward. I recommend using it as your first try for converting complicated PDFs into more ereader-optimized files. Calibre essentially attempts to read the PDF word-by-word, turning into straight text and then recompiles that into a new, simpler PDF that would presumably have a much smaller file size. Calibre works well with the vast majority of PDFs, but may give poor results with some very complicated ones such as with the picture above.
Check the results of Calibre and if it isn't giving a good readable file, then use K2pdfopt. K2pdfopt is designed to optimize PDF documents for small screen e-readers. Calibre attempts to convert the document into raw text and try to reformat it, but K2pdfopt instead carefully crops and realigns the pieces as though they were a series of images.
If anyone has any further questions or advice about this, please post them.
You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.
"That virtue we appreciate is as much ours as another's. We see so much only as we possess." - Henry David Thoreau
"Non ignara mali miseris succurrere disco." Virgil, The Aeneid
"Non ignara mali miseris succurrere disco." Virgil, The Aeneid
-
tcmyoda
- Posts: 2
- Joined: 20 Jul 2013, 23:05
- Bookshelf Size: 0
It says "You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.".
-- 30 Aug 2013, 15:32 --
I tried both of those programs today, and they actually increased the file size. Please use the file I emailed you a while back instead.
-- 03 Sep 2013, 09:19 --
I was able to convert it to an .epub format and upload that. Please change my document availability format to .epub only so we can get this ticket cleared.
-- 30 Aug 2013, 15:32 --
I tried both of those programs today, and they actually increased the file size. Please use the file I emailed you a while back instead.
-- 03 Sep 2013, 09:19 --
I was able to convert it to an .epub format and upload that. Please change my document availability format to .epub only so we can get this ticket cleared.
