From PDF to EPUB 3 Fixed Layout with selectable text

Chang · 05-09-2017, 01:43 AM

I'm trying to find a free way to convert PDF file into EPUB 3 fixed layout file with selectable text. I have found several commercial softwares that are able to do this but it's hard to say which one is the best and their prices vary quite much. I have tried a few trial versions (Flowpaper, Magicepub and Sugarcube) so it's clearly possible to convert from PDF to EPUB 3 fixed layout with selectable text. I'm not a publisher and I just need one example book to be converted for my own testing purposes.

So far I have tried to import PDF files to the latest InDesign CC version but InDesign converts PDF pages to images in EPUB 3 fixed layout export. Also many free converters don't have support for EPUB 3 fixed layouts. Has anyone found a workflow to do the conversion without using the commercial softwares?

Toxaris · 05-09-2017, 04:37 AM

None of the conversions will give you a good result. Some might be decent (depending on the source PDF), but never good.
Your best shot would be to OCR the PDF and then manually create the ePUB after (or while) correcting the text. There are various software options available for that. For OCR there is a big difference in quality between the commercial software and the Open Source software. For creation of the ePUB the Open Source software is better than the commercial alternatives.

05-09-2017, 01:43 AM	#1
Chang Connoisseur Posts: 92 Karma: 50000 Join Date: Oct 2009 Device: none	From PDF to EPUB 3 Fixed Layout with selectable text I'm trying to find a free way to convert PDF file into EPUB 3 fixed layout file with selectable text. I have found several commercial softwares that are able to do this but it's hard to say which one is the best and their prices vary quite much. I have tried a few trial versions (Flowpaper, Magicepub and Sugarcube) so it's clearly possible to convert from PDF to EPUB 3 fixed layout with selectable text. I'm not a publisher and I just need one example book to be converted for my own testing purposes. So far I have tried to import PDF files to the latest InDesign CC version but InDesign converts PDF pages to images in EPUB 3 fixed layout export. Also many free converters don't have support for EPUB 3 fixed layouts. Has anyone found a workflow to do the conversion without using the commercial softwares?

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05-09-2017, 04:37 AM	#2
Toxaris Wizard Posts: 4,520 Karma: 121692313 Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Heemskerk, NL Device: PRS-T1, Kobo Touch, Kobo Aura	None of the conversions will give you a good result. Some might be decent (depending on the source PDF), but never good. Your best shot would be to OCR the PDF and then manually create the ePUB after (or while) correcting the text. There are various software options available for that. For OCR there is a big difference in quality between the commercial software and the Open Source software. For creation of the ePUB the Open Source software is better than the commercial alternatives.