Kobo File Formats

[gavinjb]

Hi,

I have recently purchased a Kobo (been a Kindle user since the original) and so far am loving it. However from reading in several places on the Net I have seen when converting ebooks to KOBO there are 2 formats reconmended EPUB & Kepub, can I asks which format is the prefered to use and if either has any benefits.

I am using Calibre and I have downloaded the Kepub Output Plugin as I was planning to use Kepub.

Thanks,

[koboy]

Originally Posted by gavinjb

Hi,

I have recently purchased a Kobo (been a Kindle user since the original) and so far am loving it. However from reading in several places on the Net I have seen when converting ebooks to KOBO there are 2 formats reconmended EPUB & Kepub, can I asks which format is the prefered to use and if either has any benefits.

I am using Calibre and I have downloaded the Kepub Output Plugin as I was planning to use Kepub.

Thanks,

my advice is to try both and decide which you prefer.

best wishes koboy

[hobnail]

The KoboTouchExtended plugin for Calibre will convert an epub to a kepub when sending a book to the Kobo. It's used just like the regular KoboTouch plugin.

[hobnail]

And all is not wonderful and glorious in the kepub world; here's one thread where it's discussed:

https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sh...d.php?t=328335

[ZodWallop]

Originally Posted by gavinjb

Hi,

I have recently purchased a Kobo (been a Kindle user since the original) and so far am loving it. However from reading in several places on the Net I have seen when converting ebooks to KOBO there are 2 formats reconmended EPUB & Kepub, can I asks which format is the prefered to use and if either has any benefits.

I am using Calibre and I have downloaded the Kepub Output Plugin as I was planning to use Kepub.

Thanks,

There's threads on here comparing ePub to kepub.

From memory:
ePub:

• Uses Adobe page numbers, so page 27 always has the same text no matter what size font you use
• Better layout and font rendering

Kepub:

• One screen=one page. So if a chapter is 13 pages, tapping the screen 13 times will get you to the next chapter
• Zoomable images
• Pop-up footnotes

I prefer kepub myself. I disliked the ePub page numbers, where a 13 page chapter could require anywhere between 13-39 page turns.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by gavinjb

Hi,

I have recently purchased a Kobo (been a Kindle user since the original) and so far am loving it. However from reading in several places on the Net I have seen when converting ebooks to KOBO there are 2 formats reconmended EPUB & Kepub, can I asks which format is the prefered to use and if either has any benefits.

I am using Calibre and I have downloaded the Kepub Output Plugin as I was planning to use Kepub.

Thanks,

If you read that annotations are slow and hard to use with ePub, that's no longer true as Kobo has fixed that as of the 4.20 firmware.

With 4.20, Kobo has changed how page numbers are done in KePub. So you'll have to decide which style of page numbers works for you. There are discussions about page number somewhere on MR.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by ZodWallop

There's threads on here comparing ePub to kepub.

From memory:
ePub:

• Uses Adobe page numbers, so page 27 always has the same text no matter what size font you use
• Better layout and font rendering

Kepub:

• One screen=one page. So if a chapter is 13 pages, tapping the screen 13 times will get you to the next chapter
• Zoomable images
• Pop-up footnotes

I prefer kepub myself. I disliked the ePub page numbers, where a 13 page chapter could require anywhere between 13-39 page turns.

I prefer ePub because the typesetting is MUCH better then KePub. Plus, ePub has proper page numbers that do not change with changes in font, font size, margins, or line height.

As for pop-up footnotes in KePub, the footnotes have to be coded correctly for that to work and in most ePub, that won't be the case. Also with KePub, it's best to have every HTML file in the ToC. So tat means editing the ePub before sending it to the Kobo as KePub.

[ZodWallop]

Originally Posted by ZodWallop

I prefer kepub myself. I disliked the ePub page numbers, where a 13 page chapter could require anywhere between 13-39 page turns.

Originally Posted by JSWolf

I prefer ePub because the typesetting is MUCH better then KePub. Plus, ePub has proper page numbers that do not change with changes in font, font size, margins, or line height.

So as you can see, both formats have their fans.

[Sirtel]

Kepub is faster than epub (searching, page turns etc.). Not that epub is terribly slow; it isn't. But kepub is zippier. (Personally I use epub).

[rashkae]

The epub experience *has* improved greatly with recent firmware updates, so many old threads and old views might not be applicable anymore. For me, the one remaining missing feature from Epub is the ability to substitute fonts for missing glyphs..

If a book uses a Unicode character or symbol that is not in the standard font you are reading with, the Kepub reader will try to pick another font that *does*. The epub reader simply won't, and will just not display those characters.. (It doesn't even show an obvious placeholder, so you might not even know there is something missing while reading.) As it happens, I have had many books affected by this.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by Sirtel

Kepub is faster than epub (searching, page turns etc.). Not that epub is terribly slow; it isn't. But kepub is zippier. (Personally I use epub).

One reason KePub is slightly fast is because of less text on screen because of the forced overly large line height needed to avoid the top/bottom lines being cut off. This is a long standing bug in KePub. Also, ePub has much better typography then KePub. If you read anyplace on the forum that ePub's highlighting is slow, that's no longer true. Kobo fixed that in the 4.20 firmware. ePub is plenty fast enough at page turns.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by rashkae

The epub experience *has* improved greatly with recent firmware updates, so many old threads and old views might not be applicable anymore. For me, the one remaining missing feature from Epub is the ability to substitute fonts for missing glyphs..

If a book uses a Unicode character or symbol that is not in the standard font you are reading with, the Kepub reader will try to pick another font that *does*. The epub reader simply won't, and will just not display those characters.. (It doesn't even show an obvious placeholder, so you might not even know there is something missing while reading.) As it happens, I have had many books affected by this.

The solution to the glyph issue is to install at least one glyph heavy font such as ChareInk and if you do come across a missing glyph, switch the font.

[John F]

Originally Posted by ZodWallop

There's threads on here comparing ePub to kepub.

From memory:
ePub:

• Uses Adobe page numbers, so page 27 always has the same text no matter what size font you use
• Better layout and font rendering

Kepub:

• One screen=one page. So if a chapter is 13 pages, tapping the screen 13 times will get you to the next chapter
• Zoomable images
• Pop-up footnotes

I prefer kepub myself. I disliked the ePub page numbers, where a 13 page chapter could require anywhere between 13-39 page turns.

Does kepub still make it easier to tap on footnotes? I use to have a very hard time tapping on footnotes with epubs.

[John F]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

...

As for pop-up footnotes in KePub, the footnotes have to be coded correctly for that to work and in most ePub, that won't be the case. ...

Which is a non-issue? If you get your kepubs from Kobo, they will most likely be correct, and if you are side loading kepubs, Calibre will get it correct.

I use Calibre for side loading, and I don't recall having any problems with footnotes.

[John F]

Originally Posted by ZodWallop

There's threads on here comparing ePub to kepub.

From memory:
ePub:

• Uses Adobe page numbers, so page 27 always has the same text no matter what size font you use
• Better layout and font rendering

Kepub:

• One screen=one page. So if a chapter is 13 pages, tapping the screen 13 times will get you to the next chapter
• Zoomable images
• Pop-up footnotes

I prefer kepub myself. I disliked the ePub page numbers, where a 13 page chapter could require anywhere between 13-39 page turns.

And doesn't kepub have better stats?