Listen to this articleE-publishing
With the rapid-revenue growth of e-publishing, the choice between EPUB and other ebook formats, including PDF, MOBI…etc., has been trickier more than ever. While the whole point is simply to offer an efficient, engaging user-friendly experience for readers, opting for the most convenient format has been far from being simple.
With 2019 just around the corner, it looks like some formats are still taking the market by storm while others have faded into the background. And let’s just say that EPUB is one of the ebook formats that’s still claiming some kind of superiority over others.
It’s not hard to believe, is it? Well, in case it is, let’s explore why e-pub may be trumping other ebook formats.
“EPUB is the most widely supported vendor-independent XML-based e-book format”. Says Wikipedia
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Besides the fact that it is an open standard format, almost any device can handle EPUB, which was developed by the International Digital Publishing Forum (IDPF). Turning this into facts: it is compatible with the highest number of software and hardware e-readers, tablets, and ebook reading apps:
Kobo E-Readers
Barnes & Noble Nook
Sony Reader
Adobe Digital Editions
Google E-Readers
Icecream E-book Reader
iOS (iPad (iBooks), iPhones, Apple (including Bluefire Reader App))
Window PCs
Mac
Mobile Devices
Amazon Kindle Fire Tablet
According to The Guardian: “The next best is ePub”, where plain ASCII text and RTF come first, yet neither is capable of offering a luxurious reading experience.
In other words, EPUB enjoys some kind of privilege, owning this kind of accessibility.
EPUB Enables Trouble-Free Conversion to Other Formats (MOBI, RTF.)
Technically, EPUB supports ALL but Kindle (except Amazon Kindle Fire Tablet).
However, that’s not a dead-end for Kindle users!
It’s possible for you to effortlessly convert an EPUB file(s) into formats that Kindle reads, such as PDF, AZW, TXT, and MOBI. In that case, you will need the help of experienced specialists to perform this step especially if your file is generated from InDesign, Word, or Quark.
On the other hand, there are less professional ways to do it. In addition to the tools developed by Amazon, there are other programs you can use, including Calibre, Sigil, and Adobe Digital Edition to convert your file(s) from Epub to Mobi.
EPUB Comes with Multiple Convenient Features to Readers.
Pleasing readers means pleasing their eyes first. The FREE ebook format brings a ton of flexible options and features that are incredibly easy on the eyes!
Here are some of the features provided by EPUB:
– Choosing between reflowable and fixed Layout: In a reflowable EPUB, content is fluid, isn’t bound to page numbering allowing flexibility and text flow, as you zoom in for instance, and fits the size of the screen of your device. Alternatively, a fixed-layout ebook defines a viewpoint, i.e. the size of the “page” in pixels, and usually contains many images exactly positioned relative to text, which is great for image-heavy ebooks.
And finally, there’s the electronic “page” which is the strict rendition of a printed page on a small screen; you’ll usually have to zoom and scroll in the page (often vertically and horizontally) to read the text.
– Changing size and style of the font, and line spacing.
– Text-to-Speech.
– Background intonation.
– Highlighting.
– SVG graphics.
– Bookmarking and syncing.
– Web-based dictionaries and offline dictionary apps.
– Global Language Support (Latin and Non-Latin including Arabic and Chinese)
For an e-bookworm, this can’t get any more convenient.
EPUB Is Interactive.
Reading broadens imagination, and here’s EPUB3 is assuring that you can stretch it even more!
With the growing demand for interactivity, EPUB’s latest edition (EPUB 3) brings a level-up! Interactive learning for a richer, more engaging than EVER reading experience.
Now, while reading, you can choose to add embedded features and multimedia content such as videos, moving images, audio clips and narrations, and more interactive elements. Offering such functionality and accessibility, this interactivity will specifically come in very handy if you ever decide to create interactive children’s books and stories, educational books, scientific and math books and studies, comics, and even fiction books.
Conclusion
It should no longer be tricky to choose a format for your book. Having a lot of privileges, including accessibility, flexibility, functionality, and with the exponential development of the format, EPUB gives publishers, retailers, and distributors the advantage of gifting readers and selling more, all at once, over other ebook formats.
Have you made your mind yet? Contact us to discuss your book’s EPUB conversion project.
References
1. EPUB on Wikipedia.
2. The Guardian: Which is the best format for ebooks?
