InDesign’s PDF reference manual has been updated for CC9.2
If you want an actual document to keep in your computer, here is the link: http://helpx.adobe.com/pdf/indesign_reference.pdf
Continue reading →Category Archives: ePUB
ePUB production just took a major leap upward with InDesign CC9.2
The new InDesign CC9.2, released this week, gives us much to be happy about as book publishers Most of the changes affect book production. The long-promised TypeKit integration is now available with over 700 Adobe TypeKit fonts freely usable and licensed for print, Web, and ebook as part of Creative Cloud. It runs much faster. There has been a major reworking of the hyperlinks panel to simplify its use. There’s a full featured QR code generator. There is … Continue reading →
The ePUB3 hype: I thought we were talking about books?
From the Shatzin files this morning: “I think the questioner in this case was also trying to pull us into a discussion of video, audio, interaction, and linking, which I resist for two reasons. One is that, so far, the preponderence of ebooks that have sold any appreciable quantities have not had any of those attributes. They’re just the same words as in the printed books made reflowable for a screen. The second is that my world … Continue reading →
Why embedded fonts matter for your ebooks
Today I want to talk about an area of ePUB and Kindle design which is never mentioned. The reason it is not mentioned is that only iBooks and Kindle Fire have the capability. There are a few peripheral apps that can: Bluefire on the iPad & Readium on Chrome, plus there may be more on Android, but I have no way to test that. There is a huge difference between the two options You can clearly … Continue reading →
Cover Design: The seduction of type effects
Amateur covers are obvious! The number one mistake is made by adding all kinds of fancy trimmings to your type. Not only does it make the type much harder to read, but all trained designers have been strongly told that NO ONE EVER does that. As a result, there are very few professional covers with type stylized like that. If it is, the type is carefully embossed, maybe beveled. Using the minimal amount necessary to get the … Continue reading →
New Release: InDesign Ebooks Conversions, 2nd Edition
Updating the ebook conversions techniques to InDesign CC Your book is ready to print How do I produce my ebooks? Here’s a set of workable techniques: InDesign Ebook Conversions for $2.99 If you had enough sense to fully format your book in InDesign, the answer to how to make ebooks is “easily, though not simply”. The largest problem most graphic designers have is that this whole “ebook thing” is a confusing mishmash of options and possibilities. This book … Continue reading →
New Release! “How Do I Make The Next Book Better?”
This is the plaintive question I get every time after I have set up, formatted, and uploaded a book for a new author. It is also one of the most common questions I see while socially networking. Buy $2.99: How Do I Make The Next Book Better? There are three basic underlying concepts 1: Producing a print version of your book 2: Dealing with the size of your production budget 3: Producing a manuscript which can be easily … Continue reading →
Contrary to common opinion, InDesign CC has helped ePUB export a lot
In the ePUB world, it is amazing how much bad press is given to InDesign. In fact, the coverage given to coders and developers of ePUBs matches the hype received in the media by Obama. But we won’t go there. I just received yet another posting in an author group I am in this morning. The writer stated that InDesign does not handle embedded fonts in ePUBs well. This is simply untrue. In fact, InDesign ePUB export … Continue reading →
InDesign CC begins the solution to ugly HTML lists
One of the real issues with ePUBs and Kindle books are the horrendously ugly HTML lists which have no typographical relationship with the rest of the copy in the book. InDesign CC has made a large step forward by beginning their development of a robust convert-to-text option for our ePUBs. Let me show you the issues with a sample document: Here we see a small bulleted list using an oversized red dingbat from the font, Embellishments … Continue reading →
Multiple linked TOCs in ePUBs for CC
One of the new changes to InDesign CC is an innocuous checkbox at the bottom of the Table of Contents dialog box for: Make text anchor in source paragraph. What this does is make sure that any TOC has functional links in the exported ePUB. As Ron Bilodeau commented, “You can now have multiple ID-generated TOCs within your document(s) and they will all exist with correct links within your exported ePub file.” Now you can have custom … Continue reading →