The electronic books or eBooks They have become a popular way of reading, although they have not completely displaced physical, paper books. eBooks offer the convenience of carrying an entire library on a portable device. However, with the variety of eBook formats available, it can be difficult to understand the differences between them and choose the one that best suits our needs, something that will also help you choose compatible eReader models.
Therefore, in this article I will explore the different eBook formats, including EPUB, PDF, MOBI, AZW and more. We will analyze the unique characteristics of each format, as well as their advantages and disadvantages, among other things…
- List of free eBook sites to download
- Caliber: how to convert formats
- How to convert CBR to color PDF
What is an eBook format?
Un eBook, short for “electronic book” (electronic book in Spanish), is a digital version of a book. This format allows Readers enjoy a wide variety of texts through electronic devices such as eReaders, computers, mobile devices, etc.
On a technical level, the file type of an eBook implies several things. Each file has a unique identification or name, which can be modified or assigned at the will of the user or creator of the content, and an extension that determines what type of file it is and what functions it fulfills. For example, one of the eBook formats most popular is the ePUB. This format is based on several languages such as XHTML, XML and CSS and also on the third version of HTML5, MathML, scalable vector graphics (SVG) and JavaScript. A format in which the content is marked, but its format is not delimited, therefore, it is capable of adapting to different screen sizes.
In addition, the format can interfere with whether it is a modifiable file or not, or whether it allows certain adjustments or not, its compatibility with eReaders, etc. For example, we have files such as native Kindle files or ePUB, PDF or PostScript files that are fixed, they do not allow changes in principle. Others are alterable, such as some types of .doc, .txt, etc.
Existing eBook formats
As for types of eBook formats existing, we have to highlight the following:
- DOC / DOCX- It was created by Microsoft and has the file extensions .doc and .docx. It is the format of the Microsoft Word text editor and in which we can also find some books. Most files in the DOC/DOCX format work well when converted to eBooks, but files in a more complex format will not convert as well. It is the ideal format to also write your eBooks, since Amazon's KDP supports this format.
- HTML- was created by W3C and has the file extension .html. It is the format of web pages and all devices that have a browser installed read it. It is universally compatible with all web browsers, but is not ideal for reading e-books due to the lack of formatting and layout features.
- RTF- It was created by Microsoft and has the file extension .rtf. It is the rich text format created by Microsoft. It allows the inclusion of text styles and embedded objects, but is not as widely supported as other formats.
- Compiled HTML- was created by Microsoft and has the file extension .chm. It is an extension of the Microsoft Compiled HTML Help format. It allows the inclusion of rich text and metadata, but is not supported by all e-book readers.
- DjVu- It was created by AT&T Labs and has the file extension .djvu. It is an alternative to PDF. Unlike this, it was born as an open file format. It allows annotations and bookmarks, but is not as widely supported as PDF.
- iBook- was created by Apple and has the file extension .ibook. It is the format of books created with Apple iBooks Author. It is oriented towards self-publishing of the enriched book, with many possibilities for interactivity and collaborative work. It allows the creation of interactive and multimedia books, but is only compatible with iOS devices.
- Microsoft Lite- It was created by Microsoft and has the file extension .lit. It is the format that Microsoft Reader reads. It was one of the first e-book formats and was very successful. It was widely compatible with Microsoft devices, but is currently unsupported.
- BBeB- It was created by Sony and has the file extensions .lrf and .lrx. It is the outdated format of Sony readers. It was compatible with Sony readers, but the new readers of this brand no longer support it and the catalog of titles goes to ePub.
- PalmReader: was created by Palm Digital Media and has the file extension .pml. It is the typical markup language format created by Palm Reader. It can be opened with eReader, but is not as widely supported as other formats.
- Open eBook- was created by Open eBook Forum and has the file extension .opf. It is the origin of ePubs and constitutes one of its elements. It is a standard format endorsed by NIST, but is not as widely supported as other formats.
- CBA: is commonly used for comics. The extension depends on the compression carried out on the comic, .cba corresponds to ACE1. This format is a file container.
- CBR: is another popular format for comics. The .cbr extension corresponds to RAR. This format is a file container.
- CBZ: is also used for comics. The .cbz extension corresponds to ZIP. This format is a file container.
- Daisy or DBT: is a special reading format that allows you to read and listen to books at the same time. It can make reading easier for people with dyslexia and/or visual problems. This format is an XML-based standard published by the National Information Standards Organization (NISO) and maintained by the DAISY Consortium for people with printing disabilities.
- Fictionbook- is an open XML-based e-book format that originated and gained popularity in Russia. FictionBook files have the extension .fb2 or .fb3.
- Mobipoket: is a format for e-book files created by Mobipocket SA. Files with the .mobi extension can be used by programs distributed for the Linux, Mac OS, Windows platform.
- KF8: is the new eBook standard that Amazon developed that allows publishers, authors and artists to develop content exclusively for the Kindle Fire. Files with the .azw3 extension are compatible with this format.
- Topaz: It is a completely proprietary format. It's not related to MOBI/AZW at all, not even as much as AZW4 which uses a Palm container. It is the result of an automatic conversion of scanned text images similar to the DJVU format.
- PDF: stands for Portable Document File, which was once a proprietary file format of Adobe, it is one of the most popular e-book formats in the book world. It is not only used for general paperwork, but also for creating galleys and review copies.
- EPUB: It is the most common format, it is the one used by most online stores and the one used on most websites that sell electronic books or that allow us to legally download them for free. This format is based on several languages such as XHTML, XML and CSS and also on the third version of HTML5, MathML, scalable vector graphics (SVG) and JavaScript.
- TXT: is a plain and basic text format. It is extremely simple and is commonly used to save notes.
- MOBI: It is an open standard for e-book publishing, although it was purchased by Amazon. The Kindle is capable of reading it as long as it is books without DRM protection.
- Founder Electronics: APABI is a format designed by Founder Electronics, and very popular in Chinese eBooks. It can be read using the Apabi Reader software and can be produced using the Apabi Publisher tool. Both files with .xeb and .ceb extensions are encrypted binary files.
- CEB- is a proprietary e-book format created by Founder Electronics and popular in China. This format has been discontinued.
- IEC 62448: is a standard that specifies a generic format for multimedia electronic publishing used for the exchange of electronic book data between data preparers and publishers.
- INF: IBM created the INF e-book format and used it widely for OS/2 and its other operating systems. INF files were often digital versions of printed books that came with some OS/2 packages and other products. There were also many other publications and monthly newsletters available in INF format. The advantage of INF is that it is very compact and fast, and supports images, rearranged text, tables, and various list formats.
- AZW- is a native format created by Amazon and developed specifically for its Kindle devices. It is an exclusive proprietary format for these electronic books.
- AZW3– Also known as Kindle Format 8, it is a native format created by Amazon and developed specifically for its Kindle devices. It is an exclusive proprietary format for these electronic books.
- KFX: is an eBook format created in Kindle Format 10 (KF10), Amazon's successor to the AZW3 format (Kindle 8). Contains an Amazon eBook, which includes text and metadata that describe the book, such as the author, title, and number of pages.
- PRC: It is another e-book format that can be read as long as it does not have DRM protection.
- PKG: Files with a .pkg extension, officially referred to as a Newton Digital Book, are a single Newton package file that can contain multiple books (for example, all three books of a trilogy could be packaged together).
- OPF (Open Packet Format)- is an XML file format that can contain a digital magazine or other publication. It includes metadata that describes the content and a list of pages, images, and text referenced in the post.
- Plucker- is an offline web and e-book reader for Palm OS-based handheld devices, Windows Mobile devices, and other PDAs. Plucker contains POSIX tools, scripts, and “pipes” that work on Linux, Mac OS X, Windows, and Unix. And, of course, it has its own format. with .pdb extension. PDB files do not provide Digital Rights Management (DRM), so they support royalty-free eBooks.
- PS (PostScript): is a page description language and a programming language based on dynamically typed stacks. It is most commonly used in the electronic and desktop publishing arena.
- CEO- The .pdg digital book format is used by the popular digital library company SSReader in China. It is a proprietary raster and binding image compression format, with read-time OCR plugin modules.
- RTF (Rich Text Format): Created by Microsoft, this format allows text to be formatted and can be easily converted to other eBook formats such as EPUB.
- TEI Lite– is a specific customization of the TEI tag set, designed to meet “90% of the needs of 90% of the TEI user community.” Due to its simplicity and the fact that it can be learned relatively easily, it has been widely adopted, especially by beginners and by large institutional projects that rely on large teams of coders to mark up their documents.
- TakeRaider- An eBook format that can be opened on both Windows devices and handheld devices such as Android, Palm OS, and EPOC.
- OpenXPS: Open XML Paper Specification, with .xps or .oxps extensions is an international ECMA-388 standard, developed by Microsoft, that defines the layout and visual appearance of each page of a document. Based on XML, it supports device and resolution independence. Although it was introduced as an alternative to PDF, user support and familiarity with XPS files is limited.
There are others, and as technology advances, more will appear. But these are the most popular…
Is it possible to convert between eBook formats?
Yes, it is possible to convert between different eBook formats. Here is an explanation of how it is done:
- Caliber: is a free and open source program that allows the conversion of eBooks between different formats. To use Caliber, you simply drag and drop eBooks into the program. Then, right click on the selected book and hover over the “Convert Books” section. If you only want to convert one, click “Convert separately”, if you want to convert several, select “Convert in bulk”.
- online tools- There are several online tools that allow eBook conversion, such as Aspose and Ebook2Edit. These tools are usually very easy to use: you simply upload your eBook or document, choose an eBook format from the drop-down menu, and then click “Start” to begin the eBook conversion.
It is important to note that the Conversion quality may vary depending of the complexity of the eBook and the source and destination format. Some formats may not be supported by all conversion tools. Therefore, you may need to try different tools or adjust your conversion settings to get the best results. And, in many cases, some functionality or flexibility may be lost…