Images in InDesign to Epub viewed in iBooks, Kindle Apps are fine, but squished on Kindle Paperwhite

Report · Aug 09, 2023

The book I am working on has several images sprinkled throughout. When I export to ePub (Images are anchored and Export Objects is set to Align Center + 25 pixels space below), everything looks fine in iBooks, the Kindle Apps for iPhone and iPad, and also the Kindle Previewer app. However, when I send the ePub to my Kindle Paperwhite, the images squish and the aspect ratio is all wrong.

The odd thing is that if I double-tap the image to zoom, boom - it snaps to the correct aspect and looks great. I have tried all kinds of setting in InDesign - Width = 70% which oddly stretches the images out of aspect, and the other options like Relative to Text/Flow, etc. Nothing seems to resolve this weird issue.

Fact is if I did not have a real Kindle I would have already stopped, but since I do I am how in the rabbit warren of trying to get this sorted out.

Here is a pic of what I see. Kindle on left, Kindle app on the right.

Thanks,

Baxter

Report · Aug 10, 2023

Kindle readers don't actually handle EPUB documents, despite some hoopla to that effect a year or so back. They interpret and convert them something like Previewer does, but with differences and essentially no documentation.

If your book looks okay on Previewer, you're done.

Welcome to the world of "no two e-book readers presenting things the same way." 🙂

ETA... the Previewer mode for "Kindle Reader" should preview as if on a white screen reader. If there's a problem there... report back.

Report · Aug 10, 2023

Thanks for the response. What perplexes me is that I have another book on that Kindle (Unbroken by Hillebrand) and of course it looks perfect. I can only guess it was made in a different program or tweaked from ePub to Kindle. Dunno - just a guess.

The Kindle Previewer set to Kindle E-Reader looks fine to me - here are some screen grabs:

Report · Aug 10, 2023

It's the direct side-load process that's unpredictable and beyond user control. I never use it except to get the odd private doc onto my Kindle. It's worthless as a proofing technique.

But then, it would be nice if KDP had any method at all for getting a real Kindle release onto a real Kindle reader, be it a proof, an author copy, or whatever. 😞