For ages, books have not only transformed the lives of men through innumerable knowledge, they have entertained humans when there was no other source. Though times and formats have changed, the position of books in human lives remains unchallenged. With the advancement in technology, the publishing world has witnessed a major transition: from papered books to digital or ebooks and the trend has been further accelerated by the fixed layout ebook conversion services, which provides readers a wholesome experience. Now before deep diving into the technicalities of fixed layout ebook conversion, it is imperative to understand the minute nuances of ebook layout and why it is important. 

A Quick Brief on ebook Layout 

The ebook layout can be defined as a style through which various elements of an ebook is presented to keep readers engaged and interested. Think of it as an artistic way of placing content of an ebook, the reading material, pictures, and other aspects, that compels readers to scroll till the last page of the ebook. With the accelerated pace of ebook conversion services and a steady growth in digital publishing field, it has become critical for publishing houses, authors, and independent publishers to give their selection of the layout type for their ebooks a serious thought. According to some of the best ebook conversion companies, there is a strong need for publishers and authors to pay attention to the perfect layout design with ideal color schemes, arrangements, and fonts to attract audience toward their content. Every publishing house or author should present their ebook in such a way that is easily accessible, more convenient, and above all, enjoyable for readers. However, it is easier said than done as majority of publishers and authors are often confused as to which layout would do justice to their manuscript. To address this challenge while ensuring that the published ebook reaches to a larger audience base, one must go for the best ebook conversion services and ebook layout which suits their content and requirement.  

Understanding The Fixed Layout eBook Conversion Services 

Publishing houses, authors, and publishers usually use the fixed layout format to convert the physical books into their digitized form by adjusting the static content. In the fixed layout format, the alignment, design, and format of the content remains intact. This is usually the most preferred layout choice for eBooks that have multimedia-heavy content with some other elements. Through the element of interaction, the engagement of reader with the content increases while ensuring that the user gets a heightened and enriching reading experience. The intent of the fixed layout is to position the content at appropriate places while making it more appealing and meaningful through a pre-established content flow. After all, a minute change in the entire alignment can create a ripple effect, impacting the complete view of the content and affect the entire context of the ebook, leading to loss of the essence. Some of the key ebook types for which fixed layout is a perfect format are: 

  • Manga 
  • Instruction Manuals 
  • Technical Manuals 
  • Coffee Table Books 
  • Storybooks 
  • Children’s Comic Books  
  • Early Age Chapter Books 
  • Concept Books 
  • Memoirs 
  • Graphic Novels 
  • Toy Books 
  • Cookbooks 
  • Yearbooks 
  • Illustrative Books 

What Should be the Right Page Size for Fixed Layout eBook Conversion? 

Being an author, publisher, or publishing house, it is important to know the right page size while designing the ebook for a seamless and easier conversion. However, there’s no right answer to this since readers use different devices, from mobile apps and laptops to iPads and Kindle, for reading purpose. Thus, it is important to have converted files that can easily accessed and read across devices of diverse resolutions and sizes. Among all, the aim is to provide end users the ultimate experience while keeping in mind the page dimension and page aspect ratio.  

How to Select the Ideal Page Aspect Ratio for Fixed Layout? 

The page aspect ratio denotes the ratio between a page’s width and its height. With this fact, the page aspect ratio of ebooks depends on the device a reader is using and the page spread. For example, since iPad screens are square-shaped, an aspect ratio of 4:3 is the best pick for them. For other devices, it is better to go for 16:9 or 16:10 ratio. If the ebook is a double-page book, it is advised to go for square page aspect ratio because in this case, readers tend to use the landscape mode more as compared to the other modes. If the devices has the screen of 16:9, it is better to go for 8:9 or 8:10 page setting for double-page book layout.  

What is the right page dimension for the fixed layout? 

Rather using the standard measurement units such as centimeters or inches, the dimension of page is measured as well as expressed in pixels. For fixed layout, it is not suitable to set the page size as that of the screen size as it may compromise the quality when the reader zooms in. Thus, it is better to design pages which are bigger than the screen size as they will provide better results. For the Kindle screen, Amazon recommends to design the file in double size to support the zoom-in feature. Keeping this in mind, for a complete page portrait viewing, the page dimension is 5120X3200. For full-page landscape, it is 3200X5120 and 3200X2560 for a double-page. In the similar fashion, Apple has provided certain recommendations in regards to ebooks and page dimensions to provide readers a great experience. Apple suggests creating pages that are approximately 1.5 times the screen size. With this recommendation, for a full– page portrait, the dimension should be 3072X2304 and for a full– page landscape, it should be 2304X3072. For a double-page, the ideal dimension is 2304X1536. 

Conclusion 

With the extended functionalities that fixed layout for ebooks has to offer, publishers and authors alike rope in the best ebook conversion companies to digitize their manuscripts to entice the new generation who prefer screen reading while reaching wider audience. Besides, this fixed layout ebook conversion services provides several other benefits such as complete control over content view, zoom-in and out option, smoother and quicker navigation, and a more augmented experience with easy annotations, linking, animations, and other exciting interactivities, making it one of the most desirable formats in the world of digital publishing.