Lets just cut through it -- if you need to convert PDF documents into the ePub format that iBooks or the Kindle app for iPad and Mac use, then the eponymously-named
PDF to ePub Converter does the job. It's quick, and it's easy to use, plus it has options for setting different colors for the text and page background. It's biggest problem is that there aren't many situations when most people would need to use any converter at all: iBooks and Kindle both open and display PDF files natively.
This app does produce ePub files for devices that lack native PDF compatibility, such as the Nook and iRiver Story HD, which we did not test. That's chiefly because we couldn't find anyone who had a Nook, nor anyone who'd even heard of iRiver Story HD.
Kindle and iBooks open PDFs so effortlessly, though, that there really isn't any circumstance where you'd do this conversion if you are just looking to load up your iPad with documents to read. You're more likely to be interested in this app if you are a writer who usually produces PDF documents, and now wants to turn those into e-books to sell to your audience online.
It is certainly true that your online book store looks better if you're selling e-books instead of PDFs; but in that case, PDF to ePub Converter is competing with e-book production tools like
Calibre and it's got to be able to produce good-looking ePub files.
PDF to ePub Converter is easier to use than something like Calibre, but chiefly because it has fewer options: you can't set ePub metadata like publication dates, you can't add separate cover artwork. Apart from print dialog-like options such as choosing to convert a whole document or just a selection of pages, your only tools in this application are to set a conversion mode. You can set that a PDF be converted in text mode, for instance, which means any graphics are ignored and the resulting file is solely text (handy for converting PDFs into Word documents, for example). Naturally, then, there's a image mode which looks much the same, but the maker iStonsoft cautions that it produces ePub files whose contents can't later be copied out by your reader -- which may or may not be what the author desires.
So you drag your PDF onto the app, choose your conversion mode, say where you want to save the resulting ePub file, and then you hit the big Convert button. It's quick to do, and the application converts formats quickly, but not necessarily accurately. In our tests, we were regularly getting errors where line breaks in the text had exclamation marks added. This will depend hugely on your original source PDF, but if you're sufficiently capable to adjust your PDF to avoid these issues, then you are not the target market for this application.
PDF to ePub Converter requires OS X 10.6 or later, and
usually costs $20 on the Mac App Store. The
official iStonsoft site offers a trial version, and also an edition for Windows that costs $25.
Who is PDF to ePub Converter for:
The occasional user and reader who prefers ePub.
Who is PDF to ePub Converter not for:
Kindle and iBooks readers or writers producing professional ebooks.
-- William Gallagher (
@WGallagher)
Top