Best eBook File Formats

People were least concerned about eBook formats when the trend of digitization was at its infancy. Gradually, new eBook formats got introduced in the market due to the increased readership of the digital versions. Apart from that, their inexpensiveness and portable features were one of the top reasons which led to an increase in sales of those eBooks.

Both authors, as well as readers, now have more than enough options from which they can choose the ideal one for them but it can be a bit confusing. It is mostly because of the proprietary and open standard format of eBooks. Apart from this, another challenging thing is that all the e-readers do not support every eBook format.

So, one good way to overcome this trouble is by approaching a professional digital conversion company offering eBook conversion services. The companies working in the domain usually have the right experience and knowledge to advise you regarding the best format based on your needs and budget. However, before outsourcing your requirements understanding the key differences between the different electronic book formats is vital and will be helpful in the future.

In this article, we have provided a brief comparison on the most widely used as well as easy-to-use eBook formats.

Top eBook Formats and their Differences

EPUB


File Extension: .epub
Image Support: Available
Audio Support: Available
Video Support: Available
DRM Support: Yes



Supported on almost all digital platforms, EPUB is a widely accepted eBook file format that every company recommends without any hesitation. The files in .epub are supported by around 300 eReaders, including Barnes and Noble’s Nook, Apple’s iBook and Adobe Digital Editions, etc. EPUB is completely free to use and is an open standard and vendor-independent format. It is capable of displaying both a fixed width layout and reflowable content.

Mobipocket


Image Support: Available
Audio Support: Not available
Video Support: Not available
DRM Support: Yes


File Extension: .prc or .


Mobipocket or MOBI is based on an open eBook standard that facilitates hassle-free eBook publishing. It is compatible on multiple platforms but with one exception, i.e., the Barnes and Noble Nook. Readers can incorporate extra pages, dictionary, annotations, sketches, corrections, highlights, bookmarks, and more according to their requirements.

Companies offering eBook formatting services recommend this if you are targeting mainly on audiences using smaller screens as the image size can’t exceed 64K. With larger devices, the images may appear weird.

Kindle (Amazon)


File Extension: .azw, .azw3 or .kf8, .kfx
Image Support: Available
Audio Support: Available
Video Support: Available
DRM Support: Yes



Brought in by Amazon, the Kindle is specifically suited for Kindle eBook readers or kindle file formats. It can be considered as an enhanced version of MOBI with features including better support for encryption and compression. It is available on a variety of platforms, however can be accessed only through the Kindle app. These files can be obtained only from Amazon book stores. It can be read only on the device to which the book is automatically registered with the purchaser’s user account.

PDF (Portable Document Format)


File Extension: .pdf
Image Support: Available
Audio Support: Available
Video Support: Available
DRM Support: Yes



PDF is one of the most common eBook file formats and was created by Adobe. The popularity of this eBook grew extensively because of its compatibility with multiple devices. It can be read on various devices like Foxit Reader, Adobe reader, PDF-Xchange Viewer, Nitro PDF reader, Xpdf, etc. Most of these tools are freeware. However, one drawback of the PDF format is that the content is generally scaled for letter or A4 size sheets.

ODF


File Extension: .doc, .xls
Image Support: Available
Audio Support: Available
Video Support: Available
DRM Support: Yes



ODF or Open Document Format is an open-source file format based on XML. It is used for exchanging or saving charts, texts, spreadsheets, and presentations. The files that are saved under ODF are known as ‘OpenDocuments’. It is an international standard that is supported by multiple applications and can be incorporated into various software frameworks, business software, web applications, or eReaders. The ODF format is best for people with visual disabilities as it allows them to access a wide range of applications.

Rich Text Format


File Extension: .rtf
Image Support: Available
Audio Support: Available
Video Support: Available
DRM Support: Yes



RTF is a document file format that is supported by many eBook readers. It was developed by Microsoft Corporation with major revisions of Microsoft Word and Office versions. It is mainly intended for sharing and saving of documents. There are various advantages of using this format, i.e., it is reflowable, supports easy editing, enables conversion to other eBook formats, offers multi-device compatibility, etc. However, one of its drawbacks is that it lacks semantic definitions.

DjVu


File Extension: .djvu
Image Support: Available
Audio Support: Available
Video Support: Available
DRM Support: No



This format is mainly intended for storing scanned documents. It consists of advanced compressors that are optimized for low-color images, such as text documents. It enables high-resolution scan (300-400 DPI) that is good for on-screen reading, printing, and storing purposes. The contained page images are divided into separate layers like low-resolution, background layer using lossy compression, few-colors, high-resolution, multi-color, tightly compressed foreground layer, etc.

Doc


File Extension: .doc
Image Support: Available
Audio Support: Available
Video Support: Available
DRM Support: No



It is a document file format that is supported by only a few eBook readers. One of its main advantages is that it can be reflowed and easily converted to other eBook formats. Besides, it also provides easy editing features that can be done with the help of Microsoft software or several other programs. Since its original release, the format has been changed several times, which made it vulnerable to numerous incompatibility difficulties between various releases and the assorted programs.

iBook (Apple)


File Extension: .ibook
Image Support: Available
Audio Support: Available
Video Support: Available
DRM Support: Yes



The .ibook format is created by Apple Inc. and is based on the EPUB standard. It is available to authors for free but does not allow them to re-purpose the content in other ebook formats to be sold outside the iBookstore. This software usually supports the import and export of three formats, i.e., ibook, Plain text, and PDF. Besides, it also puts the distribution restriction on authors that they can sell the .ibook files only through Apple.

TomeRaider


File Extension: .tr2 or .tr3
Image Support: Available
Audio Support: Not available
Video Support: Not available
DRM Support: Yes



TomeRaider is a proprietary format that is available in various versions for Windows, Windows Mobile, iPhone, Palm, Symbian, etc. Its feature may vary according to the type of platform used. For example, when it comes to Windows and Windows Mobile edition, it supports both HTML and CSS. However, the support for Palm edition is only limited to HTML and not CSS. There are over 4000 e-books available in this format, including free versions of Wikipedia and Internet Movie Database.

Comic Book Archive


File Extension: .cba, .cbr, .cbt, .cbz, .cb7
Image Support: Available
Audio Support: Not available
Video Support: Not available
DRM Support: N/A



This format is a type of archive file that is used for the sequential viewing of pictures, mainly from comic books. A single archive file stores a series of picture files available in formats like JPG and PNG.

Apart from that, the image files may be occasionally found in BMP, GIF, and TIFF as well. The different file extensions of this format usually describe the type of archive used.

For example, .cba extension will have archive type ACE, .cbr will have RAR [2], .cbt will have TAR, .cbz will have ZIP [3], and .cb7 will have 7z respectively.

DOCX


File Extension: .docx
Image Support: Available
Audio Support: Available
Video Support: Available
DRM Support: N/A



DOCX is a popular file format for text documents. The format is native to Microsoft Word and is supported by only a few eBook readers.

When used as an eBook format, DOCX can be converted into other formats of eBooks as well. It also allows easy editing and reflowing of documents. The open-standard format does not support all interactive features but does support table, embedded annotation, audio, and video files.

FictionBook


File Extension: .fb2
Image Support: Available
Audio Support: Not available
Video Support: N/A
DRM Support: No



The FictionBook format was originated in Russia. The XML-based eBook format is supported by many free readers, such as FBReader, BeBook, PocketBook eReader, STDU Viewer, Okular, etc.

Instead of describing the appearance of an eBook document, the open format mainly specifies the structure and semantics. Aside from that, all the metadata, such as publisher, author name, title, etc. will also be included in the file.

This format is also suitable for indexing, management, and automatic processing. Besides, books stored in this format can be used later for conversion in other formats as well.

PostScript


File Extension: .ps
Image Support: Available
Audio Support: Not available
Video Support: Not available
DRM Support: No



The open-standard file format mainly describes the layout and content of the printed pages. That is why it is also known as a page description language. It is used in both desktop and electronic publishing.

When used in a rendering program, it can help in the creation of a bitmap output. Besides, several office printers directly interpret the PostScript format to print a result.

HTML (Hypertext Markup Language)


File Extension: .html, .htm
Image Support: Available
Audio Support: Available
Video Support: Available
DRM Support: No



HTML is a markup language that is mainly employed for website pages. So, eBooks using HTML can be accessed with a web browser.

As compared to the other formats mentioned here, the HTML format requires more storage space. So, it may not be the ideal format for storing information. However, other file formats can store the data in HTML and compress them into a smaller, single file.

If you want to choose the eBook formats depending on the device compatibility, then for Android, Sony Readers, Nook, Nook Color, and Nook Tablet, EPUB is the best. For PC, Mac, iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch, choose PDF or EPUB format. And, when it comes to Kindle and Kindle fire devices, MOBI or PDF is the best.

Conclusion

Always keep in mind that choosing the right file format for your eBook readers comparison is a crucial step in not just making your eBook successful but also in reaching a wide range of audiences. You may be looking for the best ebook formats for Kindle or any other device, however, having comprehensive knowledge on the different types of eBook formats will help you to choose the correct format that can seamlessly serve your purpose. So, take the time to collect all the desired information to narrow down the best option for your project needs.

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