Help with Formatting Images for Kindle

kenebaker · Jan 23, 2013

Hi Guys,

I am looking to include some pictures in my novel and have been reading up on the right image dimensions to use to make the most of the screen. I want it to fit as edge-to-edge as possible. Reading online, people recommend 500 x 600 pixels. I check Amazon's own KPD site and they recommend an aspect ratio of 9:11. To top it off, I tested some images on my Kindle and the best was actually 500 x 700.

Of course, the latter only works on one particular image, and I am unable to replicate it. Very frustrating!

So my question to the forum: has anyone included pictures in their kindle ebooks and what was the best aspect ratio / resolution to use to make the MOST of the screen?

Note: I am using Scrivener to export to epub, and then Calibre to export to mobi format for the Kindle. Please exclude earlier models of Kindle and Kindle DX from the discussion.

Spanks.

Laer Carroll · Jan 23, 2013

I've included images in several of my books, all of them available in both ebook and "pbook" formats. Here are a few pointers.

Orientation depends on your purpose. For one image it might be very wide but not very high (perhaps 1:10), assuming it's inline as you've said you desire.

Resolution of the image: It should be high enough to look good on the largest screen, which might be a near-10-inch iPad 3 (264 pixels per inch). (Lots of people read Kindle books on iPads using a reader app.) Smaller form-factor tablets and ereaders will reduce the image to fit.

I've found that 600 pixels wide is about right. And 900 pixels high for a single-page image. Larger images will be adjusted to fit, but wastes band-width with larger file sizes.

A note on esthetics. For my purposes I wanted the following included image to not quite fit edge-to-edge. It's 521 x 276. (The entire image has been cropped to fit within AW's limit on image sizes.)

And I also want my images to look good in B&W. (That's a matter you don't seem interested in, but other who read this thread may be.) So I adjusted the contrast upward a bit so it looks good either in color or B&W.

Lastly, a note on sources. Most of the backgrounds of my books are photos I took. But there are an enormous number of images in wikipedia.org which are free to use under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. The Once-Dead Girl background is of Monaco, for instance. Also, most images on government sites also free for use.

When using Google to find images you can restrict the search to particular sites, with a search such as this, similar to one I used in one of my books. You use a search like this.

sunrise from space site:nasa.gov

This photo was taken from the NASA web site under the following permissions.

http://www.nasa.gov/audience/formedia/features/MP_Photo_Guidelines.html

kenebaker · Jan 24, 2013

Thanks for your feedback! I must apologize, I think I made an error in the above question. I was referring to an aspect ratio of 9:11, not to right orientation. To be clear, I have illustrations (maps actually) that I would like to fit as a full screen landscape image, and another one as a full-screen portrait image.

So I am essentially asking - what is the best way I can achieve this?

If I read your post correctly, if I wanted to make the most of a full screen page on the Kindle, I should use an image that is 900 x 600? Is that correct?

Laer Carroll · Jan 24, 2013

For my full-page map I used 520 x 863, which leaves a bit of space around the image on the page. If you go higher, you can fill the entire page. Even if you go much higher, which wastes band width and may make the display on your device slower than acceptable.

The Kindle or Kindle app (or the Nook or Nook app for your PC or iPad or whatever) will reduce the image to fit the display. If you turn the iPad or other table reader sideways, which displays two pages of text rather than one, it will still work.

For others who may read this thread, I want to emphasize that you should make your map (usually) very simple. Most readers have no desire to spend many minutes or hours poring over the map, and an overly complex map will most likely be ignored. Here is what my full-page map looks like (reduced to fit the AW limits on images).

__

Notice that I made the color values such that the image displays well on B&W displays such as the e-ink ones.

kenebaker · Jan 25, 2013

Laer Carroll said:
For others who may read this thread, I want to emphasize that you should make your map (usually) very simple. Most readers have no desire to spend many minutes or hours poring over the map, and an overly complex map will most likely be ignored. Here is what my full-page map looks like (reduced to fit the AW limits on images).

Thanks for the pointers, Laer. Much appreciated.

We are definitely thinking along the same lines with regard to the design of the map. I am using the following image as reference for the design of the map. I will be doing something in colour, but it translates very well across to Kindle screen. I have tested it on the Kindle and both the black & white and colour versions look great.

[image deleted by mod]

The text is an issue, as you have mentioned. Because this is a fantasy map, I have to avoid flowery text that is not thick or clear. Same with the lines on the map, or smaller detailing - it needs to be thickly illustrated to come across nicely on the low resolution screen.

I am sacrificing detail, but at the end of the day less is more in the case of the Kindle screen.

Old Hack · Jan 25, 2013

Laer, I've deleted two of the images you put into this thread. One was bigger than our maximum allowed of 400 x 400 pixels; the other was hotlinked, which is not allowed here.

I've left your other images intact but if you didn't create them and don't have permission to reproduce them here, you must delete them.

Kenebaker, I've deleted the image you put up here too. I don't think it was your work, and I saw no attempt to cite its source or show you have permission to use it in this manner. You have to respect the laws of copyright here.

You're both welcome to put the images back into your posts so long as you follow the rules this time, and have permission from the owners of the images to use them in this way.

kenebaker · Jan 25, 2013

Old Hack said:
Laer, I've deleted two of the images you put into this thread. One was bigger than our maximum allowed of 400 x 400 pixels; the other was hotlinked, which is not allowed here.

I've left your other images intact but if you didn't create them and don't have permission to reproduce them here, you must delete them.

Kenebaker, I've deleted the image you put up here too. I don't think it was your work, and I saw no attempt to cite its source or show you have permission to use it in this manner. You have to respect the laws of copyright here.

You're both welcome to put the images back into your posts so long as you follow the rules this time, and have permission from the owners of the images to use them in this way.

No problem. The original owners website is infected with malware, so I won't be providing a direct link. Will see if I can find another more appropriate example.

Laer Carroll · Jan 25, 2013

I've made the corrections you pointed out to my post. The first was cropped to fit the 400 x 400 pixel limits. The second is a photo copied to my personal web site under the permissions set up by NASA and cropped to fit into the pixel limits.

Most photos on NASA (and most over governmental) web sites have been explicitly put into the public domain. Details for NASA is at the following link.

http://www.nasa.gov/audience/formedia/features/MP_Photo_Guidelines.html

This particular photo, incidentally, was taken by astronaut Colonel Ron Garan, a talented photographer as well as extraordinary in many other ways. For more info on him see the following link.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ronald_J._Garan,_Jr.

The color and B&W images in the second post were created by me. The original images were taken from WikiMedia, a database of over 17 million images. They are used under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

Laer Carroll · Jan 25, 2013

Umm, should this thread be in the E-Publishing forum?

Old Hack · Jan 25, 2013

Thanks, Laer.

Laer Carroll said:
Umm, should this thread be in the E-Publishing forum?

Nope.

If you want to ask questions about any moderation decisions take it to PM next time. Thanks.

HistorySleuth · Jan 27, 2013

I'm finding this thread very useful as I too have images I need to insert and wasn't sure of sizing.

kenebaker · Jan 28, 2013

HistorySleuth said:
I'm finding this thread very useful as I too have images I need to insert and wasn't sure of sizing.

Glad to hear it

I will be doing some testing during the next few days and post the results if you are interested.

Programs I am using are: Scrivener for compiling and Calibre for conversion and tweaking.

This is only for Kindle though (latest version before the paperwhite) - I don't have another e-ink reader, but I will also be seeing how it works on a tablet as well. Stay tuned for this learning experience

HistorySleuth · Jan 28, 2013

Last night I downloaded Sigil for compiling and Calibre for conversion. I did a test run on a txt file put it in Sigil and added pictures, then used Calibre. It showed up well in my kindle app on my computer. I'll have to see how it looks on my daughters ipod, etc.

Laer Carroll · Jan 29, 2013

The Kindle Previewer lets you see how a book will look on both color and B&W Kindles, plus the iPad and iPhone. It runs on the PC and the Mac.

https://kdp.amazon.com/self-publishing/help?topicId=A3IWA2TQYMZ5J6

HistorySleuth · Jan 29, 2013

Thanks Laer. All this is quite the learning experience for me. Glad kenebaker posted the question.

Old Hack · Jan 29, 2013

The Kindle Previewer is not terribly accurate and is not a substitute for actually looking at your books on the various devices.

BAY · Jan 29, 2013

Laer,

Your map looks great. Did you find it as is?

I've been thinking about putting one in my next book. I found a map from 1941, but wasn't sure about the copy right. It came up under free, but how does one know for sure? All it had to go by was "US military map," but no link back to a source.

Meanwhile still searching for one that won't get me into trouble.

kenebaker · Jan 30, 2013

BAY said:
Laer,

Your map looks great. Did you find it as is?

I've been thinking about putting one in my next book. I found a map from 1941, but wasn't sure about the copy right. It came up under free, but how does one know for sure? All it had to go by was "US military map," but no link back to a source.

Meanwhile still searching for one that won't get me into trouble.

Hey, I don't know the details of your map, but here is a link to an article that lists some good places to get stock (free) images. Check the guidelines on each - sometimes you have to credit the creator of the image, other you don't need to credit.

Here is also an article that deals with the types of image licencing that you will come across. Definitely worth the read

Stay tuned for more editing drama as we try and find the best orientation

BAY · Jan 30, 2013

Hey, thanks for the links. Good tips.

Laer Carroll · Jan 30, 2013

Old Hack said:
The Kindle Previewer is not terribly accurate and is not a substitute for actually looking at your books on the various devices.

Quite right. The same goes for the Kindle and Nook readers for the PC. These are good for a quick first look at your book, but get an actual device for your final proof check.

BAY said:
Your map looks great. Did you find it as is?

I spent a lot of time researching this. In particular, you do not want to use anything created by Google or derived from Google. It’s a big money-maker for them and they won’t take kindly to you using their maps without asking for permission or paying them.

Also, be very vigilant about using maps or images from any government. Many explicitly grant the public permission to freely use them, but some don’t.

Currently I’ve found WikiMedia.org the best source of maps and other images.

As for your question, I always massage maps to make them simple and easy to read. A very few readers love maps, the more complicated the better. But most will spend no more than a second or two on them.

Help with Formatting Images for Kindle

kenebaker

Master of Meh!

Laer Carroll

Aerospace engineer turned writer

kenebaker

Master of Meh!

Laer Carroll

Aerospace engineer turned writer

kenebaker

Master of Meh!

Old Hack

Such a nasty woman

kenebaker

Master of Meh!

Laer Carroll

Aerospace engineer turned writer

Laer Carroll

Aerospace engineer turned writer

Old Hack

Such a nasty woman

HistorySleuth

Researching History's Mysteries

kenebaker

Master of Meh!

HistorySleuth

Researching History's Mysteries

Laer Carroll

Aerospace engineer turned writer

HistorySleuth

Researching History's Mysteries

Old Hack

Such a nasty woman

BAY

kenebaker

Master of Meh!

BAY

Laer Carroll

Aerospace engineer turned writer