Pause a while and read this before you start working with eBook conversion service providers When demand for anything increases, service providers for the same also keep on flooding the market. As publishers, authors and even businesses are moving on to digitization, a lot of companies have emerged who claim to offer the best eBook formatting and conversion services. Unfortunately, a significantly larger number of such companies are knowingly or unknowingly making fake claims. Also typical customers have no idea regarding what inputs to provide, how the process takes place, costs incurred and factors to consider before entering into a deal with eBook conversion companies. This makes the situation even worse. Let us have a glance on the brief of almost everything you need to know before associating with an eBook conversion company.
Inputs to be provided Normally a service provider receives input in hardcopy, print ready PDF or as original layout files. Conversion from hardcopies starts with a page by page scanning. This produces large image files where the text on the scanned pages can be read but are not editable. For making the text editable, optical character recognition (OCR) is carried out. This is followed by a manual proofreading for perfecting the text. Print-ready PDFs are produced using a page-layout software. This is produced in a structure that printers can use for setting up the printing press. However PDF files supplied to printers are not suitable to be distributed directly as PDF eBooks. A superior screen version needs to be produced.
Original layout files from Adobe FrameMaker, Quark Express and Adobe InDesign are accepted by most of the companies. In case if the version is old or some images or fonts are missing, there can be problems. So, inquire with the service provider whether the files can be accepted or not.
Conversion process
Source collection The whole process gets initiated by gathering inputs in the form of layout files, printready PDFs or scanned book pages.
Extraction For further work process, images, texts and all relevant data is extracted from obtained source files. This is an area where the eBook conversion companies invest considerable technical resources.
Marking up The raw text is then marked up with an exceptional mark-up language for tagging the structure of content. Markup languages facilitates the document’s computer processing. Two among the most popular and widely used languages for eBook creation are XML and HTML.
Transformation After marking up, it can be subjected to a program for getting outputs in different new formats. If the service providers succeed in making wise decisions during mark-up stage, this input file can really be used for creating a wide variety of outputs, even in future when the formats and technologies change.
Output Along with Kindle and EPUB, another most common format in which you can get output is PDF that is optimized perfection for eBook, web viewing or printing on demand. However most of the companies indulged in eBook conversion and formatting can be flexible to meet customer demands.
Costs The pricing is always a factor to be considered
for
any
conversion
or
formatting project. In case of small volumes or single shot works, the cost per page can range from US$0.50 to $1.00; it may even exceed based on your specifications. If scanning is involved from hard copies or if a lot of complex pages are involved, rate may increase further. However if you have bulk work, significant discounts can be enjoyed. This will again depend on the service provider you choose.
Selecting an eBook conversion company The quality of output you get depends on numerous factors but unless you shake hands with the right professional eBook conversion service provider, everything else is futile. You should firstly analyse the expertise of the shortlisted company. Inquire about their experience in the field. Ask them for their portfolio and scrutinize it carefully. Customer testimonials may not be always authentic. Hence if possible, try to contact any of their
previous customers directly. You should ask about the experiences encountered by them and the comfort level they had in working with the concerned company. Make sure that the team is resourceful and follow most advanced practices. Proper techniques should be in place to guarantee confidentiality of your sensitive information. They should have a sound infrastructure and there should be exclusive teams for carrying out different steps involved in the process. This is vital to assure that you will get the work on time. Above all there must be proper communication channels and you should be intimated about project status on regular intervals. They should be available for any queries 24/7. Being acquainted with the above explained aspects of the conversion process, you will be safe from landing into any kind of trouble.