CreativePro Forum

Return to Member Forum

• Author
  Posts
• • September 7, 2015 at 12:39 pm #77929
    mtngigi

    Member

    Is it possible for me to do books for Kindle, EPub, etc. using InDesign CS3? I’ve found the plug in for CS4, but not for my version. Am I out of luck?

    Any help or a point in the right direction would be very much appreciated.

    TIA

  • September 7, 2015 at 2:17 pm #77930
    Janis Friesler

    Member

    I don’t think so. I think CS6 was the first to have the export for Epub. I signed up for the Adobe Creative Cloud for $25 a month. You get all the applications. I used Dreamweaver and Photoshop as well for resizing images and adjusting the html code. I converted an Indesign print book to an Epub3 very easily by exporting it. It validated right away and it looked fantastic on Readium and when I tested it on the iPad. You also can convert the Epub to Kindle with some tweaking.

    Hope this helps,

    Janis

  • September 8, 2015 at 5:09 pm #77978
    mtngigi

    Member

    Thanks Janis – I did find a plugin for CS4 … not sure how that compares with the export function you mention for CS6.

    My older OS (Snow Leopard) will not support the newer software versions available on Adobe Cloud – a monthly fee is out of my reach anyway.

  • September 8, 2015 at 9:53 pm #77981
    Janis Friesler

    Member

    The plugin does not work very well, but it is worth a try.

    Good Luck,

    Janis

  • September 15, 2015 at 10:22 am #78102
    Aaron Troia

    Participant

    Correct me if I’m wrong, but I thought CS3 did have some export option that would export to “digital book” or something, not the best but it was something, CS4 and CS5 had some/better ePub handling and export options, CS5.5 was when ePub export really took off and seemed more than a side project, and while it still had it’s bugs it was a huge leap from what came before it. Of course CS6 and beyond has better ePub features but if you know what you’re doing in the earlier versions, they do give you a least a starting point, that said you might have to do more hands on work with with the code than with the newer versions, but it’s doable.

    Im not sure if I’ve used the CS4 plugin or not, it’s been awhile. I’m guessing it’s probably exporting to Mobi7, which isn’t the latest KF8 file, but I believe all the Kindles still support it (all the way back to the original Kindle) so you shouldnt run into too many issues on the newer ones, it’s just more limited in features.

    Anyway, good luck with your ebook, I hope that plugin works for you.

  • March 14, 2016 at 10:51 am #82899
    mtngigi

    Member

    I’m reviving this post, because I could really use some help. Keep in mind that I am using CS3, and there is no option at this point for software or OS upgrades – Mac Snow Leopard is where I am. As far as I know, there are no plugins for CS3.

    I just got a project to design a cover for an ebook. The client’s book is in mobi format, and I want to make sure I can deliver – if there is actual coding involved, I fear I’ll be in trouble. Where does coding come in? I’ve never done any coding. All my design work has been for print.

    I’ve downloaded and installed ADE 2.0, and see that I can do a cross-media export to XHTML/Digital Editions with my file. I did a quick layout with a color title bar, artwork and text, but when it opens in ADE, all I see is the text. I believe it’s a good idea to apply character styles to the text, but what happens with placed photos or artwork? Why can’t I see them?

    Where does Calibre fit into this process? Do I actually have to use Calibre to convert the ADE file? Is that a seamless process?

    I’ve found a lot of tutorials, but they’re all for newer versions of InDesign. Any insight anyone can offer would be very much appreciated. If I can’t do this easily, I won’t accept this project because I want to be fair to the client.

  • March 14, 2016 at 12:06 pm #82900
    Anne-Marie Concepcion

    Member

    If all you need to do is design the cover, you just need to send them a JPEG. Ask them for the specs (pixel dimensions).

    There is no coding involved. They link to your cover themselves.

    AM

  • March 14, 2016 at 12:19 pm #82901
    mtngigi

    Member

    Anne-Marie,

    Thank you so much. I know we’re not supposed to say we have a “stupid question”, but now I feel like mine was. I can’t believe it’s that simple – I’ve spent all morning stressing about it for nothing. :)

    Now here’s hoping the client will know what I mean by pixel dimensions.

  • March 14, 2016 at 12:21 pm #82902
    mtngigi

    Member

    Actually – a few more questions.

    Is it best to leave images in RGB mode? What about fonts … should they be converted to outlines?

  • March 14, 2016 at 12:27 pm #82903
    Anne-Marie Concepcion

    Member

    Keep it in RGB. You’re going to send them a flattened RGB JPEG, meaning your fonts will be rasterized and flattened into the background.

    You can keep it layered in Photoshop (or ID or IL, wherever you’re designing), for ease of editing.

    Please take some time looking at book covers in the Amazon Kindle store so you can see what stands out, what works and what doesn’t. Typically you use very little text, or text that’s there is larger than what you’d use for print. Also be sure not to mention price or any marketing/selling info at all.

    Amazon has lots of on-line and PDF-based resources for creating Kindle ebooks. Here’s the page with their instructions for covers:
    https://kdp.amazon.com/help?topicId=A2J0TRG6OPX0VM

    AM

  • March 14, 2016 at 12:58 pm #82906
    mtngigi

    Member

    Thanks so much for your help, Anne-Marie.

• Author
  Posts