In this era of responsive web pages and multiple output devices, EPUB enables content to reflow. Unlike formats like DOCX or PDF, you can read EPUB documents on different devices where the text always wraps to fit into the current screen size.
The International Digital Publishing Forum (IDPF) launched EPUB 3.0 in 2011. A minor maintenance update – EPUB 3.0.1 – was launched in late June 2014. Based on HTML5, CSS3 with Javascript Standard, it is the latest version of EPUB.
Formatting Options:
EPUB 3.0 provides rich options such as multi-column layouts and enhanced font support. Hyphenation and line breaks can be controlled. Besides writing modes including Horizontal (left-to-right and right-to-left) and vertical layouts are also supported in EPUB3. Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) files can now be included which allows users to select text and search within the content of the SVG files.
In-Document Navigation:
EPUB 3.0 features enhanced navigational structures making accessibility within documents much easier. Popup footnotes have now been enabled.
Multimedia support:
EPUB 3.0 supports a wide range of publishing requirements, complex layouts, audio, video interactions and animations. Audio and Video can be embedded in eBooks. Media overlay functionality enables text and audio to be presented together. Text can be converted to audio through text-to-speech technology. It acts as a tool for learning to read and improves cognitive skills.
EPUB 3.0 allows the addition of textual descriptions to illustrations, as well as other non-textual elements which can help visually impaired users.
Special Documents:
The features in EPUB 3.0 aid not just text-based content, but also multimedia publishing of scientific, mathematical and educational content including books and magazines. For instance, EPUB 3.0’s support of MathML enables flexibility in display of equations. This is a distinct advantage for Scientific, Technical & Medical (STM) publishing as it enables rendering of mathematics as text instead of graphics/images.
In addition, EPUB 3.0 provides more options for adding metadata, allowing title, author details, publisher information, etc., which makes it useful both for processing and accessibility.
At SmartScrolls, we provide services for a variety of eBook formats including EPUB 2, EPUB 3, KF8, Fixed Layout and Interactive eBooks.
To find more about SmartScrolls, visit www.smartscrolls.com or send an email to enquiry@smartscrolls.com