Presentation for the BISG in a series about ePub, the next generation format for eBooks.

1. Working with EPUB 3.0:
How EPUB 3.0 Will Affect Your Workflow
Webcast 2 of 4 in a special series on Understanding Produced by:
EPUB 3.0, co-presented by the Book Industry Study
Group and Digital Book World.
Today’s program will begin at 1:00 p.m. Eastern.
All participant phone lines are muted.
We’ll welcome your questions/comments at the end.
Sponsored by:

2. The EPUB 3.0 Webcast Series
is produced by
www.bisg.org www.digitalbookworld.com
eboundcanada.org
Sponsored by
© 2012, Book Industry Study Group | © 2012, Digital Book World | Slide

3. Introducing EPUB 3.0:
Getting Under the Hood of the New EPUB 3.0 Spec
Tues, Feb 21, 2012 from 1pm to 2pm Eastern
The full Working with EPUB 3.0:
EPUB 3.0 How EPUB 3.0 Will Affect Your Workflow
Webcast Tues, Feb 28, 2012 from 1pm to 2pm Eastern
Series…
An Alternative to EPUB 3.0:
Inside the New Kindle Format 8 (KF8)
Tues, March 6, 2012 from 1pm to 2pm Eastern
EPUB 3.0 in Action:
Case Study Presented by Kaplan Publishing
Tues, March 13, 2012 from 1pm to 2pm Eastern
© 2012, Book Industry Study Group | © 2012, Digital Book World | Slide

4. Introducing EPUB 3.0:
Getting Under the Hood of the New EPUB 3.0 Spec
Tues, Feb 21, 2012 from 1pm to 2pm Eastern
The full Working with EPUB 3.0:
EPUB 3.0 How EPUB 3.0 Will Affect Your Workflow
Webcast Tues, Feb 28, 2012 from 1pm to 2pm Eastern
Series…
An Alternative to EPUB 3.0:
Inside the New Kindle Format 8 (KF8)
Tues, March 6, 2012 from 1pm to 2pm Eastern
EPUB 3.0 in Action:
Case Study Presented by Kaplan Publishing
Tues, March 13, 2012 from 1pm to 2pm Eastern
© 2012, Book Industry Study Group | © 2012, Digital Book World | Slide

5. Introducing EPUB 3.0:
Getting Under the Hood of the New EPUB 3.0 Spec
Tues, Feb 21, 2012 from 1pm to 2pm Eastern
The full Working with EPUB 3.0:
EPUB 3.0 How EPUB 3.0 Will Affect Your Workflow
Webcast Tues, Feb 28, 2012 from 1pm to 2pm Eastern
Series…
An Alternative to EPUB 3.0:
Inside the New Kindle Format 8 (KF8)
Tues, March 6, 2012 from 1pm to 2pm Eastern
EPUB 3.0 in Action:
Case Study Presented by Kaplan Publishing
Tues, March 13, 2012 from 1pm to 2pm Eastern
© 2012, Book Industry Study Group | © 2012, Digital Book World | Slide

6. Introducing EPUB 3.0:
Getting Under the Hood of the New EPUB 3.0 Spec
Tues, Feb 21, 2012 from 1pm to 2pm Eastern
The full Working with EPUB 3.0:
EPUB 3.0 How EPUB 3.0 Will Affect Your Workflow
Webcast Tues, Feb 28, 2012 from 1pm to 2pm Eastern
Series…
An Alternative to EPUB 3.0:
Inside the New Kindle Format 8 (KF8)
Tues, March 6, 2012 from 1pm to 2pm Eastern
EPUB 3.0 in Action:
Case Study Presented by Kaplan Publishing
Tues, March 13, 2012 from 1pm to 2pm Eastern
© 2012, Book Industry Study Group | © 2012, Digital Book World | Slide

7. Today’s Panelists
• Moderators
▫ Matthew Mullin, DBW
▫ Angela Bole, BISG
• Presenter
▫ Ron Severdia, CTO, Metrodigi
© 2012, Book Industry Study Group | © 2012, Digital Book World | Slide

8. the epub3 workflow
Ron Severdia, CTO, Metrodigi

9. about

10. about metrodigi

11. about metrodigi
• Conversion house around for about 2 years in the
San Francisco Bay Area, member of the IDPF

12. about metrodigi
• Conversion house around for about 2 years in the
San Francisco Bay Area, member of the IDPF
• Clientele: Time, Salesforce.com, Apple, Triumph,
etc.

13. about metrodigi
• Conversion house around for about 2 years in the
San Francisco Bay Area, member of the IDPF
• Clientele: Time, Salesforce.com, Apple, Triumph,
etc.
• Focused on highly-designed and über-interactive
eBooks

14. about metrodigi
• Conversion house around for about 2 years in the
San Francisco Bay Area, member of the IDPF
• Clientele: Time, Salesforce.com, Apple, Triumph,
etc.
• Focused on highly-designed and über-interactive
eBooks
• Fanatical about books in every way and love
“resurrecting” old books in digital form

15. the holy grail?

16. the way we were

17. the way we were
• ePub was born Sept.
2007 from Open
eBook

18. the way we were
• ePub was born Sept.
2007 from Open
eBook
• eInk was
predominant (first
eInk Kindle released
Nov. 2007)

19. the way we were
• ePub was born Sept.
2007 from Open
eBook
• eInk was
predominant (first
eInk Kindle released
Nov. 2007)
• ePub2 came
mid-2010

20. not the holy grail

21. but...

22. ePub3: Dawn of a new era

23. timing is everything

24. timing is everything
Harmonic convergence for
ePub3:

25. timing is everything
Harmonic convergence for
ePub3:
• HTML5 is all but ratified
and Flash is going away for
mobile devices

26. timing is everything
Harmonic convergence for
ePub3:
• HTML5 is all but ratified
and Flash is going away for
mobile devices
• CSS3 is well underway with
a decent amount of
browser support

27. timing is everything
Harmonic convergence for
ePub3:
• HTML5 is all but ratified
and Flash is going away for
mobile devices
• CSS3 is well underway with
a decent amount of
browser support
• JavaScript frameworks are

28. what’s new?

29. YES!

30. YES!
• XHTML5 (and semantic markup) and CSS3

31. YES!
• XHTML5 (and semantic markup) and CSS3
• Audio & video (local AND remote, also media
overlays)

32. YES!
• XHTML5 (and semantic markup) and CSS3
• Audio & video (local AND remote, also media
overlays)
• JavaScript

33. YES!
• XHTML5 (and semantic markup) and CSS3
• Audio & video (local AND remote, also media
overlays)
• JavaScript
• MathML (just a subset)

34. YES!
• XHTML5 (and semantic markup) and CSS3
• Audio & video (local AND remote, also media
overlays)
• JavaScript
• MathML (just a subset)
• Global language support (LTR, RTL, vertical
writing)

35. deprecated

36. deprecated
• Buh bye, DTbook

37. deprecated
• Buh bye, DTbook
• Tours

38. deprecated
• Buh bye, DTbook
• Tours
• Guide (though Apple will continue to
use it — you should use the NCX file
instead)

39. deprecated
• Buh bye, DTbook
• Tours
• Guide (though Apple will continue to
use it — you should use the NCX file
instead)

40. deprecated
• Buh bye, DTbook
• Tours
• Guide (though Apple will continue to
use it — you should use the NCX file
instead)
So long...we hardly knew ya!

41. terminology/structure

42. terminology/structure
• Open Publication Structure 2.0.1 becomes
ePub Content Documents 3.0 (BIG change)

43. terminology/structure
• Open Publication Structure 2.0.1 becomes
ePub Content Documents 3.0 (BIG change)
• Open Package Format 2.0.1 becomes
ePub Publications 3.0 (little change)

44. terminology/structure
• Open Publication Structure 2.0.1 becomes
ePub Content Documents 3.0 (BIG change)
• Open Package Format 2.0.1 becomes
ePub Publications 3.0 (little change)
• Open Container Format 2.0.1 updated to 3.0

45. terminology/structure
• Open Publication Structure 2.0.1 becomes
ePub Content Documents 3.0 (BIG change)
• Open Package Format 2.0.1 becomes
ePub Publications 3.0 (little change)
• Open Container Format 2.0.1 updated to 3.0
• New spec for NCX file: ePub Publications 3.0

46. terminology/structure
• Open Publication Structure 2.0.1 becomes
ePub Content Documents 3.0 (BIG change)
• Open Package Format 2.0.1 becomes
ePub Publications 3.0 (little change)
• Open Container Format 2.0.1 updated to 3.0
• New spec for NCX file: ePub Publications 3.0
Overall, much more unified from a structure
and code standpoint.

47. CSS

48. CSS
• CSS3 . . .sorta—CSS 2.1 support plus select CSS 3
attributes

49. CSS
• CSS3 . . .sorta—CSS 2.1 support plus select CSS 3
attributes
• Multi-column layouts

50. CSS
• CSS3 . . .sorta—CSS 2.1 support plus select CSS 3
attributes
• Multi-column layouts
• Directional printing

51. CSS
• CSS3 . . .sorta—CSS 2.1 support plus select CSS 3
attributes
• Multi-column layouts
• Directional printing
• Uses vendor prefixes (-epub-text-align-last) for
CSS 3

52. CSS
• CSS3 . . .sorta—CSS 2.1 support plus select CSS 3
attributes
• Multi-column layouts
• Directional printing
• Uses vendor prefixes (-epub-text-align-last) for
CSS 3

53. audio & video

54. audio & video
• Nothing new, but now an official standard

55. audio & video
• Nothing new, but now an official standard
• MP3 at minimum

56. audio & video
• Nothing new, but now an official standard
• MP3 at minimum
• MP4/AAC optional

57. audio & video
• Nothing new, but now an official standard
• MP3 at minimum
• MP4/AAC optional
• Media overlays to do Read Aloud and TTS (via
SMIL, PLS, or SSML)

58. audio & video
• Nothing new, but now an official standard
• MP3 at minimum
• MP4/AAC optional
• Media overlays to do Read Aloud and TTS (via
SMIL, PLS, or SSML)
• No specific video format (depends on the device)

59. gravy

60. gravy
• Accessibility

61. gravy
• Accessibility
• Content switching

62. gravy
• Accessibility
• Content switching
• SVG (now in the spine too)

63. gravy
• Accessibility
• Content switching
• SVG (now in the spine too)
• Readium: an open source project by the IDPF to
promote the ePub 3 standard

64. gone soft

65. gone soft
For many items in the specifications, reader system
support is not mandatory:

66. gone soft
For many items in the specifications, reader system
support is not mandatory:
• Video (especially on eInk devices)

67. gone soft
For many items in the specifications, reader system
support is not mandatory:
• Video (especially on eInk devices)
• Audio

68. gone soft
For many items in the specifications, reader system
support is not mandatory:
• Video (especially on eInk devices)
• Audio
• JavaScript

69. gone soft
For many items in the specifications, reader system
support is not mandatory:
• Video (especially on eInk devices)
• Audio
• JavaScript
• Media overlays

70. gone soft
For many items in the specifications, reader system
support is not mandatory:
• Video (especially on eInk devices)
• Audio
• JavaScript
• Media overlays
• Canonical Fragment Identifier (not quite ready for

71. devices

72. device support

73. device support
• In short: all over the map

74. device support
• In short: all over the map
• Most devices support what I call “ePub 2.5”

75. device support
• In short: all over the map
• Most devices support what I call “ePub 2.5”
• Backwards compatibility with ePub 2.0.1
remains to be seen

76. device support
• In short: all over the map
• Most devices support what I call “ePub 2.5”
• Backwards compatibility with ePub 2.0.1
remains to be seen
• We focus on the “fab four”: iPad, Kindle Fire,
Nook Color/Tablet, and Kobo Vox.

77. device support
• In short: all over the map
• Most devices support what I call “ePub 2.5”
• Backwards compatibility with ePub 2.0.1
remains to be seen
• We focus on the “fab four”: iPad, Kindle Fire,
Nook Color/Tablet, and Kobo Vox.
• Still “wet cement”

78. device support
Today Future
Bits ‘n’ bobs Likely in 2012
No* No*
Bits ‘n’ bobs
Mid-2012
(with DRP)
Bits ‘n’ bobs Likely in 2012

79. workflow

80. workflow:
1. planning
2. design
3. preflight
4. production

81. workflow: planning

82. workflow: planning
• Make ePub part of
your print publishing
workflow, not an
afterthought

83. workflow: planning
• Make ePub part of
your print publishing
workflow, not an
afterthought
• Font and media
licensing

84. workflow: planning
• Make ePub part of
your print publishing
workflow, not an
afterthought
• Font and media
licensing
• Media production,
plan your
enhancements (don’t
go overboard—serve

85. workflow: planning

86. workflow: planning
• Marketing plan—
“piggyback” your
efforts on the print
release

87. workflow: planning
• Marketing plan—
“piggyback” your
efforts on the print
release
• Fixed-layout or
reflowable

88. workflow: planning
• Marketing plan—
“piggyback” your
efforts on the print
release
• Fixed-layout or
reflowable
• Horizontal or vertical

89. workflow: planning
• Marketing plan—
“piggyback” your
efforts on the print
release
• Fixed-layout or
reflowable
• Horizontal or vertical
• Metadata gathering—
determine the most

90. workflow: planning

91. workflow: planning
• To DRM or not to DRM

92. workflow: planning
• To DRM or not to DRM
• The “iBooks Author
Question”

93. planning: reality bites

94. planning: reality bites
• Cross device user
experience can’t
currently be
consistent

95. planning: reality bites
• Cross device user
experience can’t
currently be
consistent
• Amazon is only
halfway embracing
ePub and not likely
to change course

96. planning: reality bites
• Cross device user
experience can’t
currently be
consistent
• Amazon is only
halfway embracing
ePub and not likely
to change course
• Reader system
support varied

97. the “big one”

98. Your eBook will not look and behave just like
your print publication. Nor should it!

99. workflow: design

100. workflow: design
• Overall sizing of page
elements (especially on
7” screens) when
viewed vertical vs.
horizontal and single
page vs. spreads

101. workflow: design
• Overall sizing of page
elements (especially on
7” screens) when
viewed vertical vs.
horizontal and single
page vs. spreads
• Final aspect ratio(s)

102. workflow: design
• Overall sizing of page
elements (especially on
7” screens) when
viewed vertical vs.
horizontal and single
page vs. spreads
• Final aspect ratio(s)
• Relative font sizes
(especially on 7”

103. workflow: design

104. workflow: design
• Create templates for
individual devices or a
“shared” template for
multiple devices,
including “hot zones”

105. workflow: design
• Create templates for
individual devices or a
“shared” template for
multiple devices,
including “hot zones”
• Create stock
interactive page
elements to reuse in
layouts as
placeholders, e.g.
buttons, videos

106. workflow: design

107. workflow: design
• Different layouts for
different screen
sizes, but same look
& feel

108. workflow: design
• Different layouts for
different screen
sizes, but same look
& feel
• Orientation and
format

109. workflow: design
• Different layouts for
different screen
sizes, but same look
& feel
• Orientation and
format
• White space can be
valuable real estate

110. workflow: design
• Different layouts for
different screen
sizes, but same look
& feel
• Orientation and
format
• White space can be
valuable real estate
• Use InDesign object,

111. workflow: design

112. workflow: design
• Break up large
pieces of content
into bite-sized
bits. You don’t
have to always
replicate the
printed page! (but
sometimes it’s
nice)

113. workflow: design
• Break up large
pieces of content
into bite-sized
bits. You don’t
have to always
replicate the
printed page! (but
sometimes it’s
nice)
• To show larger
items, use pop-

114. workflow: preflight

115. workflow: preflight
Common gotchas:

116. workflow: preflight
Common gotchas:
• Fonts not the right format
or missing

117. workflow: preflight
Common gotchas:
• Fonts not the right format
or missing
• Low res or missing images

118. workflow: preflight
Common gotchas:
• Fonts not the right format
or missing
• Low res or missing images
• Double-check InDesign
package exports!

119. workflow: preflight
Common gotchas:
• Fonts not the right format
or missing
• Low res or missing images
• Double-check InDesign
package exports!
• Easier when everything is
all in one design file, not
separate chapter files

120. workflow: preflight
Common gotchas:
• Fonts not the right format
or missing
• Low res or missing images
• Double-check InDesign
package exports!
• Easier when everything is
all in one design file, not
separate chapter files
• Don’t “flatten” PDFs

121. workflow: production

122. workflow: production
• Prototype in PDF — faster, more flexible,
multiple iterations in a short time

123. workflow: production
• Prototype in PDF — faster, more flexible,
multiple iterations in a short time
• If hiring a conversion house for the first time,
ask for a sample (you should feel very
comfortable before committing)

124. workflow: production
• Prototype in PDF — faster, more flexible,
multiple iterations in a short time
• If hiring a conversion house for the first time,
ask for a sample (you should feel very
comfortable before committing)
• Build in extra QA time

125. workflow: production
• Prototype in PDF — faster, more flexible,
multiple iterations in a short time
• If hiring a conversion house for the first time,
ask for a sample (you should feel very
comfortable before committing)
• Build in extra QA time

126. workflow: production
• Prototype in PDF — faster, more flexible,
multiple iterations in a short time
• If hiring a conversion house for the first time,
ask for a sample (you should feel very
comfortable before committing)
• Build in extra QA time
Look into courses/books to train your in-house

127. roll up our sleeves

128. down & dirty: create

129. down & dirty: create
A few tools to do ePub2 “guerrilla bookmaking”:

130. down & dirty: create
A few tools to do ePub2 “guerrilla bookmaking”:
• Sigil: http://code.google.com/p/sigil/

131. down & dirty: create
A few tools to do ePub2 “guerrilla bookmaking”:
• Sigil: http://code.google.com/p/sigil/
• Calibre (from the manual: “If you need a tool that
always produces valid EPUBs, calibre is not for
you.”): http://calibre-ebook.com/ DO NOT USE
FOR CREATION

132. down & dirty: create
A few tools to do ePub2 “guerrilla bookmaking”:
• Sigil: http://code.google.com/p/sigil/
• Calibre (from the manual: “If you need a tool that
always produces valid EPUBs, calibre is not for
you.”): http://calibre-ebook.com/ DO NOT USE
FOR CREATION
• Online services

133. down & dirty: create
A few tools to do ePub2 “guerrilla bookmaking”:
• Sigil: http://code.google.com/p/sigil/
• Calibre (from the manual: “If you need a tool that
always produces valid EPUBs, calibre is not for
you.”): http://calibre-ebook.com/ DO NOT USE
FOR CREATION
• Online services
• Web development tools such as BBedit, etc.

134. down & dirty: validate

135. down & dirty: validate
A few free tools to do ePub validating:

136. down & dirty: validate
A few free tools to do ePub validating:
• ePub Check: http://code.google.com/p/
epubcheck/

137. down & dirty: validate
A few free tools to do ePub validating:
• ePub Check: http://code.google.com/p/
epubcheck/
• IDPF Online Validator (less than 10mb):
http://validator.idpf.org/

138. down & dirty: validate
A few free tools to do ePub validating:
• ePub Check: http://code.google.com/p/
epubcheck/
• IDPF Online Validator (less than 10mb):
http://validator.idpf.org/
• FlightCrew: http://code.google.com/p/
flightcrew/

139. down & dirty: readers

140. down & dirty: readers
A few free tools to do ePub reading:

141. down & dirty: readers
A few free tools to do ePub reading:
• Readium (ePub 3): http://readium.org

142. down & dirty: readers
A few free tools to do ePub reading:
• Readium (ePub 3): http://readium.org
• Azardi (ePub 3): http://
azardi.infogridpacific.com/

143. down & dirty: readers
A few free tools to do ePub reading:
• Readium (ePub 3): http://readium.org
• Azardi (ePub 3): http://
azardi.infogridpacific.com/
• Calibre (ePub 2.5): http://calibre-ebook.com

144. down & dirty: readers
A few free tools to do ePub reading:
• Readium (ePub 3): http://readium.org
• Azardi (ePub 3): http://
azardi.infogridpacific.com/
• Calibre (ePub 2.5): http://calibre-ebook.com
• Kitabu (ePub 2): http://www.64.ee/

145. down & dirty: samples

146. down & dirty: samples

147. down & dirty: samples
• ePub3 Samples (IDPF is looking for more!)
http://code.google.com/p/epub-samples/
downloads/list

148. tips

149. golden rule: KISS

150. golden rule: KISS
• Design: both design
& code are both
grid-based so for
best optimization,
stick
to the grid.

151. golden rule: KISS
• Design: both design
& code are both
grid-based so for
best optimization,
stick
to the grid.
• Code Structure: limit
the tricks used in
average web markup,
simple page
structure

152. golden rule: KISS

153. golden rule: KISS
• User Experience:
keep
a natural connection
between
enhancements and
the main story—
don’t overdo it

154. golden rule: KISS
• User Experience:
keep
a natural connection
between
enhancements and
the main story—
don’t overdo it
• Usability: make sure
it’s intuitive and not
to difficult to use the
enhancements

155. what’s next?

156. to the future!

157. epub4
better, faster, even makes toast

158. thank you

159. Thank you! Questions?
Produced by:
• Matt Mullin, DBW
▫ Matthew.Mullin@fwmedia.com
• Angela Bole, BISG
Sponsored by:
▫ Angela@bisg.org
• Ron Severdia, Metrodigi
▫ rseverdia@metrodigi.com
© 2012, Book Industry Study Group | © 2012, Digital Book World | Slide

160. Introducing EPUB 3.0:
Getting Under the Hood of the New EPUB 3.0 Spec
Tues, Feb 21, 2012 from 1pm to 2pm Eastern
The full Working with EPUB 3.0:
EPUB 3.0 How EPUB 3.0 Will Affect Your Workflow
Webcast Tues, Feb 28, 2012 from 1pm to 2pm Eastern
Series…
An Alternative to EPUB 3.0:
Inside the New Kindle Format 8 (KF8)
Tues, March 6, 2012 from 1pm to 2pm Eastern
EPUB 3.0 in Action:
Case Study Presented by Kaplan Publishing
Tues, March 13, 2012 from 1pm to 2pm Eastern
© 2012, Book Industry Study Group | © 2012, Digital Book World | Slide

161. Introducing EPUB 3.0:
Getting Under the Hood of the New EPUB 3.0 Spec
Tues, Feb 21, 2012 from 1pm to 2pm Eastern
The full Working with EPUB 3.0:
EPUB 3.0 How EPUB 3.0 Will Affect Your Workflow
Webcast Tues, Feb 28, 2012 from 1pm to 2pm Eastern
Series…
An Alternative to EPUB 3.0:
Inside the New Kindle Format 8 (KF8)
Tues, March 6, 2012 from 1pm to 2pm Eastern
EPUB 3.0 in Action:
Case Study Presented by Kaplan Publishing
Tues, March 13, 2012 from 1pm to 2pm Eastern
© 2012, Book Industry Study Group | © 2012, Digital Book World | Slide