Convert PDF to PRC or ePub

Reading PDF-format ebooks in laptop or handheld devices is not really enjoyable. I commented on PDF before (see the last paragraph). Sometimes I still get the ebooks in PDF, so I need to find a way to covert them into PRC (before for Palm TE2) or ePub (currently for iPod Touch).

The following methods I have tried are not the best solution. To get a perfect converted ebook often requires to clean up the mess manually. I don’t know how to modify the script so I just use the available programs.

Method 1. Calibre: PDF to ePub

Method 2. MobiPocket Reader or Creator: PDF to MOBI (PRC); then Calibre: MOBI (PRC) to ePub

Method 1 is not good in my trials, while Method 2 is good for converting text-based PDF files. Sometimes Method 2 is even acceptable for the files containing some pictures.

When viewing the converted ePub in Calibre’s viewer, it doesn’t look good. However, Stanza displays it nicely.

Method 3. pdf2xml: you can even modify the script to get the better result (regarding the layout).

pdf2xml.exe is included with MobiPocket Reader and Creator. The above link is the source code.

Method 4. PDFRead: a tool for converting non-DRMed PDF and DJVU files. “It does this by creating an image out of each page, enhancing the image and then collating the images in a device-specific format.”

I haven’t tried this method, but I heard that it’s good for image-based documents.