When accessing or downloading EBSCO eBooks, you may see the choice to select eBooks in either the PDF or the EPUB format. You may also notice that some book titles in EBSCO are only available as PDF, some only as EPUB, and some as both formats!
Here's the difference between those formats in a nutshell:
EPUB: Is an open eBook standard and file format that is optimized for viewing on devices like a Kindle. EPUB is preferred by some users because it automatically resizes to fit the screen of your device when you adjust font size. EPUB is the recommended format for download and is compatible with many eReaders and reading apps, including the iPad/iPhone, Kindle Fire, Galaxy tablets, as well as the Adobe Digital Editions app for iOS and Android devices.
PDF: Is a defacto standard developed by Adobe to present documents, including text formatting and images, in a manner independent of application software, hardware, and operating systems. Unlike EPUB, a PDF file contains a complete and "fixed-layout" approach to representing a document, including any text, fonts, graphics, or images in the document. PDF Versions of eBooks are not re-flowable, so their text size cannot be adjusted for display on various devices.
Examples:
As noted, one benefit of EPUB is that it automatically resizes to fit the screen it is being displayed on, and can be readjusted at any time to adjust the font size up or down. As that is done the text gets larger but does not flow off the displayable area of the screen. Another benefit is the ability for EPUB to contain hyptertext links (see below), which can either link internally within the eBook (like to another part or chapter) or externally, like to an external Web site.
Example 1: EPUB text that has been enlarged
PDFs are not re-flowable, so their text size cannot be adjusted for display on various devices.
Example 2: PDF version of the same text that has been enlarged and is "flowing" off the screen
EPUB is the format EBSCO recommends for download and is compatible with many eReaders and reading apps, including the iPad/iPhone, Kindle Fire, Galaxy tablets, as well as the Adobe Digital Editions app for iOS and Android devices.
However, for "on screen" reading, either EPUB or PDF should suffice for most users.
