RE: EPUB usage

I would also add that it is hard to imagine that any of the main conversion vendors who produce EPUBs don't produce EPUB 3 routinely. I'm speculating, of course; at Apex, we not only always recommend EPUB 3s (although customers do spec EPUB 2, in which case we do EPUB 2) but have the generation of EPUB 3s built into prepress workflows for customers for which we provide those services. I can't imagine the other big conversion/prepress houses don't do the same.

The only possible justification I can see for sending plain old EPUB 2s out into the world is that there are still retailers requiring it. How hard can it be for them to adapt? I don't mean that I would expect them to implement every feature of EPUB 3 (though of course I would like them to); I just mean supporting EPUB 3s that have the same functionality and features their current EPUB 2-based systems support, with the one significant functional difference being using the nav instead of the ncx. That describes many thousands of novels and other trade books, and even many scholarly monographs and professional books. What could be holding that back?

Maybe it's that they're reluctant to say they accept EPUB 3 without implementing all or most of the things EPUB 3 does that EPUB 2 doesn't do. But is admitting they can't do everything EPUB 3 enables any worse than saying they can only accept EPUB 2? This is relevant to our ongoing EPUB Grid / epubtest.org discussion because it supports the pivot away from emphasizing what RSs _don't_ do, which the current [old] Grid has had the effect of doing.

Bill Kasdorf

VP and Principal Consultant | Apex CoVantage

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From: Siegman, Tzviya - Hoboken [mailto:tsiegman@wiley.com]
Sent: Thursday, June 15, 2017 9:34 AM
To: Johnson, Rick; Cristina Mussinelli; public-publishing-sc@w3.org
Subject: Re: EPUB usage


It's disheartening for a few reasons. The EPUB 3 spec is now 7 years old (I think). Sometimes you have to bite the bullet and swallow the one time cost of revamping the workflow for the good of the world.  When I did it for Wiley, it cost my time plus a few thousand dollars. It is not that expensive, especially if content is simple. (I am once again realizing that I could go into consulting and make a lot of money).



It matters because those of us who have switched to EPUB 3 are still required to hang on to remnants of EPUB 2, like the ncx file. When I have to troubleshoot, I have to figure out if the retailer is using the nav or still hanging on to the ncx for old time's sake. It also means that the one retailer that isn't EPUB can happily assume that EPUB 2 is forever.


****************************
Tzviya Siegman
John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
111 River Street, MS 5-02
Hoboken, NJ 07030-5774
201-748-6884
tsiegman@wiley.com<mailto:tsiegman@wiley.com>
________________________________
From: Johnson, Rick <Rick.Johnson@ingramcontent.com<mailto:Rick.Johnson@ingramcontent.com>>
Sent: Thursday, June 15, 2017 9:17:30 AM
To: Siegman, Tzviya - Hoboken; Cristina Mussinelli; public-publishing-sc@w3.org<mailto:public-publishing-sc@w3.org>
Subject: Re: EPUB usage

Yeah, we are mostly EPUB 3, with the exception of trade titles used in things like Literature classes.


Rick Johnson | VP of Product Strategy
VitalSource Technologies
rick.johnson@vitalsource.com<mailto:rick.johnson@vitalsource.com>

[cid:image001.png@01D2E5C7.71F1CB90]<https://www.vitalsource.com/>

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From: "Siegman, Tzviya - Hoboken" <tsiegman@wiley.com<mailto:tsiegman@wiley.com>>
Date: Thursday, June 15, 2017 at 8:57 AM
To: Cristina Mussinelli <cristina.mussinelli@aie.it<mailto:cristina.mussinelli@aie.it>>, "Johnson, Rick" <Rick.Johnson@ingramcontent.com<mailto:Rick.Johnson@ingramcontent.com>>, "public-publishing-sc@w3.org<mailto:public-publishing-sc@w3.org>" <public-publishing-sc@w3.org<mailto:public-publishing-sc@w3.org>>
Subject: RE: EPUB usage

Thanks, Rick. That is really interesting. Do you happen to have info on EPUB 2 vs 3? I seem to recall that VitalSource entered the game after EPUB 3, so I suspect you skew heavily toward EPUB 3.

This article [1] by Ben Dugas of Kobo is related and a little disheartening. (If any of you want to write for EPUBSecrets, contact Laura Brady.)

[1] http://epubsecrets.com/from-inside-the-epub-ingestion-factory.php

Tzviya Siegman
Information Standards Lead
Wiley
201-748-6884
tsiegman@wiley.com<mailto:tsiegman@wiley.com>

From: Cristina Mussinelli [mailto:cristina.mussinelli@aie.it]
Sent: Thursday, June 15, 2017 8:41 AM
To: Johnson, Rick; public-publishing-sc@w3.org<mailto:public-publishing-sc@w3.org>
Subject: Re: EPUB usage

Thank you very interesting!
Cristina





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Da: Rick <Rick.Johnson@ingramcontent.com<mailto:Rick.Johnson@ingramcontent.com>>
Data: giovedì 15 giugno 2017 14:23
A: "public-publishing-sc@w3.org<mailto:public-publishing-sc@w3.org>" <public-publishing-sc@w3.org<mailto:public-publishing-sc@w3.org>>
Oggetto: EPUB usage
Rinviato da: <public-publishing-sc@w3.org<mailto:public-publishing-sc@w3.org>>
Data rinvio: giovedì 15 giugno 2017 14:23

I've shared these numbers with you before (for 2016), but I just ran the 2017 ones, and I thought you would all appreciate them.

-Rick

EPUB vs. PDF usage on the VitalSource platform

In 2016
Top 25 titles: 24 EPUB, 1 PDF
Top 50 titles: 46 EPUB, 4 PDF
Top 100 titles: 77 EPUB, 23 PDF
Top 250 titles: 141 EPUB, 109 PDF
Top 500 titles: 233 EPUB, 267 PDF


In 2017 (to date)
Top 25 titles: 25 EPUB, zero PDF
Top 50 titles: 48 EPUB, 2 PDF
Top 100 titles: 81 EPUB, 19 PDF
Top 250 titles: 159 EPUB, 91 PDF
Top 500 titles: 239 EPUB, 261 PDF

Received on Thursday, 15 June 2017 17:23:31 UTC