PocketBook InkPad 4 · Guides
Read PDFs and documents on the PocketBook InkPad 4
The 7.8-inch screen is the reason to buy an InkPad 4 for PDFs. Here is how to use crop, zoom lock, reflow and contrast so a document is actually readable.
The InkPad 4 earns its size on PDFs. For a scan, the winning routine is: crop the margins, set a zoom, lock it, and bump the contrast — after that the buttons just walk down the page. Reflow is only for PDFs that contain real text, and even then it is a compromise. For serious document reading, KOReader on top of the stock reader is worth the ten-minute install.
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Know which kind of PDF you have
A "born-digital" PDF (exported from Word, or a modern ebook) has real text and can be reflowed. A "scanned" PDF or DjVu is a picture of each page — text tools do nothing, and you work with crop and zoom instead. The InkPad 4's screen suits the second kind, which no 6-inch reader handles well.
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Open the PDF menu
Open the file and tap the top centre. The PDF reading menu has "Mode" (or "View"), "Crop", zoom controls, contrast, and a page/contents jump. These are separate from the EPUB reading menu.
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Crop the white margins
Choose "Crop", then an automatic crop, or drag the guides to trim the white border by hand. On an A4 or US-Letter scan this alone makes the text 20 to 30 per cent bigger with no zooming.
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Set a zoom and lock it
Pinch or use the zoom control to a comfortable size, then set the mode to "Columns" or a locked zoom so every page opens at that setting and the button turns move down the page, then to the next. Without a lock you re-zoom every page.
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Try reflow only on text PDFs
For a born-digital PDF, "Reflow" re-pours the text to fit the screen and lets you change the font size like an ebook. It mangles tables, footnotes and multi-column layouts, so treat it as a fallback, not the default.
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Raise the contrast on a faint scan
Old scans are often grey. The "Contrast" control in the PDF menu darkens the text; push it far enough to be crisp but not so far that thin strokes break up.
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Use landscape for wide tables and sheet music
Rotate the device (or set rotation in the menu) to read a wide page in two taller halves. The g-sensor can do this automatically; some people prefer to lock the orientation.
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Consider KOReader for heavy PDF work
If you read scanned books daily, KOReader's PDF engine has better crop memory, per-document settings and a sharper reflow. It installs as an app with no jailbreak — see the KOReader section.