KOReader settings for manga and comics
KOReader reads CBZ, CBR and image PDFs well once you set the fit, the page-turn direction and the refresh behaviour. Here is a setup that works for manga and Western comics.
Last updated September 2026
KOReader opens CBZ and CBR archives and image-only PDFs directly, and it handles them better than most stock readers — but the defaults assume a novel. A few changes make it a proper comic reader.
Screen size matters first
Comics were drawn for a printed page. On a 6-inch screen a full page is small; you will be zooming into panels. 7 to 8 inches is the comfortable minimum for reading a page whole, and a 10-inch device is close to print size. No setting fixes a page that is physically too small — pick the device for the job if you read a lot.
The core settings
Open a comic, tap the bottom of the screen for the document menu:
- Fit / zoom. “Fit page” shows the whole page; “fit width” fills the screen width and you scroll or tap down the page. For a large screen, fit page. For 6–7 inches, fit width plus panel-by-panel panning.
- Page-turn direction. For manga, set reading direction to right-to-left so a forward tap or swipe goes the way the art is drawn. Western comics stay left-to-right. This is a per-book setting KOReader usually remembers.
- Double-page / two-page spread. On a wide or landscape screen KOReader can show two pages side by side. Turn it off for manga (single pages are the norm) and on for Western comics in landscape if you want the spread.
- Trim / crop. If scans have a white border, auto-crop removes it and makes the art bigger.
Refresh and ghosting
Comic pages are dense, so ghosting builds up faster than with text.
- Set full-screen refresh to every page, or every two pages if you can tolerate a little ghosting for faster turns.
- On BOOX and other Android devices, also set KOReader’s own per-app refresh mode to a clean one (HD / Regal) and let KOReader manage full refresh rather than the system.
Colour
On a colour e-ink screen (Kaleido, Gallery), KOReader shows colour pages in colour — muted, at the panel’s lower colour resolution, but real. Greyscale manga looks identical in black-and-white mode, so only switch the screen to colour for pages that have colour in them.
The short version
Fit width with panel panning on a small screen, fit page on a big one; manga right-to-left; double-page off for manga; auto-crop on; full refresh every page.