Have a Book

17/10/2024

Where's the best bookish atmosphere in Europe right now? Of course, it's at the 2024 Frankfurt Book Fair! This important event gathers publishers, authors, and readers from all over the world. Our CEO, Artur Lewandowski, is there sending us photos and greetings.

09/10/2024

🎉 Another insightful article from the incredible Monika Zarczuk-Engelsma from Fundacja Polskich Niewidomych i Słabowidzących "Trakt"!
📚✨ Highly recommended for anyone looking to deepen their understanding of accessible ebooks, especially in terms of how blind and visually impaired individuals read and what to consider when making ePubs accessible.

Monika’s latest article covers the essential aspects of making ebooks inclusive:
🔸 How screen readers like Voice Dream Reader and Bookworm enable blind people to access digital text.
🔸 The challenges visually impaired individuals face with poorly formatted ebooks, from unreadable image scans to DRM restrictions.
🔸 Practical tips to ensure your ebooks are accessible, including proper layout, metadata, contrast, alternative text, and following accessibility guidelines (WCAG).

Accessible ebooks benefit all readers—not just those with visual impairments. Thoughtful formatting, clear structure, and attention to detail enhance usability for everyone, including those with dyslexia, low vision, or simply tired eyes. 📖💡

Check out Monika's full article to learn how to create inclusive digital publications for everyone! https://blog.haveabook.eu/post/e-book-accessibility-for-screen-readers

01/10/2024

October is Cookbook Month! 📚🍴

If you were to write a cookbook, what would it be about? Would it be vegetarian, focused on plant-based proteins, or maybe all about pizzas?

At this time of year, we’re celebrating our love for cooking and the creativity that goes into putting a cookbook together. Just like the beautiful covers designed by Ania, each cookbook has a story to tell and a flavor to explore.

So, tell us, if you had the chance to write your own recipe book, what would it be about? Share your ideas – let's cook up some inspiration together! 👩‍🍳👨‍🍳

23/09/2024

Understanding Screen Readers: What They Are and How They Work

We’re excited to announce our latest blog article, written by Monika Zarczuk-Engelsma from Fundacja Polskich Niewidomych i Słabowidzących "Trakt", that explores screen readers—essential tools that enable blind and visually impaired individuals to access the digital world, including e-books and online publications.

These technologies ensure that digital content—whether it's a novel, a magazine, or an academic paper—can be read and experienced by everyone, regardless of visual impairments.

Screen readers convert on-screen content—text, images, and buttons—into speech, allowing users to engage with operating systems, websites, and apps. From reading books to browsing the web, these tools make accessible publishing a reality.

Learn more about how these technologies work and how they’re shaping the future of digital publishing!
🔗 Read the full blog post here https://blog.haveabook.eu/post/understanding-screen-readers

16/09/2024

It was fantastic to have the Gdańsk Book Fair (Gdańskie Targi Książki) happening this weekend! 📚✨ A truly inspiring event filled with new titles and a shared passion for literature. We absolutely love this atmosphere!

And you – did you attend?

11/09/2024

Did you know that digital textbooks can be both functional and visually appealing?

The textbook designed for the Institute of Molecular Physics of the Polish Academy of Sciences (IFM PAN) features a beautifully crafted layout and custom illustrations, making it as informative as it is engaging. Available in both PDF and EPUB Reflow formats, it’s tailored to deliver a seamless and immersive experience on any device. The reflowable EPUB format offers flexibility by adapting content to fit any screen size, ensuring optimal readability and accessibility. The PDF document is enriched with interactive elements, including customizable tables of contents, page references, hyperlinks, and more.

This project is part of a broader initiative focused on energy and climate education. You can find more information about this important effort here https://www.energia-i-klimat.pl/ -konkursie.

We’re proud of the work our team has put into this project and look forward to hearing your thoughts!

04/09/2024

📢 New Blog Series – Ebook Accessibility

We're thrilled to announce the launch of our new blog series focused on ebook accessibility!

Digital accessibility is often seen as a tool for helping people with disabilities, but its benefits extend much further—enhancing the quality of life for everyone. This series aims to raise awareness about the importance of accessibility in today's digital world.

🔍 What to Expect:

• Understanding the true meaning of accessibility
• How to make ebooks accessible for the blind and visually impaired
• Insights into screen readers like VoiceOver, TalkBack, NVDA, and Jaws
• A look at refreshable braille displays
• Best practices for creating accessible ebooks for all users

🔗 New Article Alert! Our first article, "Why Is eBook Accessibility Important for Blind and Visually Impaired Individuals?", is now live! https://blog.haveabook.eu/post/why-is-ebook-accessibility-important

💡 Written by Experts: All articles in this series are written by experts from Fundacja Polskich Niewidomych i Słabowidzących "Trakt", a Polish organization dedicated to supporting the blind and visually impaired. Their collaboration ensures that each piece is packed with expert knowledge and practical insights.

We invite you to follow the series, share your thoughts, and join the conversation!

03/09/2024

New season begins in great company 🍂

We are thrilled to announce that Have A Book has been officially accepted into the Polish Chamber of Books (Polska Izba Książki, P*K). All 12 members of the Council voted in favor of our membership, and we couldn't be more honored ✅

Being part of such a distinguished group that is committed to improving the book market in Poland is an incredible opportunity for us. We look forward to contributing and growing together with our fellow members.

Read more about the Polish Chamber of Books (Polska Izba Książki): https://pik.org.pl/

13/08/2024

🎒 Back-to-School: Prioritizing Accessibility in Your Digital Textbooks! 📚

As the new school year approaches, it’s time to transform your educational content into inclusive digital formats. At Have a Book, we specialize in converting printed materials — textbooks, training manuals, and scientific publications — into dynamic digital layouts, ensuring comprehensive accessibility for even the most complex educational content.

What We Offer:

• Accessibility First: We create WCAG-compliant content with enhanced semantics, ARIA tags, and accessible math formulas, ensuring your materials are inclusive for all learners.

• Minimal Effort Required: Simply provide us with your InDesign or PDF files, and we'll take care of the rest.

• Different Formats: We offer a range of formats, including ePub, Accessible PDF, Amazon-compatible, and custom e-book formats (like multibooks). Compare ePub formats at https://haveabook.eu/en/demo-ebook

• Seamless Integration: We integrate the transformation process with web platforms using formats like JSON, XML, and HTML, ensuring smooth delivery and compatibility.

The Benefits:

1. Make your content accessible to a wider audience, including those with disabilities.

2. Overcome challenges with complex materials, and launch both paper and digital versions simultaneously.

3. Guaranteed quality, security, and cost-effectiveness.

Ready to digitize your content for the new school year? Let’s connect!

09/08/2024

📚 Happy Book Lovers Day! 📚

Books have a special way of weaving themselves into our lives, and we take joy in being part of that journey. Each book we create is full of love and carefully crafted to reflect the unique vision of our clients. On this Book Lovers Day, we celebrate the quiet moments spent with a good book and the satisfaction of bringing those moments to life for others.

What are you reading today?

30/07/2024

Today, we celebrate Paperback Book Day, a tribute to the humble paperback that has revolutionized the way we read. Since their inception in the 1930s, paperbacks have democratized access to literature, making books affordable and portable for the masses. This innovation transformed the publishing industry, offering a new level of convenience and accessibility.

Initially seen as a utilitarian solution to make reading more accessible, paperbacks have evolved into cherished works of art. With advancements in printing technology and design, modern paperbacks combine durability with aesthetic appeal. At Have a Book, we understand the importance of this balance, offering softcover thread-sewn books that are both sturdy and beautiful.

Practical Tips for Creating the Perfect Paperback:

1. Durability Matters: Choose thread-sewn bindings to ensure your paperback can withstand frequent use and last longer.

2. Design with Care: A visually appealing cover can significantly enhance the reader's experience and attract more readers.

3. Quality Paper: Choose high-quality paper that is not only pleasant to touch but also durable.

4. Environmental Considerations: Use eco-friendly materials to appeal to the environmentally conscious reader.

By paying attention to these details, you can create paperbacks that are not just practical but also artistic masterpieces. Join us in celebrating the paperback – a true icon in the world of books.

17/07/2024

Having Trouble Making Your Ebook Accessible?

In today's fast-changing digital landscape, accessibility is becoming increasingly important for content creators, driven by new laws and a growing sense of social responsibility. Ensuring that digital products are accessible to everyone is a crucial aspect of this shift.

When it comes to ebooks, achieving true accessibility isn't always straightforward. Accessibility extends beyond just alternative text, appropriate contrast, and the ability to change fonts, though these elements are undeniably important. True accessibility means that an ebook can be seamlessly read by specialized software used by individuals with disabilities.

The challenge becomes even more complex when dealing with books that contain tables or, even more intricately, mathematical formulas.

Our EPUB generation engine is designed to address these challenges, enabling the creation of accessible ebooks with complex content. We are continuously exploring and researching new ways to enhance accessibility, striving to improve our tool to meet the highest standards.

For those interested in learning more about our commitment to accessibility and the solutions we offer, we invite you to visit our new accessibility page https://haveabook.eu/accessibility.

10/07/2024

🌟 New Blog Alert: Simplifying Backup with Our InDesign Extension! 🌟

If you've ever been curious about how our tools are created, our latest blog post https://blog.haveabook.eu/post/simplifying-backup-with-our-indesign-extension tells the story behind one of our features. Our journey led us to add a backup function to our InDesign extension, designed to streamline and simplify the backup process. This function enables designers to generate backups directly within InDesign, neatly organized in their own folders with timestamps. No more chaotic file names or lost work! 🚀

Plus, we've recently shared this tool (and other useful and funny tools) as open-source https://github.com/twm73/dtools, so you can use it to protect yourself from unexpected issues. This solution addresses a common pain point and brings peace of mind, ensuring that your creative endeavors are safeguarded against technical glitches. It’s a small step towards a more efficient and resilient workflow, allowing you to focus on what you do best – bringing your creative visions to life. 🎨💡

Read our full article to learn more about how this extension can improve your design process: https://blog.haveabook.eu/post/simplifying-backup-with-our-indesign-extension

03/07/2024

Not just books... Our IT department is involved in automating publishing processes, creating extensions for Adobe programs, developing and maintaining https://haveabook.eu/ and https://flydigit.io/ websites, and designing interfaces. This time, we've created a website not for ourselves, but for the Norwegian-Polish Chamber of Commerce (NPCC). Check it out here: NPCC Website https://www.npcc.no/ .

The NPCC website is designed to be user-friendly and informative for both prospective and current members. It offers a comprehensive overview of the chamber's activities, events, and membership benefits, with an intuitive layout that ensures easy navigation. We made sure it meets accessibility standards to provide an inclusive experience for all users.

We hope that this website is convenient and clear for all NPCC members and that it effectively meets their needs. Working on this project was a truly enjoyable experience, and we look forward to future collaborations.

01/07/2024

Summer with Our Traditional BBQ Gathering! ☀️🍔

After several intense months of hard work, we took a well-deserved break last Friday to relax and enjoy the company of our colleagues. As we enter the holiday season, we're also looking forward to an exciting summer filled with many changes and new plans. Stay tuned for what's coming next! 🌟

18/06/2024

🌴📚 Holiday Reading Preferences: Ebooks or Paper Books? 📚🌴

As the holiday season approaches, we at Have a Book are curious about your reading habits while on vacation. There’s something incredibly relaxing about diving into a good book while lounging on the beach.

What do you prefer to take with you on holidays: ebooks or traditional paper books? Cast your vote by using the reactions below!

📱 Ebooks (👍 Like):
• Convenient and portable
• Can carry an entire library in one device
• Adjustable font sizes and backlighting for easy reading

📖 Paper Books (❤️ Love):
• The tactile feel and smell of paper
• No need to worry about battery life
• A break from screens and digital devices

At Have a Book, we cater to both ebook enthusiasts and traditional book lovers.

How about you? Vote with your reaction and share your thoughts in the comments below!

28/05/2024

🚀 We’ve just published a new blog article on how to approach ordering an ebook! 📖

Check it out here: https://blog.haveabook.eu/post/clients-journey-into-the-realm-of-epubs

Previously, we discussed the steps to take when ordering layout services and the necessary actions to complete the order successfully. https://blog.haveabook.eu/post/how-to-order-book-typesetting-service

Creating an ebook might seem as simple as asking for one, but there's a lot more involved. Our latest blog post breaks down the essential questions and considerations to ensure you get the right product for your needs. From understanding different formats like fixed and reflowable ePubs to knowing how your chosen application affects the final product, we guide you through the entire process. We also touch on the complexities of pricing, influenced by factors such as source file quality and the presence of complex elements like tables and illustrations.

Our goal is to make your ebook ordering experience as smooth as possible with clear communication and practical advice. Don't miss out on our latest content that will help you navigate the ePub ordering process with ease!

23/05/2024

Join us tomorrow, May 24rd at the International Book Fair in Warsaw Międzynarodowe Targi Książki w Warszawie! 📚

This prestigious event brings together authors, publishers, and book lovers from around the world to celebrate the joy of reading. Don't miss the important panel of Polska Izba Książki on May 24th at 12:00 PM in the Kijów Hall: 'The Polish Accessibility Act. EAA - New Law and New Challenges for the Book Market'.

This panel will discuss the upcoming requirements set by the Act of April 26, 2024, aimed at ensuring the accessibility of certain products and services by businesses. This law will soon affect everyone offering digital products and services, including publishers and distributors. What are the users' expectations with its implementation?
Esteemed panellists include:
• Agnieszka Zienkowicz (Empik)
• Mikołaj Małaczyński (Legimi)
• An expert from Fundacja Polskich Niewidomych i Słabowidzących "Trakt".

Representing our company will be CEO Have a Book Artur Lewandowski.

Don't miss this insightful discussion on how the new law will shape the future of the book market. See you there! 📖✨

09/05/2024

07/05/2024

✨While many clients prioritize aesthetics, it's crucial to understand that accessibility extends beyond appearance. With upcoming legal and technological changes, such as the European Accessibility Act (EAA), our publishing community is moving towards more accessible and inclusive reading experiences. Approved in 2019, the EAA is set to come into full force in June 2025, aiming to ensure equal access to electronic content for all.

💡 Along this path, in April 2024, Adobe rolled out accessibility enhancements for EPUBs export in InDesign, including page list navigation, endnotes and footnotes, metadata for cover images, and managing decorative images with no alt text. These advancements mark a significant step forward in making digital content more accessible. A huge round of applause 👏 to Adobe and the proactive group of Accessibility experts behind these efforts. As creators of ePUBs, we are grateful for these contributions.

🔍 However, to attain full accessibility, we need more. That’s why we develop our own tools to achieve high-quality user experiences for all ePUB readers. Our solutions enable the creation of documents with well-organized structure and clean code, ensuring logical reading order, semantic structuring, tagged tables, and mathematical formulas as MathML. It's important to note that this not only improves accessibility but also opens possibilities for transforming electronic documents into various formats.

🛠️ So let's create accessible ePUBs together. With our combined efforts, we can ensure that every reader, regardless of ability, can fully engage with and benefit from the content.

23/04/2024

Happy World Book Day to all book lovers out there! 🎉 Books have been an essential part of human civilization for centuries, shaping our thoughts, cultures, societies, and even our everyday working life – we wouldn't be Have a Book without books! To celebrate this special day, here are 7 historical and fascinating facts about books you might not know.

And we'd love to hear from you! Which of these facts surprised you the most? Is there something you didn't know? Feel free to share your thoughts, and if you have any interesting book facts to add to our collection, please do share! 📖✨

16/04/2024

We've just released a new article on our blog that explores the world of printing technologies. 🖨️

🔍 Digital Printing vs. Offset Printing: What's the Difference?
In the printing world, there are two main technologies: digital printing and offset printing. They both turn digital pictures into physical prints, but they use different methods to do it. Each has its own good points and uses. Knowing what makes them different helps decide which one to use for different projects. Factors like cost, quality, quantity, and practical aspects should be considered when picking which method to go with.

👉 Want to learn more? Click the link below to read the full article and gain insights that can help you make informed decisions for your printing projects!

🔗https://blog.haveabook.eu/post/digital-vs-offset-printing-understanding-the-key-differences

09/04/2024

At Have a Book, we're proud to offer one of our most popular digital products: ePub Fixed. 🚀 Perfectly suited for children's literature, it's a top choice among our clients.

Here's why:
✅ Ensures accurate display on iBooks and Google Books
✅ Maintains 100% of the original layout/page
✅ Includes tables of contents
✅ Contains interactive links

But that's not all! ePub Fixed format may contain additional features:
✨ Text searching and copying capabilities
✨ Compatible with "Select to Speak" and "VoiceOver" functions
✨ Semantic elements and inflection for enhanced readability
✨ Meets WCAG accessibility requirements for people with disabilities

We're also working on an upcoming blog article discussing how to make ePub Fixed even more accessible for all readers. Stay tuned for updates!

Got questions or want to learn more? Feel free to reach out or visit our website for more information https://haveabook.eu/epub-fixed. Happy reading! 📚

02/04/2024

📚 Happy International Children's Book Day! 📚

Today, we celebrate the magic of children's books and their influence on young minds around the globe. At Have a Book, we have a special place in our hearts for children's literature. From designing, through typesetting to printing, and even transforming them into engaging ePubs, we love every step of the journey.

Here's to the enchanting stories, colorful illustrations, and boundless imagination that children's books bring into our lives. Let's keep inspiring a love for reading and storytelling in our little ones everywhere. Happy reading! 🌟📖

01/04/2024

🎉🚀🎨Get Ready for the Adobe Extension You Can't Miss!

🔥🔥🔥 Hold onto your Wacom tablets, folks! We've just dropped a bombshell innovation for all you design virtuosos out there! Introducing... drumroll... MINESWEEPER IN PHOTOSHOP, INDESIGN and ILLUSTRATOR! 🔥🔥🔥

That's right, we've merged the classic mind-bending minesweeper fun with the sleek Adobe's interface! 💥💻 Who said work couldn't be a blast, right? 🚀💣
🌟 Need a break from those pixel-perfect compositions? Tired of endlessly kerning text? Fear not! Now you can seamlessly switch gears and indulge in a game of MINESWEEPER right there in your Adobe workspace! 🎮💡

But wait, there's more! We're offering you a FREE download of our MINESWEEPER extension straight from GitHub repository https://github.com/twm73/dtools! 🆓📥 And as if that wasn't enough, we're throwing in serious functionality upgrades for Adobe Photoshop, InDesign and Illustrator as a bonus! 🎁🚀

So, what are you waiting for? Dive into a world where design meets play, where every click could uncover a gem or... well, a bomb! 💣💥 Get your game on, fellow designers, and let's make this Prima Aprilis a day to remember! 🎉🃏🖌️

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