Why don't ebook page numbers match the print book?
· Graspium
Because an ebook has no fixed pages. The text of an EPUB flows to fit your screen and your font size, so every reader invents its own "pages": tolino counts them from the size of the book's files, Kindle counts locations, and only an ebook that carries the print edition's page numbers can show you the real ones. Nothing is broken; the numbers just measure different things.
Print pages and ebook pages are different units
A printed page is fixed: the typesetter decided where it ends, and page 112 is page 112 in every copy of that edition. An EPUB is reflowable. Change the font size, the margins or the line spacing, or open the book on a phone instead of an e-reader, and the same sentence lands somewhere else on the screen. So an e-reader cannot know which print page you are on unless the publisher told it.
What each reader counts instead:
| Reader | What a "page" is | Changes with font size? |
|---|---|---|
| Print book | A page of that edition | No |
| tolino | An Adobe page: roughly 1,024 bytes of the book's compressed text, counted chapter file by chapter file | No, the count is fixed per file |
| Kindle | Locations; "pages" only for books mapped to a print edition | Locations no, screen pages yes |
| Apps that page by screen | One screen at the current settings | Yes |
Why the tolino page number seems wrong
tolino reads EPUBs with Adobe's reading engine, and that engine does not count screens. It counts about one page for every 1,024 bytes of each chapter file, measured compressed, and rounds every file up to a whole page (MobileRead wiki). We checked this rule against the page counts tolino shows for five books, and it matched every one exactly.
Two things follow from it:
- One page is not one screen. With a large font, one tolino page fills several screens, so you turn and the number stays the same. With a small font one screen holds more than a page, and the number jumps.
- Short files cost a whole page. A title page, a dedication or a part divider with four words each gets a full page, which is why the first chapter often starts on page 3 or later and the total is higher than the print book's. For the same file the page count is the same on every tolino, because it depends on the file, not the screen. A different edition of the book (another publisher, another EPUB) has a different count.
Why Kindle shows locations
Kindle measures position in locations, a unit tied to the text, not to pages. Amazon says itself that "Kindle books do not always map directly to page numbers in physical editions" (Kindle Direct Publishing). When a publisher adds the print page numbers to the ebook, Kindle can show those real page numbers; otherwise any page number you see is an estimate.
When an ebook does have real page numbers
The EPUB 3 standard has a page list: the publisher can mark where each page of a print edition begins (W3C EPUB 3.3), and name which edition it is (W3C page source). An ebook with a page list can show the same page numbers as that print edition. Many ebooks, especially older ones, have none.
How to cite an ebook without stable page numbers
- APA 7: give a chapter, a heading or a paragraph number instead of a page, and do not use Kindle location numbers (APA Style).
- MLA 9: use page numbers only when they are stable across devices, otherwise a chapter or section (MLA Style Center).
- If your ebook shows print page numbers from a page list, those are stable and can be cited like the print edition's.
How Graspium counts pages
In Graspium you pick your reading device under Settings, Reading device, and every book is counted the way that device counts it. With tolino, a page number in Graspium is the page number your tolino shows, by the Adobe rule above. With Kindle, pages are an estimate and marked with "≈". That matters for the chat: Graspium answers only up to your reading position, and when it names a page, it is the page your device shows.
Questions and answers
Why does my tolino show more pages than the print book?
tolino counts about one page per 1,024 bytes of each chapter file and rounds every file up to a whole page, so title pages and part dividers each add a full page. The total depends on the EPUB file, not on the print edition.
Why does the page number not change when I turn the page?
With a large font one tolino page fills several screens. The page number belongs to the file, not to the screen, so it only moves once you reach the next 1,024 bytes of text.
How do I cite an ebook without page numbers?
Use a chapter, a heading or a paragraph number instead of a page, as APA and MLA both recommend, and never a Kindle location. If the ebook shows print page numbers from the publisher, those can be cited.