My EPUB text is tiny on Kobo and does not reflow when I change font size

Your PDF reads fine on a laptop, but on a phone or e-reader the words stay print-size and the font-size slider does nothing — the page converted as a fixed layout, not as text the reader can resize.

1 2

1. Print-size type, the whole page squeezed onto the phone
2. The same passage reflowed at a comfortable font size

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Why this happens

A PDF fixes every word to an exact position on the page. A flat conversion keeps that position, so the reading app has nothing to resize — the slider moves, but the page doesn't. Reflow analysis works differently: even a two-column reference page set as small as 6–7 pt is read in order, rebuilt as real paragraphs with no dropped letters and no forced line breaks, and resized to whatever font you choose.

What changes in the EPUB

• Resizable font: the slider actually changes size, because the page is real paragraphs, not a picture
• Correct reading order: a two-column page reads left column, then right — not interleaved line by line
• Whole words: no dropped letters, no line broken mid-word at the edge of the old column
• Searchable, selectable text: works like any other EPUB on Kobo, Kindle Scribe, Apple Books and other readers

What to check in the preview

1. Font size actually changes: move the size control up and down in the preview — if the text grows, it's real paragraphs, not a picture of the page.
2. Column order: where a page was originally two columns, confirm it now reads left-to-right as one column, not interleaved line by line.
3. No mid-word breaks: a sentence that used to wrap at a narrow column edge should now wrap naturally at your screen width, with no stray hyphen or forced break.

Reading it on your device

Once the page is real paragraphs, every reader's own font-size and margin controls work on it like any other book — download the EPUB and open it on your phone, tablet or e-reader. Kobo's menus work a little differently from a phone's; the Kobo guide covers font size, margins and getting the file onto the device.

Frequently asked questions