Calibre 9.7 Promises Faster Ebook Conversion Speeds

Calibre 9.17 is out with faster ebook conversions, JPEG XL image support, accessibility updates and a range of bug fixes.

The release speeds up output compression when converting books to MOBI, AZW3 and PDB formats. It also adds support for reading JPEG XL images during conversions, bringing the format’s high image quality and smaller file sizes to ebooks and other supported documents.

Accessibility improvements include respecting the system’s prefers-reduced-motion setting. Calibre’s “Check Book” tool now checks accessibility labels and can update them if an automatic fix changes an ID.

Other changes include refinements to character selection in Calibre’s AI-powered “create your own adventure” feature. When creating a catalogue, Calibre is now listed as the creator and the generation date is used as the publication date.

The update also fixes several issues, including regressions affecting PDF and EPUB 3 conversions in version 9.16. Full-text search once again works in libraries without book files, custom series settings save more reliably, and dark-mode colours are easier to read. There are also fixes for metadata sources, Kobo cover handling on older Tolino firmware, and other conversion and library features.

The content server, which lets users browse their Calibre library from another device, receives fixes for search actions, switching between libraries, conversion notifications and keyboard focus styling. News source support has also been updated, including for The Economist, the Associated Press and Scientific American.

Download Calibre for Windows, macOS or Linux. On Linux, the official release is installed through a command-line script. Calibre is also available on Flathub and as a Snap, though these are unofficial builds.