# How do I convert a two-column PDF to EPUB?

Source: https://epubcc.com/answers/convert-two-column-pdf-to-epub/ (updated 2026-11-04)

Use a converter that detects the columns before it joins lines into paragraphs, so the left column is read top to bottom and then the right one, instead of reading each line straight across the page. EpubCC does this by splitting each page along the white gaps between columns before rebuilding the text.

## Why two columns go wrong

A naive converter reads a page line by line from left to right, so it glues the first line of the left column to the first line of the right column. The result is sentences that alternate between two unrelated texts: the most common failure on academic papers, journals and the Federal Register.

## How EpubCC reads columns

- Each page is cut recursively along the widest white gaps (an XY-cut): a vertical gap that crosses the whole region marks a column boundary.
- A gap only counts as a column when each side has at least 2 lines, so a wide space inside one line, such as "2.1   Title", is not mistaken for a column.
- Images are placed as part of the region they sit in, so they stay in reading order.
- A paragraph that continues from the bottom of one column to the top of the next is joined again when the sentence carries on.

## Check the result

Layouts that mix one and two columns on the same page, boxes and side notes are the hard part. The free sample shows your own pages side by side with the EPUB, and the benchmark includes two-column papers and a three-column Federal Register document measured for continuity.

**Does it work with three columns?** The same column detection applies to three columns; the Federal Register case in our corpus is a three-column document.

**What happens to figures that span both columns?** A figure or heading across the full width splits the page into regions above and below it, and each region is read in order.