How to Read PDFs, Notes, Scans, and Comics on the Kindle Paperwhite (2015–2020)

If you have a Kindle Paperwhite from 2015 to 2020 and want to read PDFs, notes, scanned documents, or comics, there are several ways to do it depending on your file type and what reading experience you want. This model has a 1072 × 1448 pixel grayscale screen, which affects how text and images display and what works best for each kind of material.

What happens if you put a PDF directly on the Kindle Paperwhite?

The Kindle displays PDFs as fixed pages, shrinking each page to fit the screen. Since the Paperwhite's resolution is 1072 × 1448 pixels, an A4 page ends up looking very small—text can be less than half its original size. To read, you’ll often need to zoom with two fingers or turn the device sideways, but the page stays fixed and you have to move it manually. This can work for short documents or items with a lot of fixed formatting, but it’s not comfortable for long notes or books.

How can you read notes and books with reflowable text?

To make the text fit the screen and allow you to adjust font size, you need to convert the PDF to a reflowable format, like AZW3 or EPUB. This way, lines rearrange themselves and you don’t need to zoom. Legible can do this: it converts PDFs into Kindle books, keeping headings, lists, and bold text, and even builds a chapter index if your PDF doesn’t have one. On the Paperwhite, you can navigate chapters from the "Go To" menu.

What if your PDF is scanned or a mix of text and images?

If your PDF is a scan (images of pages), Legible uses OCR (Optical Character Recognition) to turn it into selectable text. This lets you read scans as regular books, with adjustable text and no need to zoom. Legible’s OCR corrects obvious mistakes and builds an index if it detects headings. For more on handling scans, see How to Convert a Scanned PDF to Kindle (OCR).

How do you transfer files to the Kindle Paperwhite?

• By cable: Download the AZW3 file and copy it to the "documents" folder on your Kindle from your computer. The Paperwhite shows up as a USB drive. For details, see this guide.
• Online (Send to Kindle): Send an EPUB file using Send to Kindle. Amazon will convert and send it to your Kindle. The EPUB’s index will be kept, and the book shows up in your library like any other. If you send a PDF, Amazon may try to convert it, but with notes it often loses headings and the index. For more info, check this guide.

How can you read comics and manga (CBZ, CBR, comic PDFs)?

The Paperwhite (2015–2020) can’t open CBZ or CBR files directly, but you can convert them. Legible accepts these formats and converts them to PDFs tailored to your device’s exact resolution (1072 × 1448 pixels in grayscale). It trims margins, splits double pages, and handles manga reading order if needed. The result is sharp and fills the screen. For more about comics and manga, see this guide.

What’s different about the Paperwhite 2015–2020 compared to other models?

• The 1072 × 1448 pixel resolution defines the size and sharpness of comics and images.
• The screen is grayscale, so comics and emojis appear in black, white, and shades of gray. Files prepared for this model are optimized for that display.
• It doesn’t support color files or the Colorsoft option.

Are there other options?

If you prefer desktop tools, Calibre is great for organizing your library and converting EPUB to AZW3, but it’s not ideal for complex PDF conversions (see this guide). For comics, Kindle Comic Converter is also useful. Choose your tool based on your file type and the result you want.

Summary: Best way to read each file type

This way, you can get the most out of your Kindle Paperwhite (2015–2020) and read all kinds of materials, perfectly adapted to its screen and format.