A finished EPUB alone is not enough to reproduce an image-rich book. Keep image references repairable from the source, record exactly which chapter files, body images, cover, and workspace settings were used, and apply the same inspection table to the first EPUB and every rebuild. This workflow connects a four-chapter source set to one inspected output without treating generated pages as the source of truth.
Define one source set
The sample contains Beginning, Map, Gallery, and Afterword. Chapter two references the harbor map, chapter three references the harbor photograph, and a separate image is designated as the cover. Treat those chapters, the image folder, the cover, and the workspace settings as one versioned source set.
For each input, record the absolute path, byte count, and SHA-256. Preserve the four-file reading order as an array. The resulting source-manifest JSON covered four chapters, two body images, and one cover; the manifest itself had SHA-256 494ba061703f0cfd3a7356ba8ab3d3ffd141a4c0820fafee7a33e94a54921466.
Inspect the export plan first
Before creating the EPUB, request a plan with the same four source files. The observed plan reported four files, four chapters, their ordered paths, and inclusion in navigation. A missing or misplaced chapter is cheaper to correct here than after delivery.
Keep the cover out of chapter markup. Body figures enter through chapter-relative references; the cover enters through the volume’s dedicated cover designation. Preserve that distinction in the manifest.
Export from the recorded inputs
Once the plan matches the manifest, export the same four chapters in the same order. The production EPUB contained the cover and both body figures. Its SHA-256 was c488280d5fedb913688aa2c058e6772dee398baea471555b7430846ec2374cc8.
A hash does not judge reading quality. It identifies the exact artifact that was inspected. If a source changes and a rebuild produces different bytes, record the result as a new output version.
Inspect structure and meaning
The completed structural inspection passed with three packaged images and zero missing images. Navigation and NCX were present, and the chapter pages followed the planned reading order. The three images were one cover plus two body figures.
Counts are necessary but not sufficient. Read chapter two to confirm the map and “Map of the harbor” alternative text, and chapter three to confirm the photograph and “Harbor at dusk.” Verify that only the designated cover owns the cover-image role.
Link the manifest to the artifact
The production record should keep the source-manifest path and SHA-256, exact export command, exit code, output excerpt, EPUB absolute path and SHA-256, and inspection result together. A manuscript without its assets cannot reproduce the book; an EPUB without its sources cannot support the next revision.
When an image changes, create a manifest with the new image hash and rebuild. Do not silently rewrite the old record. That versioned relationship answers which inputs produced each deliverable.
Keep fault diagnosis separate
This article does not inject an external file move or walk through manual reference repair. That failure-and-recovery investigation belongs in a separate guide to broken image links. The production task here is different: prove that a known source set builds into one intact EPUB with the expected structure.
After structural checks pass, read the cover, navigation, four chapters, and colophon. Automated inspection can expose missing assets and package structure, but it cannot decide whether the photograph is artistically correct or whether the prose says what the author intended.
Completion means that a manifest identifies four chapters, two body figures, and one cover; the plan preserves their reading order; and the exact output passes with three images and zero missing references. Keep relative references repairable in the source and use this same inspection table for both the first export and rebuilt editions. Store submission, pricing, and device color rendering remain separate delivery work. A source-to-artifact chain makes the next edition reproducible instead of merely similar.
