Think about your book cover as a jacket made to wrap around the pages of your book with a perfect fit.
A perfect fit is based not only on the trim size of your book but also the number of pages in your interior and the weight of
your interior stock.
Cover Requirements Checklist
Softcover
Hardcover
Spiral
Dustjacket
Foil Stamp
Your file is saved as a PDF.
Your back cover, spine and front cover are
included as one file.
Your PDF size matches your book's trim
size.
You have thoroughly reviewed your file for
errors.
Your background extends .125" past the trim
area.
Your spine text is centered and has a 1/16" margin
on both sides.
Your cover is saved as a single or two-page (front cover
and spine) PDF.
Your PDF size matches your book's trim
size.
Your artwork includes black text or vector graphics
only.
Your artwork has a white or transparent
background.
Your line elements are uniform, and you've avoided
mixing extremely thick with thin elements.
You have thoroughly reviewed your file for
errors.
Your front cover artwork has a margin of at least
.75" on all sides.
Your spine text is centered and has a 1/16" margin
on both sides.
Foil Stamp Instructions
Saving Your Cover File for Print
The two most common programs for preparing a book cover are Adobe InDesign and Photoshop. The file
you make from this software is called a native file. Once you have finished your cover preparation in the native file, you will
need to save it as a PDF (Portable Document File). A PDF will lock everything in place so no movement or changes occur when the
file is sent to the printer.
