Book cover design service
If you would like help in getting your paperback cover, PPC (printed paper case) or book (dust) jacket designed or pieced together then please contact us as we offer an in-house design service to suit all budgets.
Cover, jacket file and printed paper case (PPC) file formats
Our preferred format for cover, jacket and PPC files is a print-ready PDF:
- one single file (see layout diagrams below)
- with fonts and images embedded (image files should be at least 300dpi and saved as CMYK – see below)
Please don’t send us the original files created in Adobe InDesign, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator or QuarkXPress. They must be exported or saved as print-ready PDF files.
Please note that CMYK digital printing presses use different technology compared to home and office colour printers and computer monitors. These should not be used to proof covers or jackets as they will not accurately represent what will be printed. If you require us to match Pantone colours, you must send in an example of the colour to match to (even if we have printed it before). However, most, but not all colours are achievable using CMYK, so if we cannot match your colour we will inform you before printing.
Creating a paperback cover:
The cover should be the same size as the inner page (trim) size plus 3mm bleed all round. On screen your file should look like the layout below i.e. with the back, spine and front all side by side:
COVER WIDTH = 3mm bleed + back page width + spine width + front page width + 3mm bleed
SPINE WIDTH If we haven’t confirmed the spine width in our estimate then please contact us and we will calculate this for you.
So if your book is A5 with 140 pages and has, say, a spine width of 8mm (based on an 80gsm offset paper) then the cover width will be: 3 + 148 + 8 + 148 + 3 = 310mm
COVER HEIGHT = 3mm bleed + page height + 3mm bleed So if your book is A5 then the cover height will be: 3 + 210 + 3 = 216mm.
BARCODE If we are making and inserting a barcode on your behalf then please leave a white box on the back of approx 35mm wide by 25mm high to indicate where we should place it.
SPOT UV Needs to be set up as a separate PDF to the main cover and supplied as 100% black. This file should only contain those areas that are to have spot UV applied to them.
Creating a hardback dust jacket:
The dust jacket should be the same size as the inner page (trim) size plus the back and front flaps and the bleed and board allowances we have indicated in the layout below. On screen your file should look like the layout below i.e. with the back flap, back, spine, front and front flap all side by side:
Add a minimum of 4mm wrap around the board on to the flap.
SPINE WIDTH If we haven’t confirmed the spine width in our estimate then please contact us and we will calculate this for you. Please don’t use another printer’s spine width calculator as their manufacturing tolerances may be different.
BARCODE If we are making and inserting a barcode on your behalf then please leave a white box on the back of approx 35mm wide by 25mm high to indicate where we should place it.
CLOTHS The cloths we use in the manufacture of a hardback with a loose dust jacket are from the Wibalin® Buckram range which comes in a variety of colours. An online swatch of the colours available can be viewed by clicking here.
COLOURED ENDPAPERS The endpapers we use in the manufacture of a hardback are from the Wibalin® Buckram Natural 500 range which comes in a variety of colours. An online swatch of the colours available can be viewed by clicking here.
FOILING If you are supplying artwork for us to make a brass to stamp foil lettering on to the spine or front of the hardback please supply this as a print ready PDF file. It should be a replica of what you have as the lettering on your dust jacket saved as 100% black (regardless of the colour that the foil is going to be) on a white background. Please click here to download our guide on how to create the artwork.
Creating a hardback PPC (Printed Paper Case):
The PPC should be the same size as the page (trim) size plus a total of 20mm – 17mm to allow us to fold the jacket around the board and 3mm overhang. On screen your file should look like the layout below i.e. with the back, spine and front all side by side:
Add 4mm to spine width to allow for boards.
PPC WIDTH = 17mm for fold + 3mm overhang + back page width + spine width + front page width + 3mm overhang + 17mm for fold
SPINE WIDTH If we haven’t confirmed the spine width in our estimate then please contact us and we will calculate this for you.
So if your book is A5 with 140 pages and has, say, a spine width of 8mm (based on an 80gsm offset paper) then the PPC width will be:
17 + 3 + 148 + 12 + 148 + 3 + 17 = 348mm.
PPC HEIGHT = 17mm for fold + 3mm overhang + page height + 3mm overhang + 17mm for fold
So if your book was A5 then the PPC height will be: 17 + 3 + 210 + 3 + 17 = 250mm.
BARCODE If we are making and inserting a barcode on your behalf then please leave a white box on the back of approx 35mm wide by 25mm high to indicate where we should place it.
