POD Cover Details

Cover
Back + Spine + Front, one landscape-orientation rectangle;
wraps around the printed book blocks, then gets trimmed to “trim size”

Before you can create your cover, you must know:
1. The total number of interior book pages in your PDF, including blanks, front- and back matter, etc.

2. What kind of text paper you are using, and that paper’s
PPI (pages per inch; has to do with the thickness of that particular
paper). Our standard text paper is Cougar 60# Smooth, Opaque, Natural,
60#, PPI = 435.

• Cover must be centered both vertically & horizontally

on an 11" x 17" page with the spine in between the back cover and the cover.

• Maximum cover dimensions = 10.75" x 16.75"
• Spine width = number of pages ÷ 435 (PPI)
• No crop/registration marks
• 1/2" bleed on all sides if you want images or color to print up to the
  edge of the cover

In order to have room to print on the spine of your book, it needs to be at least 100 pages.

If the color changes from your front cover to the spine, extend your
cover design .03125 inches into the spine area. This helps prevent the
spine color from showing on the cover.

If the color changes from your spine to your back cover, extend your
spine color .03125 inches onto the back cover. This helps prevent the
back cover from showing on the spine.

It is recommended that you don’t choose scripts for the spine fonts. ALL CAPS usually look best.

Download cover templates samples: 5.5x8.5 cover 6x9 cover