Publishing Learning Center
Design Book Covers
Book covers really do matter. Readers look at the front cover and the back cover and then quickly make buying decisions. Reviewers can only review a few books each week, so must select book covers that appear to be the most interesting. Your book cover must survive "the glance test" for both reviewers and book buyers!Use cover templates
To help you create artwork for your front and back book covers, use the following templates. Note that these templates should only be used as a guideline to help position your image as well as understand where the image will be cropped. Avoid placing any text or images within the safety zones.
1) Right click the template download links and "Save Target As" (or "save image as").
2) Open this template in your image application software.
3) Add a new layer and create your design — or add text — on the new layer.
4) When your design and text are complete, remove the original layer with the template.
5) For best results, save your image as a PNG file.
| Size | Standard Size Uses | Template | ||
| 4.18 x 6.88 | Mass Market Paperback | Download | ||
| 5 x 8 | Standard Paperback | Download | ||
| 6.625 x 10.25 | Comic | Download | ||
| 7.5 x 9.25 | Technical Manual | Download | ||
| 8.5 x 11 | Letter Size | Download | ||
Back cover treatment
Back covers are the best chance to sell your book. Adding testimonials, quotations or review "blurbs" help sell books — word-of-mouth is one of the most powerful forces in marketing. When readers see quotation marks, not just language from the author, they become more receptive to the worth of your book. Of course, it also helps if buyers can see who you are you too, so be sure to include a photo (and maybe a brief bio) on the back.
Book buyers visiting CafePress.com have the option of enlarging both the front and back covers of the books they find in search results or just browsing for new titles, so don’t waste this opportunity to make a sale!
Image sizes, bleed & safety zones
Below are the recommended image sizes for the different sized book covers. Images should be between 150 to 300 DPI for the best effect.
| Size | Standard Size Uses | Resolution | Final Size (pixels) | ||
| 4.18 x 6.88 | Mass Market Paperback | 300 DPI | 4.68 x 7.38 (1404 x 2214) | ||
| 5 x 8 | Standard Paperback | 300 DPI | 5.5 x 8.5 (1650 x 2550) | ||
| 6.625 x 10.25 | Comic | 300 DPI | 7.125 x 10.75 (2138 x 3225) | ||
| 7.5 x 9.25 | Technical Manual | 300 DPI | 8 x 9.75 (2400 x 2925) | ||
| 8.5 x 11 | Letter Size | 300 DPI | 9 x 11.5 (2700 x 3450) | ||
The term "Full Image Bleed" comes from the printing industry. The book printing process normally uses paper that is larger than the final trim size. This allows you to print an image over the edge, so when the paper is cut down, the image "bleeds" over the edge.
Using full bleed assures you that the book will not have unwanted white edges. Suppose your cover image employs a blue background, so you increase the size of the image and fill any newly created edges with blue. CafePress.com will then print the full image that is slightly bigger than the book's trim size. While you need to allow for a certain margin of error in your design, employing full bleed will ensure no white margins show.
Be sure to set your selected image height to the full bleed size requirement. If it is not, some small areas of white space may appear on your book cover.
We highly recommend you do not place any text within .5 inches from any edge. To allow for variances from one printing to the next, placing text away from the edges will ensure that it is not cut off.
Designing spines
Spine images can be a little tricky. Because the spine width is determined by the number of pages in your book, we cannot calculate the image size needed until you have uploaded your document. Once you start designing your book, our software will give you spine dimensions and a template.
Image formats
Cover images can be JPG, PNG, TIF or BMP files with a minimum resolution of 150 DPI. For best results we highly recommend saving your file as a PNG. Add an extra 1/4" to each side if you'd like your image to bleed off the edge. All images should be saved in RGB format (not CMYK).
Find more information on image formats here.
Image Tags
Be sure to Tag your cover images with relevant keywords that describe your book's content.
Cover font sizes
Sans serif faces are typically used for display headers and book covers, while serif typefaces are used for body text to ease readability. Of course, you should use larger point sizes for displaying your book's cover copy. Remember the small size of the covers shown in the browsable book directory!
Make sure your cover typography stands out sufficiently to be read. On average, a bookstore browser (probably similar to an online book browser) spends eight seconds looking at the front cover and 15 seconds looking at the back cover. Not much time to make a sale, particularly if your cover can't be read or doesn't stand out.
Also make sure you complete the "Product Description" and "Synopsis" fields in the "Book Information" page as you're finalizing creation of your book. This information will be displayed in the "Book View" page and in search results.
ISBN + bar code
A necessary requirement for selling your book through booksellers, wholesalers and distributors, is the assignment of unique ISBN numbers for each title. In order for booksellers to automatically capture an ISBN, it must be converted into a scannable bar code. Both ISBN and bar code are printed on back book covers.
For correct presentation, the 10 digits of an ISBN must be divided — by hyphens — into four parts: X-XXX-XXX-X
Part 1: The country or group of countries identifier
Part 2: The publisher identifier
Part 3: The title identifier
Part 4: The check digit
If you have an ISBN for your book, be sure to allow sufficient space for it when designing your book's back cover. Here is an example ISBN + bar code (total area about 2 by 1.25 inches):
ISBN number above, bar code, ISBN number with check digit below.
Cover checklist
- Are your cover documents in an image format?
- Are your cover images tagged to help users find your book in the Marketplace?
- Do the images fit the trim size you selected with the correct spine size?
- Do you have the appropriate amount of bleed?
- Are your covers 150-300 DPI and RGB (not CMYK)?
- Are the original images flattened?
- Are all graphics at least 1/4" away from the trim line?
- Are all fonts embedded?
