How to properly set up the artwork and spine thickness for a book

If you have chosen a product from the "Magazines, Books, and Catalogs" section and your product includes a spine, the most effective tools we offer to help you create your file are the templates and instructions. Both can be downloaded from the product configuration page and will provide you with an excellent starting point.

Please note that if your product uses perfect binding with a soft cover, you also have the option to print on the inner pages of the cover. In this case, the PDF created for the cover must include two facing pages: one for the exterior (the two outer panels with the spine in the center) and one for the interior (the two inner panels separated by a white spine, which facilitates gluing the inner pages).

On the other hand, if your product has a hard cover, the inner sides of the cover cannot be printed. Therefore, the cover PDF will consist of a single spread: the two outer panels with the spine in the center.

The template can be easily opened in Illustrator. If you're working with InDesign, it may be helpful to import only the cover-related page(s) of the template into a new layer—the guides will assist you in correctly positioning your graphics and text.

Example of a book with hard cover:

Example of a book with soft cover:

• Bleed: This is the area between the magenta cutting line and the green line, which marks the outermost boundary of the document. Extend the background artwork (the one covering the entire front cover area) all the way to this green line.

• Cut line: This magenta line sits just inside the bleed and defines the visible area of the cover in the final printed product.

• Fold lines: These are red dashed lines that indicate where the cover will be folded to create the spine. Place any text intended for the spine between the two innermost fold lines.

• Safe area: This is marked by a solid red line and indicates where important text and graphics should be placed to ensure they remain clearly visible in the printed product and are not cut off or too close to the edge.

Example of a correctly laid-out hard cover with spine and the corresponding printed result:

Example of a hard cover layout with incorrectly positioned spine and the corresponding print result:

If you choose not to use the template, the instructions provide all the information you need to create a correct file from scratch. Please remember that the spine dimensions are always specified in the quote, once all the fields related to the product specifications have been completed.

In the end, you can choose whether to upload a single file including both the cover and the inner pages, or two separate documents, one for the cover and another for the inner pages, in the File Upload area, whichever is more convenient for you.

Design the cover of your book using the guides provided in the template or by consulting the instructions related to the product you purchased, and you can be confident of achieving a high-quality result.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us; we will be happy to assist you.