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Since we have introduced one-piece covers, we have seen a number of covers that have trouble printing. This is because our automated cover creation process created a PDF that was flattened to a single layer. However, it is possible to create a very complex PDF using Adobe Illustrator with many layers, fonts etc. Don't do this.

Avoid transparencies and transparent areas in your image files, as these cause unwelcome light gray or white areas in the printed material.

The more complex the PDF, the greater chance that the process of rasterizing for print will generate errors. If you've created a cover PDF that uses fonts and separate images, your best option is to open the PDF in Photoshop — it will automatically ask for DPI (300 is optimal) and color palette (choose RGB). It will then rasterize the file to a single layer.

Crop marks will need to be left off of the uploaded PDF.

Please Note: All printed books -- not just Lulu books -- can have a slightly offset spine. Some of the spine may spill onto the cover, or some of the cover onto the spine. The difference is minor and won't be greater than 1/8th of an inch. Still, because of this, we recommend you don't use sharply contrasting colors for your spine and covers.

Last updated: 2008-11-13 13:25:44 | Back to top

Create cover images .25" (.68 cm) larger than the height and .125" (.36 cm) larger than the width of the chosen book size. For example, a 6" by 9" book will need an image 6.125" by 9.25". There is a .125 inch (.36cm) variation in the trimming and folding process. The cover does not use a bleed at the spine. Covers for hardcover books are slightly larger than the interior pages. .75" of a casewrap hardcover cover image is folded around the cover. Improperly sized or applied bleeds will result in a white strip or important parts of the image or text cut off at the edge of the cover. Do not include crop marks or registration marks.

The following chart lists our book sizes accompanied by the appropriate size with bleed for the cover image file and a template to use while creating a cover image. Right-click or Control+click on the link and "Save as Target" or "Save Link as". The 5.5 x 8.5" and 8.5 x 11" Publisher grade books will have bar codes. For more information go here.

Last updated: 2008-11-13 13:24:49 | Back to top

No. You must include your own bar code for your one-piece cover. Unlike separate front and back covers, your ISBN bar code will not be automatically added to your one-piece cover. It is up to you to add every element you would like to appear on your one-piece cover, as this type of cover allows for total customization.

For more info on generating bar codes, see http://www.tux.org/~milgram/bookland/.

See How much space should I leave on my back cover for my ISBN barcode?

Last updated: 2008-11-13 13:25:48 | Back to top

Dimensions for a one piece cover can be found in the cover step of the Publishing Wizard or in the boxes below. Insert the book's page count into this Spine width calculator to calculate the book's spine width. If the dimensions of the PDF uploaded to the One-Piece Cover Wizard are not correct, the PDF will not be accepted by the Cover Wizard.

The cover dimensions for hardcover books are slightly larger than the size of the text block. This is normal; the cover is slightly larger than the pages of the book

This is the equation for determining the dimensions of a one-piece cover for a dust jacket hardcover:

Bleed + Back Flap + Back Cover + Spine + Front Cover + Front Flap + Bleed (See a visual example)

This is the equation for determining the dimensions of a one-piece cover for a casewrap hardcover:

Turn-in bleed + Back Cover + Spine + Front Cover + Turn-in Bleed (6" x 9" example) (8.25" x 10.75" example)

Last updated: 2008-11-13 13:25:46 | Back to top