\n\nPressbooks'<\/a> primary function is to\u00a0generate\u00a0interior book files for ebooks and print books. You do not have to use Pressbooks to create your book covers\u2014you can\u00a0source those separately\u2014but\u00a0 you can use our book cover generator to produce both your ebook or PDF covers. The file you create will be automatically sized to complex industry specifications.\n\nNOTE:<\/strong>\u00a0Print-on-demand services require that interior and cover files are submitted separately, but ebook services typically do not. Book covers will be included in your ebook (EPUB and MOBI) exports, but not in your PDF files.\n\nIn this section,\u00a0we will cover:\n
\n \t
How to create ebook and print book covers in Pressbooks<\/li>\n \t
Ebook cover specifications<\/li>\n \t
How to include\u00a0your cover in your exported ebook files from Pressbooks<\/li>\n \t
What's different about the specs for a print book cover<\/li>\n \t
How to turn an ebook cover into a print cover in Pressbooks<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n
\n
How to Use the Pressbooks Cover Generator<\/h2>\nAll users have access to the cover generator, with Pressbooks watermarks and ads included in the exported cover files. Once you have upgraded a book to the EBOOK Pro Plan, you'll gain access to watermark- and ad-free ebook cover file exports. If you upgrade to the PDF+EBOOK Pro plan, you'll have access to watermark- and ad-free cover exports for all supported file types. The cover creation tool comes at no additional charge to your standard upgrade. To access and use it:\n\n1. Go to Export \/ Cover Generator.<\/strong>\n\n[caption id=\"attachment_1063\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"752\"] $\"accessing$ <\/a> Here's how to get to the cover generator (in PDF+EBOOK Pro plans).[\/caption]\n\n2. Adjust your book information. <\/strong>This is automatically imported from what you've entered under Book Info, but what you enter here will not override the text you have entered on the Book Info page.\n
NOTE<\/strong>: If you would like to keep any of these fields blank, you will need to enter\u00a0 <\/strong> in order to prevent the system from automatically pulling in the information from the Book Info.<\/div>\n \n\n $\"\"$ <\/a>\n\n3. Set your theme<\/strong> (your book cover is going to inherit the font and design style of the theme you applied to your book. You can change that theme.)\n\n $\"\"$ <\/a>\n\n4. Upload an image for the front of your cover.\u00a0<\/strong>This is optional. You can also have a plain cover and specify the background color instead.)\n
NOTE:\u00a0<\/b>Most print on demand suppliers (including IngramSpark) require your cover image to be 300dpi. See below for more on how to ensure you meet this requirement.<\/div>\n5. Check the page count.\u00a0<\/strong>Pressbooks will automatically fill this field with the page count of your most recent PDF export UNLESS you change it manually. If you change it manually once, it will no longer be automatically updated<\/strong>, so you will have to be very careful to check the\u00a0page count here before exporting your final cover file.\n\n6. Set the colors for your cover's background and text<\/strong>\n\n $\"\"$ <\/a>\n\n7. Click on Make PDF Cover and Make Ebook Cover to generate print and ebook cover files.<\/strong>\n\n $\"\"$ <\/a>\n
Preparing Cover Images for Print<\/h2>\n<\/div>\nMany print-on-demand suppliers (including IngramSpark) request that cover images be at least 300DPI. To ensure that our cover generator is creating covers that meet this requirement, we have added a check during the image upload process that will verify whether your image is large enough to export at the right resolution for your trim size.\n\nBefore you upload your cover image to the generator, you will need to check that it is the right size. To do so:\n
\n \t
Add .125 to the top, right side and bottom of your front cover dimensions (e.g. the front cover for a 6\u00d79in trim size book would be 6.125\u00d79.25in)<\/li>\n \t
Multiply those dimenseions by 300 (to give 300 pixels per inch), e.g.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
(6.125 x 9.25in) x 300 = 1838 x 2775 pixels<\/p>\nIf your image is not large enough, or has the wrong width to height ratio, the uploader will give you an error message with the dimensions your file needs to meet.\n
Creating an ebook cover, or not submitting to IngramSpark?<\/h3>\nWe\u2019ve left a loophole so you can circumvent these restrictions if you need to. Instead of uploading your image in the cover generator, go to your media library<\/strong> first and add the image there. Then, when you go to add your image in the cover generator, select the cover image from the media library rather than uploading the file again.\n\nIf you run into any trouble with this, please contact us by emailing support@pressbooks.com<\/a>.\n
Tips for Hiring a Designer<\/h2>\nIf you are going to hire someone to design your book covers, the following tips will help.\n
Ebook Covers-Specs and Tips<\/h3>\nA few things to keep in mind when designing\u00a0your ebook cover:\n
Technical specifications<\/h4>\nVarious ebook platforms (Kindle, Apple iBooks, Kobo and others) have slightly different specifications for ebook covers. Here is a good overview of specs that should keep you in good stead everywhere:\n
\n \t
1:1.5 aspect ratio, meaning height should be 1.5 times the width of the cover<\/li>\n \t
recommended dimensions:\u00a02500x3750px<\/li>\n \t
safe minimum dimensions: 666x1000px<\/li>\n \t
safe maximum file size: 2MB<\/li>\n \t
recommended file type: JPG<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Think About Readability<\/h4>\nYour\u00a0book cover can\u00a0be tiny<\/em>\u00a0when showcased in ebookstores. Make sure to design a cover with big, clear fonts that will catch your reader's attention.\n
<\/h3>\n
Print \/ Print-on-Demand Cover Specifications<\/h3>\nPrint-on-demand covers are more complicated than ebook covers.\n\nThis is because:\n
\n \t
The cover must have a front, spine and back.<\/li>\n \t
Front, back and spine are all contained in a single PDF file.<\/li>\n \t
The size of your cover will change depending on:\n
\n \t
trim size: is your book a pocketbook, or trade paperback? 5.5 x 8in? 6x9in? Bigger? Smaller?<\/li>\n \t
page count: A book that has 1,000 pages needs a wider spine than one with 100 pages.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\nYour printer or print-on-demand supplier will be able to provide you with clear specifications for your cover, which can be sent to whomever is designing your POD cover.\n
NOTE<\/strong>: Because of the complexity of designing print covers, we recommend hiring a professional to design your print book cover if you are not going to use the Pressbooks cover generator.<\/div>\nIt is also possible for you to use free tools outside of Pressbooks, such as the free Cover Creator applications in the Kindle or CreateSpace bookstores or the free design tool Canva<\/a>.\n
Uploading Your Ebook Cover in Pressbooks<\/h2>\nTo upload your book cover file in Pressbooks:\n
\n \t
Make sure your book cover is at least<\/em>\u00a0666x1000px (recommended 2500x3750px)<\/li>\n \t
Go to Left Menu > Book Info<\/strong><\/li>\n \t
Scroll down to \"Cover Image.\" Click Choose File and locate your book cover file on your computer<\/li>\n \t
Click Choose to upload that file into the Pressbooks system<\/li>\n<\/ol>\nPressbooks will then include your ebook cover in your\u00a0MOBI and EPUB\u00a0file exports.\nNOTE: <\/strong>Covers are not included in the PDF exports (see below for why!).<\/div>\n
Turning an Ebook Cover Into a Print Cover<\/h2>\nIt may be that you have an ebook cover ready to go, and want to turn it into a print cover as well. Using the Pressbooks cover generator, you can easily add a spine and back to create a full, print-ready cover. Once you're in the generator:\n
\n \t
Delete the title and author information, except for those labelled \"Spine\"<\/li>\n \t
In the empty fields, enter\u00a0 \u00a0<\/strong>(this will stop the generator pulling in the information from your Book Info again)<\/li>\n \t
Fill in the \"About\" section that will appear on your back cover<\/li>\n \t
Change your theme if desired<\/li>\n \t
Upload your ebook cover as the\u00a0Front Cover Background Image<\/strong><\/li>\n \t
Complete the page count and paper size as normal<\/li>\n \t
Choose your background and font colors for the spine and back cover<\/li>\n \t
Make your cover!<\/li>\n<\/ul>\nWhy Isn't my Cover Showing up in my PDF Export?<\/h2>\nEbooks require a cover in the ebook itself, so when Pressbooks exports your book, the cover is included.\n\nFor print-on-demand, however, you send your POD supplier two<\/strong> separate files:\n
\n \t
the \"PDF interior\" file (the inside pages of the book, which Pressbooks produces)<\/li>\n \t
a separate PDF file of the cover (which you can produce on Pressbooks if you've upgraded to PDF+EBOOK Pro but are also welcome to source elsewhere)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\nBecause Pressbooks PDFs are designed for print-on-demand, we do not include the cover in our PDF exports. If you are distributing your PDF on its own, you\u00a0add your cover\u00a0to your PDF using other tools such as Preview (for Mac) and Adobe Acrobat.\n\nIf you use our cover creator, you would download the file from Pressbooks before uploading to the bookstores. Or, get this file from your designer.","rendered":"
\n
Pressbooks’<\/a> primary function is to\u00a0generate\u00a0interior book files for ebooks and print books. You do not have to use Pressbooks to create your book covers\u2014you can\u00a0source those separately\u2014but\u00a0 you can use our book cover generator to produce both your ebook or PDF covers. The file you create will be automatically sized to complex industry specifications.<\/p>\n
NOTE:<\/strong>\u00a0Print-on-demand services require that interior and cover files are submitted separately, but ebook services typically do not. Book covers will be included in your ebook (EPUB and MOBI) exports, but not in your PDF files.<\/p>\n
In this section,\u00a0we will cover:<\/p>\n
\n
How to create ebook and print book covers in Pressbooks<\/li>\n
Ebook cover specifications<\/li>\n
How to include\u00a0your cover in your exported ebook files from Pressbooks<\/li>\n
What’s different about the specs for a print book cover<\/li>\n
How to turn an ebook cover into a print cover in Pressbooks<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n
\n
How to Use the Pressbooks Cover Generator<\/h2>\n
All users have access to the cover generator, with Pressbooks watermarks and ads included in the exported cover files. Once you have upgraded a book to the EBOOK Pro Plan, you’ll gain access to watermark- and ad-free ebook cover file exports. If you upgrade to the PDF+EBOOK Pro plan, you’ll have access to watermark- and ad-free cover exports for all supported file types. The cover creation tool comes at no additional charge to your standard upgrade. To access and use it:<\/p>\n
1. Go to Export \/ Cover Generator.<\/strong><\/p>\n
$\"accessing$ <\/a><\/p>\n
Here’s how to get to the cover generator (in PDF+EBOOK Pro plans).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
2. Adjust your book information. <\/strong>This is automatically imported from what you’ve entered under Book Info, but what you enter here will not override the text you have entered on the Book Info page.<\/p>\n
NOTE<\/strong>: If you would like to keep any of these fields blank, you will need to enter\u00a0 <\/strong> in order to prevent the system from automatically pulling in the information from the Book Info.<\/div>\n
<\/p>\n
$\"\"$ <\/a><\/div>\n
3. Set your theme<\/strong> (your book cover is going to inherit the font and design style of the theme you applied to your book. You can change that theme.)<\/p>\n
$\"\"$ <\/a><\/div>\n
4. Upload an image for the front of your cover.\u00a0<\/strong>This is optional. You can also have a plain cover and specify the background color instead.)<\/p>\n
NOTE:\u00a0<\/b>Most print on demand suppliers (including IngramSpark) require your cover image to be 300dpi. See below for more on how to ensure you meet this requirement.<\/div>\n
5. Check the page count.\u00a0<\/strong>Pressbooks will automatically fill this field with the page count of your most recent PDF export UNLESS you change it manually. If you change it manually once, it will no longer be automatically updated<\/strong>, so you will have to be very careful to check the\u00a0page count here before exporting your final cover file.<\/p>\n
6. Set the colors for your cover’s background and text<\/strong><\/p>\n
$\"\"$ <\/a><\/div>\n
7. Click on Make PDF Cover and Make Ebook Cover to generate print and ebook cover files.<\/strong><\/p>\n
$\"\"$ <\/a><\/div>\n
Preparing Cover Images for Print<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n
Many print-on-demand suppliers (including IngramSpark) request that cover images be at least 300DPI. To ensure that our cover generator is creating covers that meet this requirement, we have added a check during the image upload process that will verify whether your image is large enough to export at the right resolution for your trim size.<\/p>\n
Before you upload your cover image to the generator, you will need to check that it is the right size. To do so:<\/p>\n
\n
Add .125 to the top, right side and bottom of your front cover dimensions (e.g. the front cover for a 6\u00d79in trim size book would be 6.125\u00d79.25in)<\/li>\n
Multiply those dimenseions by 300 (to give 300 pixels per inch), e.g.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
(6.125 x 9.25in) x 300 = 1838 x 2775 pixels<\/p>\n
If your image is not large enough, or has the wrong width to height ratio, the uploader will give you an error message with the dimensions your file needs to meet.<\/p>\n
Creating an ebook cover, or not submitting to IngramSpark?<\/h3>\n
We\u2019ve left a loophole so you can circumvent these restrictions if you need to. Instead of uploading your image in the cover generator, go to your media library<\/strong> first and add the image there. Then, when you go to add your image in the cover generator, select the cover image from the media library rather than uploading the file again.<\/p>\n
If you run into any trouble with this, please contact us by emailing support@pressbooks.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n
Tips for Hiring a Designer<\/h2>\n
If you are going to hire someone to design your book covers, the following tips will help.<\/p>\n
Ebook Covers-Specs and Tips<\/h3>\n
A few things to keep in mind when designing\u00a0your ebook cover:<\/p>\n
Technical specifications<\/h4>\n
Various ebook platforms (Kindle, Apple iBooks, Kobo and others) have slightly different specifications for ebook covers. Here is a good overview of specs that should keep you in good stead everywhere:<\/p>\n
\n
1:1.5 aspect ratio, meaning height should be 1.5 times the width of the cover<\/li>\n
recommended dimensions:\u00a02500x3750px<\/li>\n
safe minimum dimensions: 666x1000px<\/li>\n
safe maximum file size: 2MB<\/li>\n
recommended file type: JPG<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Think About Readability<\/h4>\n
Your\u00a0book cover can\u00a0be tiny<\/em>\u00a0when showcased in ebookstores. Make sure to design a cover with big, clear fonts that will catch your reader’s attention.<\/p>\n
<\/h3>\nPrint \/ Print-on-Demand Cover Specifications<\/h3>\n
Print-on-demand covers are more complicated than ebook covers.<\/p>\n
This is because:<\/p>\n
\n
The cover must have a front, spine and back.<\/li>\n
Front, back and spine are all contained in a single PDF file.<\/li>\n
The size of your cover will change depending on:\n
\n
trim size: is your book a pocketbook, or trade paperback? 5.5 x 8in? 6x9in? Bigger? Smaller?<\/li>\n
page count: A book that has 1,000 pages needs a wider spine than one with 100 pages.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Your printer or print-on-demand supplier will be able to provide you with clear specifications for your cover, which can be sent to whomever is designing your POD cover.<\/p>\n
NOTE<\/strong>: Because of the complexity of designing print covers, we recommend hiring a professional to design your print book cover if you are not going to use the Pressbooks cover generator.<\/div>\n
It is also possible for you to use free tools outside of Pressbooks, such as the free Cover Creator applications in the Kindle or CreateSpace bookstores or the free design tool Canva<\/a>.<\/p>\n
Uploading Your Ebook Cover in Pressbooks<\/h2>\n
To upload your book cover file in Pressbooks:<\/p>\n
\n
Make sure your book cover is at least<\/em>\u00a0666x1000px (recommended 2500x3750px)<\/li>\n
Go to Left Menu > Book Info<\/strong><\/li>\n
Scroll down to “Cover Image.” Click Choose File and locate your book cover file on your computer<\/li>\n
Click Choose to upload that file into the Pressbooks system<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
Pressbooks will then include your ebook cover in your\u00a0MOBI and EPUB\u00a0file exports.<\/p>\n
NOTE: <\/strong>Covers are not included in the PDF exports (see below for why!).<\/div>\n
Turning an Ebook Cover Into a Print Cover<\/h2>\n
It may be that you have an ebook cover ready to go, and want to turn it into a print cover as well. Using the Pressbooks cover generator, you can easily add a spine and back to create a full, print-ready cover. Once you’re in the generator:<\/p>\n
\n
Delete the title and author information, except for those labelled “Spine”<\/li>\n
In the empty fields, enter\u00a0 \u00a0<\/strong>(this will stop the generator pulling in the information from your Book Info again)<\/li>\n
Fill in the “About” section that will appear on your back cover<\/li>\n
Change your theme if desired<\/li>\n
Upload your ebook cover as the\u00a0Front Cover Background Image<\/strong><\/li>\n
Complete the page count and paper size as normal<\/li>\n
Choose your background and font colors for the spine and back cover<\/li>\n
Make your cover!<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Why Isn’t my Cover Showing up in my PDF Export?<\/h2>\n
Ebooks require a cover in the ebook itself, so when Pressbooks exports your book, the cover is included.<\/p>\n
For print-on-demand, however, you send your POD supplier two<\/strong> separate files:<\/p>\n
\n
the “PDF interior” file (the inside pages of the book, which Pressbooks produces)<\/li>\n
a separate PDF file of the cover (which you can produce on Pressbooks if you’ve upgraded to PDF+EBOOK Pro but are also welcome to source elsewhere)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Because Pressbooks PDFs are designed for print-on-demand, we do not include the cover in our PDF exports. If you are distributing your PDF on its own, you\u00a0add your cover\u00a0to your PDF using other tools such as Preview (for Mac) and Adobe Acrobat.<\/p>\n
If you use our cover creator, you would download the file from Pressbooks before uploading to the bookstores. Or, get this file from your designer.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"menu_order":5,"template":"","meta":{"pb_show_title":"on","pb_short_title":"","pb_subtitle":"","pb_authors":[],"pb_section_license":"cc-by"},"chapter-type":[],"contributor":[],"license":[50],"part":87,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pb.malartu.org\/pbuserguide\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/103"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pb.malartu.org\/pbuserguide\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pb.malartu.org\/pbuserguide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/chapter"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pb.malartu.org\/pbuserguide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/pb.malartu.org\/pbuserguide\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/103\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":104,"href":"https:\/\/pb.malartu.org\/pbuserguide\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/103\/revisions\/104"}],"part":[{"href":"https:\/\/pb.malartu.org\/pbuserguide\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/parts\/87"}],"metadata":[{"href":"https:\/\/pb.malartu.org\/pbuserguide\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/103\/metadata\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pb.malartu.org\/pbuserguide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=103"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"chapter-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pb.malartu.org\/pbuserguide\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapter-type?post=103"},{"taxonomy":"contributor","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pb.malartu.org\/pbuserguide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/contributor?post=103"},{"taxonomy":"license","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pb.malartu.org\/pbuserguide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/license?post=103"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}

Tips for Hiring a Designer<\/h2>\nIf you are going to hire someone to design your book covers, the following tips will help.\n

Ebook Covers-Specs and Tips<\/h3>\nA few things to keep in mind when designing\u00a0your ebook cover:\n

<\/h3>\n

Ebook Covers-Specs and Tips<\/h3>\nA few things to keep in mind when designing\u00a0your ebook cover:<\/p>\n

Think About Readability<\/h4>\nYour\u00a0book cover can\u00a0be tiny<\/em>\u00a0when showcased in ebookstores. Make sure to design a cover with big, clear fonts that will catch your reader’s attention.<\/p>\n

Ebook Covers-Specs and Tips<\/h3>\n
A few things to keep in mind when designing\u00a0your ebook cover:<\/p>\n

Think About Readability<\/h4>\n
Your\u00a0book cover can\u00a0be tiny<\/em>\u00a0when showcased in ebookstores. Make sure to design a cover with big, clear fonts that will catch your reader’s attention.<\/p>\n