KDP cover calculator and template generator
When you publish a paperback on KDP, Amazon requires the cover as a single PDF file. That file holds the back cover, the spine, and the front cover side by side as one image. Its background must also run 0.125 inch past every outer edge, because the printer trims that strip off. The width of the spine depends on your page count and your paper. That means every book needs a cover of a different size.
This tool calculates the exact size for your book from its trim size, page count, and paper. It shows where the spine, the barcode, and the safe area for text fall, and you can download a free template to design on.
By the Proselis team · Updated
Your cover
- Full cover size
- 12.926 × 9.250 in
- Make your cover design file this size. The width adds up the back cover (6 in), the spine (0.676 in), the front cover (6 in), and 0.125 in of bleed on the left and right edges. The height is your trim height (9 in) plus 0.125 in of bleed at the top and bottom. In pixels, that’s 3,878 × 2,775 px at 300 DPI, the image quality KDP asks for.
- Spine width
- 0.676 in
- KDP calculates the spine width from your page count and the thickness it allows for each page. For black ink on white paper, that’s 300 × 0.002252 in, which comes to 0.676 in. More pages or thicker paper make a wider spine.
- Largest font size on the spine
- About 39 pt
- This is the largest font size you can use for text on the spine, such as your title and your name, while leaving 0.0625 in clear on each side. Font size is measured in points (pt), the same unit your design app uses.
The diagram shows each measurement, plus where the bleed, the safe area, and the barcode go.
- The pink band is the bleed. It’s 0.125 in of extra background on every outer edge, and the printer cuts it off. Run your background art all the way into it.
- The dark line is the trim line, where the printer cuts your cover to size.
- The blue dashed lines mark the safe areas for text and logos. On the front and back covers, they sit 0.125 in inside the trim and the folds. On the spine, they sit 0.0625 in inside each fold.
- The gray band is the spine. It wraps around the edge of the pages.
- The red box is the barcode area, 2 × 1.2 in. Leave it empty. KDP prints the barcode there.
Check your cover art
Your image is checked in your browser and never uploaded.
- 1Full cover12.926 × 9.250 in
This is the whole sheet and the size to design at.
- 2Bleed0.125 in on each outer edge
Run background art all the way to these outer edges. KDP cuts the bleed off.
- 3Trim line12.676 × 9.000 in
The printer cuts the cover here. Anything outside it is lost.
- 4Front cover6 × 9 in
This is what a reader sees first. The back cover is the same size.
- 5Safe area0.125 in inside the trim and folds
Keep all text inside this line. Trimming can shift a little from copy to copy.
- 6Spine0.676 in
Its width is your page count times the thickness of one page.
- 7Spine safe area0.0625 in clear on each side
Keep spine text inside this area. Text closer to a fold can wrap onto the front or back cover.
- 8Barcode area2 × 1.2 in
Leave it clear. KDP prints the barcode here for free.
- 9Back cover6 × 9 in
On the flat sheet, the back cover sits to the left of the spine.
Download a cover template
Each template is drawn at your exact cover size. Put it on its own layer in your design app, and design your cover on a layer above it. The PNG is 300 DPI. The PDF and SVG stay sharp at any zoom.
Terms on this page
- Trim size
- Trim size is the width and height of your finished book, such as 6 × 9 inches. You choose it when you set up your paperback on KDP.
- Page count
- Page count is the number of pages inside your book, counting blank pages. KDP counts them in the file of inside pages you upload, which it calls your paperback manuscript. Each sheet of paper holds two pages, one on each side.
- Ink and paper
- Ink and paper is the print choice you make on KDP. Black ink prints on white, cream, or groundwood paper. Color books print on white paper with standard or premium color ink. Each paper has its own thickness, which changes the width of the spine.
- Groundwood
- Groundwood is a lighter paper with a textured feel, suited to novels and other text-heavy books. KDP offers it only with black ink. It costs about 5% less per page to print than white or cream paper.
- Full cover (wrap)
- The full cover, also called the wrap, is the single flat image KDP prints. It holds the back cover, the spine, and the front cover, with bleed around the outside.
- Spine
- The spine is the narrow strip that joins the front and back covers. It is the part that shows when the book sits on a shelf.
- Spine width
- Spine width is the distance between the two spine folds. It grows with your page count and depends on your paper.
- Spine folds
- The spine folds are the two lines where the cover bends around the spine.
- Trim line
- The trim line is where the printer cuts the cover to its final size.
- Bleed
- Bleed is extra background that runs 0.125 inches past the trim line on the top, bottom, and outside edges. It gets cut off, and it keeps a white border from showing after trimming.
- Safe area
- The safe area is the part of the cover where text and logos won’t be trimmed off or slip around a fold. On KDP, it starts 0.125 inches inside the trim line and the spine folds. Spine text has its own safe area, 0.0625 inches inside each fold.
- Barcode area
- The barcode area is a 2 × 1.2 in box on the back cover where KDP prints your ISBN barcode.
- ISBN
- An ISBN is the 13-digit number that identifies one edition of a book. The barcode on the back cover holds this number.
- DPI
- DPI, or dots per inch, counts how many pixels of your image fill each inch of the printed cover. More pixels per inch print sharper. KDP asks for at least 300 DPI.
- Point (pt)
- A point is the unit for font size. There are 72 points in an inch. KDP asks for cover text of at least 7 points.
- CMYK
- CMYK is the mix of cyan, magenta, yellow, and black ink that printers use. Screens use RGB, a mix of red, green, and blue light. KDP says images on a print cover should be in CMYK.
- Template
- A template is a guide image that you design over. It shows where each part of the cover falls. Keep it on its own layer, and hide it before you export the final file.
- PNG, PDF, and SVG
- These are the three file types the template comes in. A PNG is a picture made of pixels. A PDF or SVG is drawn with lines and shapes, which stay sharp at any zoom. Use whichever one your design app opens.
How is KDP spine width calculated?
KDP multiplies your page count by the thickness of one page. Each page adds 0.002252 inches with black ink on white paper or with standard color ink. It adds 0.0025 inches on cream paper, 0.00235 inches on groundwood, and 0.002347 inches with premium color ink. A 300-page book on white paper has a spine 0.676 inches wide. KDP rounds an odd page count up to the next even number, and this calculator does the same. KDP’s pages disagree about standard color. Its cover help page gives 0.002252 inches per page, while its submission guidelines give 0.002347 inches for all color books. This calculator uses the cover page’s figure.
How is the full cover size calculated?
Add the bleed, the back cover, the spine, the front cover, and the bleed again to get the width. Add the bleed to the top and bottom of the trim height to get the height. Bleed is 0.125 inches, and KDP adds it only to the top, bottom, and two outside edges. There is no bleed at the spine folds. A 6 × 9 in book with 300 pages on white paper needs a full cover of 12.926 × 9.250 inches.
Why is the back cover on the left?
Picture the cover taken off a paperback and laid flat, outside up. The back cover is on the left, the spine is in the middle, and the front cover is on the right. Your cover file is that flat sheet. Put your front-cover art on the right half. Books that read right to left, such as those in Hebrew or Japanese, are laid out the other way around. This calculator is for books that read left to right.
What is the barcode area?
KDP prints your ISBN barcode in a 2 × 1.2 in box at the lower right of the back cover. Amazon’s template puts the box 0.25 inches from the spine fold and 0.25 inches above the bottom trim line. Leave the box clear, and KDP adds the barcode at no extra cost. KDP’s pages differ on what “clear” means. The barcode page says covers with images or text in this spot are rejected, while the template notes suggest filling it with your background color or design. A plain background color is the safest choice.
How many pages do you need for spine text?
KDP’s help pages give this rule two ways. The paperback cover page says a book needs at least 79 pages for spine text. The same page and the submission guidelines also say KDP prints spine text only on books with more than 79 pages. Cover Creator, KDP’s free cover tool, asks for 80. In practice, all three agree. KDP rounds an odd page count up to an even number, which means KDP never counts a book as exactly 79 pages. Every version of the rule starts at 80.
Will spine text be readable on a thin spine?
KDP’s smallest font size for cover text is 7 points. Spine text also needs 0.0625 inches of clear space on each side. Font size is measured in points, and 72 points make an inch. That means 7-point text fits across the spine only once the spine is about 0.222 inches wide. That takes about 100 pages on white paper and 90 on cream. It takes about 96 on groundwood or premium color. Standard color needs about 100, the same as white paper. Between 80 pages and those counts, KDP allows spine text, but by this estimate the spine is too narrow for 7-point text. The calculator’s largest font size for the spine is an estimate, because the real size of letters varies from font to font.
What happens to the cover if your page count changes?
The spine changes width with every page you add or cut. The full cover changes with it, and the front-cover art moves. Two extra pages on cream paper make the spine 0.005 inches wider. Finish your book’s inside pages before you finish your cover. Recalculate whenever the page count changes. Switching between white, cream, and groundwood paper changes the spine too. KDP says a paper switch may mean uploading a new cover file.
How far inside the trim should cover text be?
KDP’s paperback cover page says to keep text at least 0.125 inches inside the trim lines. Its submission guidelines say to keep content 0.25 inches from the “outside cover edge.” If that edge means the edge of the file, which includes the bleed, both rules mark the same line. If it means the trim line, the second rule asks for twice as much room. Amazon’s own template uses 0.125 inches, and this calculator does too. For extra room, keep important text 0.25 inches inside the trim.
What to check before you upload
KDP wants one PDF with the back cover, spine, and front cover as a single image. Embed your fonts, which saves them inside the PDF. Flatten the file, which merges all layers and see-through effects into one image. Use CMYK images of at least 300 DPI. Make sure the title and author name exactly match the book details you entered on KDP. Keep the file at 40 MB or less if you can. KDP’s hard limit is 650 MB. Don’t lock the PDF with a password, because KDP rejects locked files. Remove crop marks and color bars, which some apps add when you export. Crop marks are short lines that show where to trim, and color bars are strips of test colors. Remove every template guide too, including the template from this page.
Three common cover mistakes
Background art that stops at the trim line instead of the outer edge can leave a white border after trimming. Text too close to an edge can be cut off, and text too close to a fold can slip onto the spine. Template guides left visible in the exported file get printed, and KDP may reject the cover during review.
An ebook cover is a different file
A Kindle ebook cover is only the front cover. It has no spine, back cover, or barcode. KDP recommends an image 2,560 pixels tall and 1,600 pixels wide. It prefers JPEG files. Save the image in RGB color, because Kindle doesn’t support CMYK. Make your ebook cover from your front-cover art, not from this template.
Questions
What size should a KDP paperback cover be?
It depends on your trim size, page count, and paper. For a 6 × 9 in book with 300 pages on cream paper, the full cover is 13.000 × 9.250 inches. Enter your own numbers in the calculator to get yours.
How many pages can a KDP paperback have?
Every trim size starts at 24 pages. Books with standard color ink start at 72. The maximum is between 550 and 828 pages, depending on the trim size, ink, and paper. The calculator warns you when your page count is outside KDP’s limits for your choices.
What DPI should a KDP cover be?
KDP asks for images of at least 300 DPI. For a 6 × 9 in book with 300 pages on white paper, the full cover is 12.926 × 9.250 inches. At 300 DPI, that is about 3,878 × 2,775 pixels. The calculator shows the pixel size for your own cover.
How do I use the cover template?
Open the PNG, PDF, or SVG in your design app and keep it on its own layer. Design your cover on a new layer above it. Run background art to the outer edge, and keep text inside the white safe areas. Hide or delete the template layer before you export your final PDF.
Do I need to add the barcode myself?
No. If you leave the barcode area clear, KDP prints a barcode for your ISBN there at no extra cost. You can add your own barcode instead, but it has to meet KDP’s barcode rules. These include a solid white background and a gap of at least 0.25 inches from the spine and the trim line.
Can I use this template for a hardcover?
No. Hardcover covers and dust jackets use different measurements. Amazon’s cover calculator gives those when you choose a hardcover.
Is my cover image uploaded when I check it?
No. The artwork check runs in your browser, and your image never leaves your computer.
Write the book that goes inside the cover
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