Book cover sizeHow wide is your spine?
In short: A book cover is printed in one piece: back cover, spine and front cover side by side, with 3 mm of bleed all round. The spine’s width depends on the page count and the paper. Choose the trim, page count and paper; we work out the size and give you a template for your designer.
This binding takes 50–800 pages. The template is made for 200 pages.
Optional. Type it and we check it.
- Spine width
- 13.6mm
- Cover spread
- 289.6 × 201 mm
- Includes 3 mm bleed; your file should be this size
- After trimming
- 283.6 × 195 mm
- Back cover, spine and front cover
- Front and back cover
- 135 × 195 mm
- Keep text at least 5 mm inside the cut
Printing 100 copies: ₺13,831.20
Open this book in the calculatorUse the template as a bottom layer in your design software and remove the guides from the file you send to print.
Spine width table
The spine width for every interior paper in the catalogue, at common page counts. The figures come from the formula the calculator and the press use.
| Interior paper | 100 pages | 200 pages | 300 pages | 400 pages | 500 pages |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Enso (Kitap Kağıdı) | 7.1 mm | 13.6 mm | 20.1 mm | 26.6 mm | 33.1 mm |
| 70gr Beyaz (1. Hamur) | 4.9 mm | 9.3 mm | 13.7 mm | 18.1 mm | 22.4 mm |
| 80gr Beyaz (1. Hamur) | 5.6 mm | 10.6 mm | 15.6 mm | 20.6 mm | 25.6 mm |
| 115gr Mat Kuşe | 7.6 mm | 14.6 mm | 21.6 mm | 28.6 mm | 35.6 mm |
| 135gr Mat Kuşe | 7.6 mm | 14.6 mm | 21.6 mm | 28.6 mm | 35.7 mm |
| 170gr Mat Kuşe | 7.5 mm | 14.5 mm | 21.5 mm | 28.4 mm | 35.4 mm |
How the spine is worked out
Every leaf is two pages. The spine is the thickness of the leaves plus the cover; a paper’s thickness comes from its grammage and bulk.
Spine = ⌈pages ÷ 2⌉ × paper caliper + 2 × cover caliperPaper caliper (mm) = grammage × bulk ÷ 1000
- Paper
- Enso (Kitap Kağıdı): 60 g × 2.17 ÷ 1000 = 0.1302 mm
- Interior
- 200 pages = 100 leaves × 0.1302 mm = 13.02 mm
- Cover
- Amerikan Bristol, front and back: 2 × 0.275 mm = 0.55 mm
- Spine
- ≈ 13.6 mm
- Cover spread
- 3 + 135 + 13.6 + 135 + 3 = 289.6 × 201 mm
Designing the cover
Every line on the template stands for a rule. Keep them in mind as you prepare your cover file.
- Bleed
- The margin by which pictures and colour that reach the page edge run past the trim line, usually 3 mm. Trimming can move by a millimetre; without bleed a thin white line can be left at the edge.
- Safe area
- Keep text, logos and the barcode at least 5 mm inside the cut. Trimming can shift by a millimetre; a letter too close to the edge can be cut off.
- Barcode area
- A 50 × 30 mm space is kept in the bottom right of the back cover. Type your ISBN and the barcode is placed there for you.
- Resolution
- How sharp an image prints, measured in dots per inch (dpi). 300 dpi is recommended for print; 72 dpi images taken from a screen print blurred.
- CMYK
- The printer’s four process colours: cyan, magenta, yellow and black (key). Images prepared in RGB on screen are converted to these four for print; some bright screen colours print slightly duller.
- Spine text
- The spine fold can shift slightly. Keep spine text well clear of the folds, centred; on very thin spines, use colour alone.
Frequently asked questions
How is a book cover’s size worked out?
The cover is one piece: back cover, spine and front cover side by side, with 3 mm of bleed added all round. A 200-page book at 13,5 × 19,5 cm (Roman) on Enso (Kitap Kağıdı) has a cover spread of 289.6 × 201 mm and a spine of 13.6 mm.
How is spine width worked out?
Half the page count is the number of leaves. The leaves are multiplied by the interior paper’s caliper, and the cover board is added twice. 200 pages on Enso (Kitap Kağıdı) come to 100 leaves × 0.1302 mm; with the cover, the spine is about 13.6 mm.
What are bleed and the safe area?
Bleed is the 3 mm by which colour and images reaching the edge run past the cut, so no white line shows if the trim shifts. The safe area ends 5 mm inside the cut; text and logos belong inside it.
Where does the ISBN barcode go on the cover?
Usually in the bottom right of the back cover, inside the safe area. The template keeps a 50 × 30 mm space for it; type your ISBN and the barcode is placed on the template.
What format should the cover file be?
We accept PDF, JPG, JPEG, PNG, TIF, TIFF for the cover. The file should be the size of the cover spread, bleed included; 300 dpi is recommended for images.
Cover ready? Next comes printing
The calculator opens on this book’s trim, page count and paper.