Here are the answers to some frequently asked questions about
creating a cover for your Lulu book.
Does Lulu offer hard cover books?
No. Lulu does not offer hard cover (hardback) books. Covers for
perfect and coil bound books purchased through Lulu are full color,
laminated 100# Ultra Gloss Cover Stock, Digital Color Silk - C2S,
90 bright. Covers for saddle stitched books are full color, unlaminated
100# Ultra Gloss Text Stock. Covers for global distribution books
are full color, laminated bright white 80# cover stock. For more
information, see our book printing specifications.
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Should I include my cover in the same file
as the rest of my book?
No. Your cover should be completely separate from your main document.
You will upload your cover file(s) in a separate step of the publishing
process from your manuscript.
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Can I have text or images printed on the
inside of my cover?
No. Lulu does not offer inside cover printing.
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What types of files can I upload for my
book cover?
You have two options for uploading your book cover. You may upload
separate front and back covers, or you may upload a single one-piece
(wrap-around) cover. Cover files that are uploaded separately
must be JPG, GIF or PNG files of at least 300dpi in RGB color
mode. One-piece (wrap-around) cover files must be PDF. You may
not use a Word document as your cover.
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What programs can I use to create my book
cover?
Book covers can be made using several different design programs.
We recommend Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, and PaintShop
Pro. However, there are other programs that will work just as
well. If you have one of these programs, you should either know
how to use it already or learn from a friend how to use it before
attempting to make your own cover.
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Will Lulu design and/or create my book
cover for me?
No. Lulu provides you with the tools to publish and sell your
books online, but it is up to you to do all the formatting and
design of your book before you publish it on Lulu. That said,
Lulu does have several ways for you to find cover creation help
if you are uncomfortable doing it yourself.
During the publishing process, Lulu offers a gallery of free
covers for you to use. These covers won't necessarily be as personalized
as you might like, but they look great. The Lulu cover wizard
will insert your title and author name on the front cover automatically.
When creating your cover it can be front and back separated,
if so you cannot create a spine, one will be provided. If you
want to create your full cover it has to be a full wrap around
and submitted in a PDF file. That is, back, spine and front on
one PDF with .25 bleed added on the outside all around and no
live text or images .25 inch from your cover width. Like so:
The Yellow area is your cover, the red line is .25 inch away
from the edge of your cover; within the red line you can put all
your live text and images. The green area is .25 inch bleed added
on your cover. Green and red areas are just mark up, the entire
piece would be yellow or the image of your cover. For instance,
the length of an 8.5x11 cover piece would not be 11 inch but 11.25
inch (.125 added on both end). The width would be 8.5 + 8.5 +
spine width + .125 on right end and .125 on left end. Say spine
is 1 inch, total width would be 18.25. Where the yellow line meets
the green is where the image will be cut, but to make sure no
text is cut off, put all text and live images within the red line
or .25 inch away from the edge. Kinda difficult if you're not
a designer. To even begin making this wrap around full cover you
have to know the spine width, you can use the lulu spine calculator
by clicking HERE
or HERE
or HERE;
or after submitting your book to us we can tell you the spine
width, then you submit the full wrap cover. Normally Spine Width
is:
Standard Paper (#60): Number of Pages x 0.0025 = Spine
Width in Inches
50# Paper: Number of pages x .001953 = Spine Width in Inches
If necessary, you can employ our graphic services by clicking
HERE.
You can also peruse the Lulu Support Forums.
Lulu's expert users can provide you with many tips and tricks
for creating your book cover. Please be sure to search all of
the help documentation for the answers to your questions before
posting to the forums.
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What is the difference between a one-piece
cover and separate front and back covers?
One-piece covers allow for complete customization of your book
cover. Uploading a one-piece cover is the only way to create a
design on the spine of your book. (Standard spines must be a solid
color. You may opt to have the book's title printed on the spine.)
Lulu will not add anything to your one-piece cover, including
an ISBN bar code. If you plan to upload a one-piece cover for
your ISBN book, you must generate your own bar code and add it
to your cover.
One-piece (wrap around) cover files must be PDF. Cover files
that are uploaded separately must be JPG, GIF or PNG files of
at least 300dpi in RGB color mode.
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What dimensions should my book cover have?
Front and back cover images should be the same size. It is important
that the image files you upload for your cover are slightly larger
than the book's size, because the edges will be trimmed during
production. The area that will be trimmed off is known as bleed.
The bleed area is on the perimeter of the cover and should be
filled with the background image or color, but remain free of
any text and/or images that should not be cut off.
The bleed for books printed by Lulu (those sold through Lulu
and books with Basic Distribution) is .375". The bleed for books
with Global Distribution (these are not printed by Lulu's printer)
is .4". Use this chart to determine what size your book cover
image files should be.
| Book Cover Size Requirements |
| Book Size |
Size of Image to Upload |
Size in Pixels |
|
|
| Lulu Books and Books with Basic
Distribution |
| 6" x 9" |
6.375" x 9.75" |
1913 x 2925 |
|
|
|
|
| 8.5" x 11" |
8.875" x 11.75" |
2663 x 3525 |
|
|
|
|
| Comic, 6.625" x 10.25" |
7" x 11" |
2100 x 3300 |
|
|
|
|
| Landscape, 9" x 7" |
9.375" x 7.75" |
2813 x 2325 |
|
|
|
|
| Square, 7.5" x 7.5" |
7.875" x 8.25" |
2363 x 2475 |
|
|
|
|
| Books with Global Distribution |
| 6" x 9" |
6.4" x 9.8" |
1920 x 2940 |
|
| 8.25" x 11" |
8.65" x 11.8" |
2595 x 3540 |
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What dimensions should my one-piece (wrap-around)
cover have?
Your one piece (wrap around) cover file must be a PDF. Unlike
separate front and back covers, the one piece cover uploader will
not accept image files. The correct dimensions of your cover will
be given during Step 4 of the publishing process. We will take
into account the number of pages in your book as well as the trim
size. Please make sure you match these dimensions or your cover
will not be accepted.
If you have already prepared your manuscript and know its size
and page count, you can use this spine size calculator to calculate
the width of your spine. Keep in mind that only perfect bound
books will have spines. Add the spine width to the dimensions
shown in the chart above for front and back covers to find the
width of your one piece cover PDF.
Back cover width + spine width (if perfect bound) + Front
cover width = One-piece cover width
The height of your one piece cover PDF should be the same as
the cover height in the chart above.
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How much space should I leave on my back
cover for my ISBN barcode?
You will need to leave a 3.625" x 1.25" area
on the bottom right corner of your back cover that is free of
any text and/or images that should not be cut off. This area is
for your bar code, ISBN, Content ID number and Lulu's URL.
If you have your own ISBN bar code or would like a non-Lulu IBSN
bar code to appear on your cover, you are responsible for including
that bar code in your back cover file.
If you upload a one-piece (wrap-around) cover, you are responsible
for generating and including that your ISBN bar code in your one-piece
PDF.
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Will my ISBN barcode be automatically generated
on my one-piece cover?
No. You must include your own bar code for 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.cgpp.com/bookland/isbn.html.
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Will Lulu change the cover I upload?
If you are using separate front and back covers, Lulu will add
the following to your back cover. Your front cover will not be
changed in any way.
- Your Content ID and our URL. This is not
an optional feature and will take up an area of approximately
1" x .3". The text will fall 2.5" to the left of the spine and
.65" from the bottom edge.
- Lulu logo on the spine. This is optional.
- Your ISBN bar code, if you choose to purchase
a distribution service for your book.
If you upload a one-piece (wrap-around) cover, Lulu will not change
or add to your cover in any way.
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Will I get a discount if my cover is black
& white instead of color?
No. The cost of a full-color cover is included in the production
cost of all books. You may make your cover black & white if
you like, but your book will not be discounted.
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