Print Cover Sizes › Hardcover and dust jacket covers
Hardcovers
Hardcover and dust jacket covers: what's different
A hardcover isn't a paperback cover printed bigger. The cover wraps around boards, bends at hinges and, with a dust jacket, folds into flaps. Each has its own no-go zones.
A hardcover case wrap is printed bigger than the book and wrapped around the boards, so it needs extra wrap area and clear hinge areas beside the spine. A dust jacket adds front and back flaps. A jacketed book can need three files: case, jacket and interior. Always build from your printer's hardcover template.
Two kinds of hardcover
| Case laminate (printed case) | Cloth case with dust jacket | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | Your art printed on the hard cover itself | Plain cloth cover, with your art on a paper jacket |
| Files | Case cover + interior | Jacket + interior (and a case/spine stamp file if your printer asks) |
| Offered by | KDP and IngramSpark | IngramSpark (KDP doesn't offer dust jackets) |
What's different from a paperback
- Wrap area. A case cover is bigger than the book because it wraps around the edges of the boards. Art must run into the wrap; nothing important can sit there.
- Hinges. Next to the spine, the cover bends where the board meets the spine. Keep text and faces out of the hinge.
- Wider spine. Boards add thickness, so a hardcover spine is wider than the same book in paperback.
- Flaps (jackets). Jacket flaps fold inside the cover. Text on the flaps must stay clear of the fold lines.
Mistakes that get hardcovers rejected
- Reusing the paperback cover at hardcover size. The panels don't line up.
- Text across the jacket fold (between front panel and flap). It ends up bent inside the book.
- Missing a file. Uploading only the jacket when the printer also needs the case.
- Template lines left in. Hardcover templates have many guide lines; every one must be deleted.
How to do it right
- Finish the interior and get the final page count.
- Download your printer's hardcover template for that trim, page count and paper. Use the case template for a printed case; the jacket template for a dust jacket.
- Design on the template, keeping text out of wrap, hinge and fold areas.
- Delete the template layer, export as PDF/X-1a and preflight.
SparkPrep knows hardcover geometry for case and jacket books, flags text on jacket folds, and tells you when a jacketed book is missing a file. Fixing the problem by hand? See print file fixes.
Find out what's wrong with your files before the printer does
SparkPrep checks your cover and every interior page against the exact rules Amazon KDP, IngramSpark, Barnes & Noble Press and Lulu use, tells you each problem in plain English, and can fix it for you.
Scan my book free See how SparkPrep worksThe scan is free and shows how many problems your files have. To see every problem and where it is, the audit is $1.99 ($3.99 after January 1). The Advanced Audit checks every page, up to 300, for $9.99.
Questions people ask
Does KDP offer dust jackets?
No. KDP hardcovers are case laminate, with the art printed on the cover itself. IngramSpark offers dust jackets.
Can I use my paperback cover for a hardcover?
Not as is. A hardcover needs wrap and hinge areas and a wider spine, so it must be rebuilt on the hardcover template.
Free help from SparkPrep
Last updated 2026-11-01. Written by Joshua Davis, founder of SparkPrep. Numbers come from each printer's own published guides; always double-check your printer's current rules before you upload.