Font Tips for Book Covers

posted in: Book Design 2

If fonts were shoes, my closet would be overflowing with them. I love fonts. There are TONS available for download and a lot of them are free. Font classifications Most font websites sort fonts into general classifications for easy viewing. There are serif (Times, Garamond), sans-serif (Helvetica, Ariel), script (Brush, Snell Roundhand) and speciality. The speciality or decorative category covers a myriad of typefaces, including grunge, foreign, techno, futuristic, retro, gothic, horror, vintage — way too many to list here. … Read More »

Book Cover Design: CMYK vs RGB

posted in: Book Design 3

Online printers and publishers scan your book cover files with specialized preflight software. It checks for anything that may cause problems in the printing process. If their check detects RGB color mode instead of CMYK, the file may be rejected. Or, if it is used, your printed cover may not meet your expectations. What is CMYK? CMYK is the color mode used in four color process printing. It stands for Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Black. These are the four standard … Read More »

Book Cover Design: Why DPI Matters

posted in: Book Design 4

Has your print book cover ever been rejected because an image is under 300 dpi? Websites like Kindle Direct Publishing and Ingram Publisher Services scan cover files with specialized preflight software. This preflighting looks for issues that will result in a poor quality printed product. Checking the dpi of your images is part of this process. Files containing low resolution images will be rejected. What is dpi? DPI stands for dots per inch and is referred to as the resolution … Read More »