Helpful Tips - Cover Layouts II

We see lots of covers every day. And, we recognize that the goals of a cover designer may sometimes be a little different from the goals and needs of a printer.

The following tips are intended to bring to light some minor adjustments that you can make to the design of your covers, to improve the look of the book once it is printed and bound. These are merely suggestions, from a printer�s point of view, and ultimately you and your designer will decide whether or not to adopt them.

For basic cover layout instructions be sure to read Cover Layouts I.

Color Breaks on the Spine

This tip involves a spine whose color is different from the color used on the front or back cover. We call this a �color break.�

Because the bulking of paper can vary slightly, it is inadvisable to create a color break between the spine and both the front and back covers. It is better to have only one color break, either on the front or the back.

Another solution is to extend the spine color over onto the front and/or back cover by about 1/4 inch.

Spine Type

When placing type on the spine, be sure to leave a little room above and below the lettering so that it does not appear �crowded.�

For a small spine, such as a 64-page book, you will notice that the type has to be very small indeed. You may wish to use all capital letters. This avoids descenders, allowing you to center the words better, and slightly improve the readability.

How Close to the Edge?

Don�t place type and graphics (such as frames, rules and pictures) too close to the edge of the book. A good distance is 1/4 inch or more from the edge. This suggestion, of course, does not apply if you intend for an image to bleed off the edge.