When providing illustrations for your book, you need to ensure the total size, dimensions and quality of each illustration meet certain requirements, while paying careful attention to bleed and margins.
Illustration size & dimensions
Ensure that the size and dimensions (portrait, square, or landscape) in pixels of your image files match the trim size of your book. You need to make sure you are providing high quality, print resolution images at a minimum of 300dpi resolution. So for example, if you have a 8.5 x 11” (portrait) trim size book, the illustrations you provide at least that same size in pixels:
- (8.5 x 11" portrait trim size) X 300dpi resolution = 2550 pixels wide x 3300 pixels high
Bleed & margin
Pay attention to bleed and margins; if you want your illustrations to extend all the way to the edge of the page—"full bleed"—your images will need to have the same width to heigh ratio as your trim size, and there will need to add bleed and margins to your images.
Bleed is extra background that extends past the edge of the page that will be trimmed during printing, ensuring that the image will go all the way to the edge of the page, allowing for ⅛” printing variance.
The margin is the “safe zone” which acts as a buffer between the trim line and the main content of the book. Typically, margins are the 0.25" between any important content in the photo, and the edge of the page.
See page 4 of our Manuscript Submission Guidelines for more info
The final interior illustrations should be provided as minimum 300 DPI resolution full-sized jpeg files, with .25" bleed and .25" interior margins in the CMYK colour model.
Single Spread Interior Illustrations:
Using the trim size example of 8.5” x 11”(portrait) in full bleed, the final illustrations would need to be 9" x 11.5" (0.25” bleed x 2 edges = extra 0.5” for both width and height).
Make sure there are no important elements (such as people's faces) within 0.5" of any edge
Full Spread Interior Illustrations:
Full spread illustrations take up two full pages, so that when the reader opens the book, the illustration will take up the "full spread" of the two open pages. If you are providing full spread illustrations, they need to be the same height and twice the width of your trim size. You will also need to be careful not to include any important elements within 0.5" of the centre of the illustration, so as not to lose anything in the fold/binding of the book.
Using the trim size example of 8.5” x 11”(portrait) in full bleed, the final illustrations would need to be 17.5" x 11.5" (Width: 2 X 8.5" = 17" + 0.25” bleed x 2 outer edges = 17.5" | Height: 0.25" x 2 edges = 0.5" + 11" = 11.5").
Make sure there are no important elements (such as people's faces) within 0.5" of any edge or the middle of the illustration (where the binding is).
Cover Illustrations:
For your front and/or back cover(s), the illustration(s) that will be used should be provided as minimum 300 DPI resolution full-sized jpeg files; with .5" bleed and .25" interior margins in the CMYK colour model.
Using the trim size example of 8.5” x 11” the final cover illustrations would need to be a total 9.5" x 12" (0.5” bleed x 2 edges = extra 1” to both the width and the height).
Make sure there are no important elements (such as people's faces) within .75" of any edge.
Note: all available trim sizes are in portrait or square orientation, except for the 11" x 8.5" trim size, which is only available with premium colour interior.
CMKY colour model & ink saturation/density
If you are particular about having the colours appear exactly as you see them on your screen when your book is printed, then ink saturation and CMYK colour model are important, too!
To minimize how much the final printed illustrations' appearance varies from what you see on your screen, be sure to provide your illustrations in CMYK colour model, at a maximum of 240% ink saturation (e.g. 60% Cyan / 40% Magenta / 40% Yellow / 100% Black)