Cover and Endsheets

Covers and Endsheets

1. How close can content be placed to the wrap/gutters on a cover?

Items can be placed up to the gutter and wrap. However, if these elements are an important part of the design you may want to consider placing them further way. Most of the wrap area will be hidden behind the endsheets and anything in the gutter will be distorted as it is the hinge of the front cover. 

2. Where are the trim lines exactly on the cover/endsheet proofs?

The actual trim marks are outside of the wrap. However, most of the area in the wrap will be covered by the endsheet so you shouldn’t put important content in the wrap. If your cover has a background of any kind you would want to extend that background into the wrap to make sure you don't see any white areas on the edge of the book. 

3. What is my spine size?

The spine size is determined by the paper type and the number of pages in your book. So be sure to confirm what those are first. From there you can contact your Project Specialist in the plant to provide you with the spine size or a template that you can start from. 

4. What is the size of my cover?

The size of the cover is determined by a number of factors. The size of the book, the amount of pages and the paper type. These factors will affect the wrap size, gutter and spine. Contact your Project specialist in the plant and they will help you find the sizes or provide a template with the correct dimensions.

5. What is the correct way to align my spine text?

Typically, spine text reads from top to bottom. Also, the spine text usually contains the school name, year, volume or book number.

6. What file types should be used for my Cover and Endsheets?

There are 3 main file types for covers and endsheets. There is InDesign, Photoshop. And Illustrator. The benefit of these programs is that all the elements can be layered which will help our staff process the files. There are other design programs that can create image files for covers. However, not all of those programs have the ability to create files with the correct resolution and\or layers which our staff would require. Contact your Project Specialist if you have any questions about which program to use. 

7. What quality or resolution should my cover and endsheets be?

Any images used in a cover or endsheet file should be 300dpi. Any images that are below 300dpi could create quality issues when they are printed. This 300dpi recommendation also applies to all images used in your book. 

8. How do I submit my Cover and Endsheet files created online with DesignIt?

Once you have finished building your cover or endsheet in DesignIt you will need to submit them to Friesens so our staff can process them and create a final Proof. To do that, click on the menu that is on the top right hand side of the cover thumbnail and select the option Submit to Friesens. 

9. How do I submit my cover and endsheet if I created it in InDesign, Photoshop, or Illustrator?

The process for submitting files in these programs vary depend on the program. See the instructions below.

Photoshop: When a cover or endsheet is created in Photoshop we require that the layers in the file stay intact so our staff have the ability to adjust if need be. If you have created it in layers, save the image as a Photoshop file (.psd) with the layers intact. This will make the file a lot larger than a jpg file which is fine. Click HERE to watch a video showing how to submit a Photoshop cover. 

InDesign: For an InDesign cover there are a lot of components that our prepress staff need to process these files. The InDesign file needs to be packaged so that we can get the images, fonts, and layout file. This can be done through the Package feature in InDesign. Click HERE to watch a video showing how to package and upload an InDesign cover to ConnectMe. 

Illustrator: This program does have some similarities with InDesign as it does have the option to include outside graphics. So these files should also be packaged as well to make sure our prepress have all the files necessary to process the cover. If you watched the InDesign submission process, there is a packaging feature. Illustrator also has a package feature and should used to gather the files. To use the package feature open the file in Illustrator and go to File>package. At that point a package screen should pop up. In that screen make sure that the following options are selected.

Then select the destination folder and click on Package. Once you have packaged the file the submission process is the same as InDesign. Click HERE to watch the portion of the submission video that shows how to submit the packaged files to ConnectMe. 

10. Do I submit my cover as a PDF?

Cover and Endsheet files should NOT be submitted as a PDF if at all possible. See FAQ question number 9 to see how to submit the files for your cover correctly. 

11. Why is my image coming in so small on the cover when I place it in DesignIt?

The DesignIt program has a built in feature that not allow low resolution images to be used in the program. It requires images to be 300dpi. If your images are not placing at a larger size or you are unable to enlarge your images then you will need to find images with a higher resolution. 

12. Where can I get a cover and endsheet template?

The templates are available in ConnectMe in the downloads screen (see below). If you are not sure which template you need, contact your Project Specialist and they can help you out. 

13. What is the wrap?

The Wrap is the area around the cover design that wraps around the hard cover board that the cover is glued to. The wrap should not contain any important or critical content. In the sample below you will see that the background extends into the wrap area so that it bleeds off the edge of the cover. If you do not want an element to run off the edge then make sure it is not sitting in the wrap area.

14. What is the gutter for?

The gutter on a cover is the space on each side of the spine that acts as a hinge for the front and back cover (see below). This area will always be indented to allow the front and back cover to swing open freely. It is recommended that any critical content not be placed in this area as it will be distorted after the cover is bound to the book. It also means that special applications like embossing and spot gloss cannot be placed in this area. Contact your Project Specialist if you have any concerns.