Print-On-Demand Distribution
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      1. PublishDrive Help Center
      2. Print-On-Demand And Audio Distribution
      3. Print-On-Demand Distribution

      Print-on-demand requirements

      What do I need to submit?

      To submit a valid POD book, you need to upload two separate PDF files that we will use to print your book:

      • Cover
      • Interior/content

      In addition to these files, you will also need to have an ISBN. We are currently unable to distribute print-on-demand publications without ISBNs. To get one, please contact your local ISBN agency.

      Cover specifications

      • Submit a one-page PDF file that includes:
        • back cover (optionally barcode)
        • spine
        • front cover
        • bleed area

           

      • See width and height calculation below
      • No crop or printer marks
      • File type: PDF
      • We recommend using CMYK color space, but we also accept RGB
      • We recommend 300 DPI image resolution. Higher resolutions are acceptable

      Spine size calculation

      Spine width (in) = Number of pages X spine multiplier

      Spine multiplier:

      • B&W with white paper: 0.002252
      • B&W with cream paper: 0.00243
      • COLOR with white paper: 0.002347

      Example calculation for 100 pages, B&W book with cream paper:

      100 pages X 0.00243 = 0.243"

      Size and Margins

      • Submit a one-page PDF file
      • Size of the page should be fit to the trim size you set at metadata
      • Add 0.125" (3 mm) bleed to all sides
      • With calculation: bleed + width + spine + width + bleed
      • Height calculation: bleed + height + bleed

      Example size for 6x9" 100 pages, B&W book with cream paper:

      • Spine: 0.243
      • Bleed: 0.125
      • Width: 6"
      • Height: 9"

      Width: 0.125 + 6 + 0.243 + 6 +0.125 = 12.49"

      Height: 0.125 + 9 + 0.125  = 9.25"

       

      Interior/content specifications

      Content

      • Submit a single-page PDF, not a spread or 2-up
      • Page size in the PDF must fit the trim size you set in your metadata
      • ALL FONTS must be embedded in all PDF files
      • Exclude any crop or trim marks from the final interior, as any such content will be printed on the final product
      • The content file must be at least 24 pages long
      • No bleed support for interior
      • A table of contents is needed for all print books

      Margins

      • Margins must be a minimum of 0.5” (13mm) from final trim size on outer sides
      • For binding side, use the following margin depending on the page size:
        • 24-150: 0.375"
        • 151-300: 0.5"
        • 301-500: 0.625
        • 501-700: 0.75"
        • 701-828: 0.875"
           

      Page numbering

      All page numbers should be ordered logically and sequentially, with even numbers on the left page and odd numbers on the right page. Any gap in the pagination should still account for each individual page so that all pages are accounted for as if there was no gap. 

      The minimum and maximum page counts vary for each trim size, paper type, and ink option, as outlined in the table below:

      Trim size

      Black ink and white paper

      Black ink and cream paper

      Standard color ink and white paper

      Premium color ink and white paper

      5" x 8" (12.7 x 20.32 cm)

      24 - 828

      24 - 776

      72 - 600

      24 - 828

      5.06" x 7.81" (12.85 x 19.84 cm)

      24 - 828

      24 - 776

      72 - 600

      24 - 828

      5.25" x 8" (13.34 x 20.32 cm)

      24 - 828

      24 - 776

      72 - 600

      24 - 828

      5.5" x 8.5" (13.97 x 21.59 cm)

      24 - 828

      24 - 776

      72 - 600

      24 - 828

      6" x 9" (15.24 x 22.86 cm)

      24 - 828

      24 - 776

      72 - 600

      24 - 828

      6.14" x 9.21" (15.6 x 23.39 cm)

      24 - 828

      24 - 776

      72 - 600

      24 - 828

      6.69" x 9.61" (16.99 x 24.41 cm)

      24 - 828

      24 - 776

      72 - 600

      24 - 828

      7" x 10" x (17.78 x 25.4 cm)

      24 - 828

      24 - 776

      72 - 600

      24 - 828

      7.44" x 9.69" (18.9 x 24.61 cm)

      24 - 828

      24 - 776

      72 - 600

      24 - 828

      7.5" x 9.25" (19.05 x 23.5 cm)

      24 - 828

      24 - 776

      72 - 600

      24 - 828

      8" x 10" (20.32 x 25.4 cm)

      24 - 828

      24 - 776

      72 - 600

      24 - 828

      8.25" x 6" (20.96 x 15.24 cm)

      24 - 800

      24 - 750

      72 - 600

      24 - 800

      8.25" x 8.25" (20.96 x 20.96 cm)

      24 - 800

      24 - 750

      72 - 600

      24 - 800

      8.5" x 8.5" (21.59 x 21.59 cm)

      24 - 590

      24 - 550

      72 - 600

      24 - 590

      8.5" x 11" (21.59 x 27.94 cm)

      24 - 590

      24 - 550

      72 - 600

      24 - 590

      8.27" x 11.69" (21 x 29.7 cm)

      24 - 780

      24 - 730

      Not available

      24 - 590

       

       

      Color interior requirements

      Black-and-white pages
      • Books with color inserts need to have black and white pages to be true black and white.
      • Black-and-white images need to be saved as gray scale or single color black (with line art) and not registration black (made up of a build of CMYK).
      • Don't use a spot color (like a spot black or a spot gray).
      • Black-and-white pages without color images shouldn't be saved in an RGB color space or as a CMYK build.
      Color pages
      • We recommend using CMYK color space, though we also accept RGB.
      • To maintain accurate color reproduction, don't use spot colors.

      Paper color

      • White 50lb paper - can be used for B&W and Color printings 
      • Creme 50lb paper - can be used only for B&W printing

      Lamination type:

      • Glossy - rather used for non-fiction books 
      • Matte - rather used for fiction books

      Metadata

      • Contributors of the book: author, editor, designer, etc.
      • Title 
      • Subtitle
      • Series info (name, part)
      • Language
      • Description
      • Categories
      • Is adult content
      • Target audience
      • Keywords
      • ISBN

      Distributional data

      • Pricing
      • Copyright info
      • Publication date
      • Distributors to be used 

      ISBN

      Unique identifier of the book released by ISBN agency: https://www.isbn-international.org/

      The ISBN must be valid and real ISBN (another identifier will be rejected).

      • All the POD distributors handle ISBNs exclusively: a particular ISBN can be submitted only once by one provider, you can not re-use it.
      • The ISBN you use now with PublishDrive can not be re-used for later submission by other provider to the same POD distributors (e.g.: KDP, Ingramspark).

      Description

      Please avoid special characters and non-printable whitespaces. If you copy/paste your description, use "Paste as plain text" and format the text in the editor.

       

      Trim size

      The trim size defines the width and height of the physical book.

      PublishDrive currently supports the following trim sizes (Width X Heights):

      4" x 6" (102mm x 152mm)
      4.25" x 7" (108mm x 178mm)
      4.37" x 7" (111mm x 178mm)
      4.72" x 7.48" (120mm x 190mm)
      5" x 7" (127mm x 178mm)
      5" x 8" (127mm x 203mm)
      5.06" x 7.81" (129mm x 198mm)
      5.25" x 8" (133mm x 203mm)
      5.5" x 7.5" (140mm x 191mm)
      5.5" x 8.25" (140mm x 210mm)
      5.5" x 8.38" (140mm x 213mm)
      5.5" x 8.5" (140mm x 216mm)
      5.83" x 8.27" (148mm x 210mm) - A5
      6" x 9" (152mm x 229mm)
      6.14" x 9.21" (156mm x 234mm)
      6.5" x 6.5" (165mm x 165mm)
      6.625" x 10.25" (168mm x 260mm)
      6.69" x 9.61" (170mm x 244mm)
      7" x 10" (178mm x 254mm)
      7.44" x 9.69" (189mm x 246mm)
      7.5" x 9.25" (191mm x 235mm)
      8" x 10" (203mm x 254mm)
      8" x 10.88" (203mm x 276mm)
      8" x 8" (203mm x 203mm)
      8.25" x 10.75" (210mm x 273mm)
      8.25" x 11" (210mm x 280mm)
      8.27" x 11.69" (210mm x 297mm) - A4
      8.5" x 11" (216mm x 279mm)
      8.5" x 8.5" (216mm x 216mm)
      8.5" x 9" (216mm x 229mm)

      Language

      Amazon accepts books only with specific language. Currently, only the books with the following languages can be distributed on Amazon:

      • Afrikaans
      • Basque
      • Bokmål Norwegian   
      • Breton   
      • Catalan   
      • Cornish   
      • Corsican   
      • Danish   
      • Dutch/Flemish   
      • Eastern Frisian   
      • English   
      • Finnish   
      • French   
      • Frisian   
      • Galician   
      • German   
      • Icelandic   
      • Irish   
      • Italian   
      • Luxembourgish   
      • Manx   
      • Northern Frisian   
      • Norwegian   
      • Nynorsk Norwegian   
      • Portuguese   
      • Provençal   
      • Romansh   
      • Scots   
      • Scottish Gaelic   
      • Spanish   
      • Swedish   
      • Welsh   

      Binding type

      PublishDrive currently supports perfect binding (softcover) only.

       

      List price

      We calculate the minimum price for the books and require the list price to at least match it in order to avoid negative royalties.

      • Minimum list price: printing cost/royalty rate

         

      Printing costs

      Book review

      After submitting the work to the platform, PublishDrive staff performs technical checks (book review) on the metadata and the work’s files. 

      If any issue pops up then PD notifies the customer and gives details about the nature of the issues, and the steps that need to be taken. (In some specific cases PD may fix the files on its own)

      After any fix, the work must be re-uploaded to the Platform.

      When the book passes the review, the actual distribution can be started.