Just a few months ago, Amazon KDP launched their hardcover print-on-demand (POD) book printing service. Previously most self-publishers who were wanting hardcover books used IngramSpark for print on demand printing, because Amazon KDP did not offer any POD hardcover services. But times have changed!
Photo by Pontus Wellgraf on Unsplash
So, can you print your book in both soft and hard cover through Amazon KDP?
Yes, if you are using one of the sizes which they offer in hardcover.
As of this month, Amazon KDP offers sixteen book sizes in softcover, but only these five in hardcover:
5.5" x 8.5" (13.97 x 21.59 cm)
6" x 9" (15.24 x 22.86 cm)
6.14" x 9.21" (15.6 x 23.39 cm)
7" x 10" (17.78 x 25.4 cm)
8.25" x 11" (20.96 x 27.94 cm)
They will probably begin to offer more if their POD hardcover service is successful, but for now, if your book is not one of those five sizes, you cannot print it in hardcover with Amazon KDP. Check here to see all the sizes IngramSpark offers in POD with hardcover.
Yes, if your book’s page count is between 75 and 550 pages.
This means that for a 32-page kids’ book, for example, you can’t print in hardcover. If your page count is between 75 - 550 pages, you’re golden!
Yes, but you need two different cover files.
The interior file for your hard and soft cover books can be the same one, but you will need two different front cover files, because a hardcover book cover is a different size and needs extra image around all edges to wrap around the board.
If you already know at the beginning of your project that your book will most likely be released in both softcover and hardcover formats, this is something you should tell me at the beginning of the project, so that the image I create for your cover has enough margin to wrap around all the sides of the book.
If you already have one cover file but need it adapted to suit the other style of cover, contact me so that I can see if I can adapt the files you have. It is best if we can work from the original, editable cover files (like InDesign or Photoshop files) created by your cover designer, but depending on the visuals of the design and the type of file your designer gave you, we may also be able to work from a print-ready pdf.