Cover and Image Guidelines

We know that high-quality images are an important part of a professional-looking eBook. Here are some details that will help you get the best results for your eBook cover and images.

eBook Covers

We require that all eBooks formatted and distributed through Publish Green have a cover, however your cover does not need to be ready at the time you place your order. It takes time to get a cover designed, and we can actually start on your formatting while your designer creates your cover. We will just need a final cover before we can move into distribution.

If your book has already been published in print, we can use the original cover, so long as you can upload the source file. (Unfortunately, we cannot use a scanned version.) Your cover image should be high-resolution (see size requirements below) to ensure that it will display well on all eReaders. Your cover design does not have to be a specific size in inches, since it will scale based on the screen size of the eReader displaying it; it just needs to fall within our pixel requirements.

Here are some quick tips for getting started with your eBook cover:

• Minimum of 600 x 800 pixels in size
• Maximum of 1200 x 1600 pixels in size
• Must use RGB color mode (not CMYK)
• Must contain author name and title
• May not contain any references to items only available with your print book (eg. "Supplemental CDs Included" etc.)
• Must be a two-dimensional "flat" image – no 3-D renderings

Please note that eBooks use only the front cover of your book, so creating a back cover and spine is not necessary.

Images

Our preferred file type for images is JPEG, and higher resolution is generally better. Each eReader renders images differently, so high-resolution JPEGs ensure the best display quality on all eReaders. Images should not exceed two million square pixels, and should use RGB color mode.

Publish Green has the advanced capability of scaling your images as a percentage of the eReader's screen width, ensuring that your images display as intended on every device. Read more in our Supported Features.

Images on eInk Devices

Many eReaders, like the Kindle, Nook, Sony and Kobo Readers, use a black and white eInk display. These devices usually have a smaller screen and are often used by people who read more text-heavy books like novels or memoirs. This means that even when you give us color images, they will render in grayscale on these particular devices.

Images on the iPad, NookColor, Kindle Fire and other Color Devices

These backlit eReaders use LCD screens and will display your images in crisp, clear color. Color eReaders generally have larger screen sizes to allow for better image viewing. With eBooks, there is no additional cost for using color images, as there is with printing, so even if your book was originally printed in black and white, feel free to provide us with color versions of your images to take full advantage of these types of devices.

Images in MOBI Format

The MOBI format is used by the Amazon Kindle. The Kindle centers images and does not allow for text to wrap around them. The image layout may appear more simplistic, but this is okay! This is just how Kindle eReaders render content, and users expect images to appear this way. As long as your image is high-quality, it will look great.

Images in EPUB Format

The EPUB format is used by the iPad, Nook, Sony and Kobo Readers, and most other major devices. The EPUB format allows for more advanced image placement. We can align images to the left or right of the screen, allowing text to wrap around an image, just as it would in print. When formatting your eBook and placing your images, we will utilize the more complex layout offered by the EPUB format.