Bleed and safe area: where
DAN VAU
Bleed and safe area: where your artwork goes, and where your title must stay.
For a KDP paperback cover:
-Bleed: 0.125 in added to the top, bottom and outside edges. Backgrounds and images must run all the way to the bleed edge, because that strip is trimmed off.
-Safe area: keep front and back text and images at least 0.125 in inside the trim line.
-Spine: keep spine text at least 0.0625 in from the spine edges, and don't let front or back text run into the spine.
-Resolution: 300 DPI minimum.
In the picture, red is the bleed that gets cut, white dashes are the trim line, and gold dashes are the safe area.
What's the most common cover mistake you see?
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Posted Oct 14, 2026
Bleed and safe area: where your artwork goes, and where your title must stay. For a KDP paperback cover: -Bleed: 0.125 in added to the top, bottom and outsid...
