Lulu Cover Upload Guide
Source: Lulu Help Center — "Upload Your Cover File Print" Last updated by Lulu: Dec 24, 2025
Overview
Cover creation options are accessed after uploading your interior PDF. Lulu uses the interior's page count to generate a custom template with the spine sized precisely for your book.
Download Template
When you select this option, Lulu provides a custom template bundle with front/back cover and spine sized to match your:
- Paper selection
- Binding type
- Trim size
- Page count
The bundle includes a template for every binding type Lulu offers.
Upload Your PDF — Print Book Cover
Your cover must be a single-page integrated spread PDF (back cover + spine + front cover) with all cover content.
Important: The back cover should come first (leftmost) in the file.
Specifications
- Embedded images: 300 PPI minimum, not exceeding 600 PPI
- Vector images are rasterized
- All fonts are properly embedded
- Transparent layers and vector objects are flattened
- Pages sized to match intended book size (see spine width calculation below)
- Include 0.125" bleed on all sides
- Allow 0.5" safety margin for all content
- Do NOT include trim, bleed, or margin lines
- Do NOT use any security/password file protection
Spine Width — Paperback
Spine Width (inches) = (# of Interior Pages / 444) + 0.06
Spine Width (mm) = (# of Interior Pages / 17.48) + 1.524
Paperback minimum: 32 interior pages
Spine Width — Hardcover
Hardcover minimum: 24 interior pages
| Page Count | Spine Width (in) | Spine Width (mm) |
|---|---|---|
| 0–23 | N/A | N/A |
| 24–84 | 0.25 | 6 |
| 85–140 | 0.5 | 13 |
| 141–168 | 0.625 | 16 |
| 169–194 | 0.688 | 17 |
| 195–222 | 0.75 | 19 |
| 223–250 | 0.813 | 21 |
| 251–278 | 0.875 | 22 |
| 279–306 | 0.938 | 24 |
| 307–334 | 1.0 | 25 |
| 335–360 | 1.063 | 27 |
| 361–388 | 1.125 | 29 |
| 389–416 | 1.188 | 30 |
| 417–444 | 1.25 | 32 |
| 445–472 | 1.313 | 33 |
| 473–500 | 1.375 | 35 |
| 501–528 | 1.438 | 37 |
| 529–556 | 1.5 | 38 |
| 557–582 | 1.563 | 40 |
| 583–610 | 1.625 | 41 |
| 611–638 | 1.688 | 43 |
| 639–666 | 1.75 | 44 |
| 667–694 | 1.813 | 46 |
| 695–722 | 1.875 | 48 |
| 723–750 | 1.938 | 49 |
| 751–778 | 2.0 | 51 |
| 779–799 | 2.063 | 52 |
| 800 | 2.125 | 54 |
Cover Spread Layout (Paperback / Casewrap)
|<-- bleed -->|<--- Back Cover --->|<- Spine ->|<--- Front Cover --->|<-- bleed -->|
0.125" trim width varies trim width 0.125"
Total width = 0.125 + trim width + spine + trim width + 0.125
Spine Design Rules
- No spine text if book is 80 pages or fewer
- Leave at least 0.125" between spine text and spine edge on both sides
- Keep spine same color/graphic as rest of cover
- Trimming tolerance: 0.125" toward front and back cover
Book Preview
After uploading both interior and cover files, Lulu shows a preview with margin, bleed, folds, and trim guides so you can verify alignment.
Ebook Cover (Digital Only)
Ebook covers are front cover art only — no back cover, spine, or flaps.
Specifications
- File type: JPG or PNG
- Minimum: 625 x 1000 px
- Maximum: 10000 x 10000 px
- Recommended: 2560 x 1600 px
- File size limit: 5 MB
- Resolution: 72 PPI or higher
- Color space: RGB
Hardcover — Dust Jacket Cover Formatting
Dust jacket covers include flaps in addition to front/back covers and spine.
Layout (left to right)
|<- Back Flap ->|<--- Back Cover --->|<- Spine ->|<--- Front Cover --->|<- Front Flap ->|
3.25" 6.25" varies 6.25" 3.25"
- Flap fold safety margin: 0.25"
- Flap live area: 2.25" x 8.25"
Linen Wrap Options
You select linen color and foil spine text:
Linen colors: Navy, Black, Green, Gray, Red, Tan
Foil stamp colors: Gold, Black, White
Foil Spine Text Limits
- Max 42 characters total
- Uppercase only — no lowercase
- No underscores
Supported characters:
A-Z, 0-9
;',./!`^&*()~+:?"ˇ˘°´¨¯-
ÀÁÃĀÄĂĆČÇĎÈÉËĒĔĚĞÌÍĨÏĪĬĽĹÑŃŇÒÓÕÖŌŎŔŘŚŠŤÙÚŨŪÜŬÝŸŹŽ
Not supported:
- Lowercase letters
- Underscores
- Non-roman character sets (Cyrillic, Arabic, Hebrew, Chinese, Japanese, etc.)
Comic Book & Magazine Covers
These formats allow printing on the inside front and back cover. Upload a 2-page PDF (ignore the 1-page requirement shown in the UI).
Download the specific template for comic/magazine layout requirements.
Key Dimensions Reference (US Trade 6x9")
| Component | No Bleed | With Bleed |
|---|---|---|
| Interior page | 6" x 9" | 6.25" x 9.25" |
| Cover height | 9" | 9.25" |
| Safety margin | 0.5" inside trim | — |
| Bleed | — | 0.125" all sides |
| Gutter (< 60 pages) | 0.5" total inside margin | — |
| Gutter (61–150 pages) | 0.625" total inside margin | — |
Implementation Notes (Say It Now)
For our automated PDF generation:
- Interior PDF — generated by
@react-pdf/renderer, pages at trim size (Lulu auto-adds bleed for non-full-bleed content) - Cover PDF — needs to be a single-page spread at exact dimensions matching Lulu's expected template
- Best workflow: Upload interior to Lulu first → download their generated template → use those exact dimensions for cover generation
- Alternative: Calculate dimensions ourselves using the spine formulas above + trim size + bleed, but must match Lulu's expectations exactly
- Lulu API (
POST /cover-dimensions) can provide exact cover dimensions programmatically — best long-term solution