Session 17: Shipping Address, Font Fix, Lulu Download

Date: 2026-04-03 Focus: Add shipping address to order form, fix PDF font embedding bug, build one-click Lulu download for admin fulfillment

Work Completed

1. Shipping Address on Order Form

Added full shipping address collection to the print order flow:

• Database: New migration adds 7 columns to print_orders: shipping_name, shipping_street, shipping_street2, shipping_city, shipping_state, shipping_zip, shipping_country
• Order form (PrintOrderCard.tsx): New "Ship To" section with name, street, apt/suite, city/state/zip, country dropdown (US/CA/GB/AU). All required fields validated before order button enables.
• API route (order-print.ts): Validates and stores shipping address on both Stripe and $0 orders
• Email notification (email.ts): Shipping address included in admin notification email (HTML table row + plain text)
• Stripe webhook: Passes shipping from order record into paid notification
• Admin page (admin/index.astro): New "Ship To" column in print orders table showing full formatted address

2. PDF Font Embedding Bug — Found and Fixed

Root cause (two issues):

1. Missing italic variants — The PDF uses fontStyle: 'italic' for relationships, prompts, and back page quote. Five fonts (Crimson Pro, Playfair Display, Inter, Open Sans, Montserrat) had no italic variant registered. When any was the body font, PDF generation crashed: "Could not resolve font for X, fontWeight 400, fontStyle italic". Added italic variants for all 5 fonts from Google Fonts.

2. Built-in fonts not embedded — Default body font was 'serif' → Times-Roman, a PDF standard font NOT embedded in output. Lulu requires all fonts embedded. Changed defaults to 'crimson-pro' (Google Font, properly subset-embedded as TrueType). Fallback in pdfFontFamily() also changed from Times-Roman to Crimson Pro.

Also fixed: Interior page background changed from #FFFBF5 (warm cream) to #FFFFFF (pure white) — the tinted background triggered Lulu's high ink coverage warning on every page.

3. One-Click "Download for Lulu" (Admin Only)

Built a Lulu-ready PDF generation tool on the admin page, tied to specific paid orders:

New files:

• src/lib/lulu-cover.ts — Spine width calculator (paperback formula + hardcover lookup table from Lulu guide), cover spread dimension calculator with softcover bleed (0.125") and hardcover casewrap wrap+hinge (0.875")
• src/components/LuluCoverPDF.tsx — React-pdf component rendering cover spread (back cover + spine + front cover) using book's cover design
• src/components/LuluDownloadButton.tsx — Binding picker + one-click generation of both PDFs with real page count validation

Admin workflow:

1. Order comes in → appears in Print Orders table on /admin
2. Paid/processing orders show "Download PDFs" action link
3. Clicking opens a modal pre-loaded with that book's data
4. Pick binding type (softcover 32+ pages / hardcover 24+ pages)
5. Click "Download Interior + Cover" — generates actual PDF, counts real pages, generates matching cover spread
6. Two files download: {Name}_Interior.pdf and {Name}_Cover.pdf
7. Upload to Lulu: interior first, then cover — dimensions match exactly

Hardcover cover dimensions: Discovered Lulu adds 0.75" per edge for casewrap board/hinge beyond standard 0.125" bleed. Formula: 0.875 + trim + spine + trim + 0.875 wide, 0.875 + trim + 0.875 tall. Verified: 14.000" x 10.750" for 6x9" hardcover matches Lulu's expected dimensions exactly.

Not visible to customers — the download tool only appears on /admin (behind admin auth). Customers see only the "Order a Printed Copy" card with markup pricing.

4. Lulu Validation — Passed

Uploaded test PDFs to Lulu and confirmed acceptance:

• US Trade 6x9", 33 pages, Hardcover Case Wrap, Premium Color
• Interior: fonts embedded, white background, no warnings
• Cover: 14" x 10.75" dimensions accepted
• Print cost: $14.67 USD

5. Lulu Cover Upload Guide

Saved Lulu's cover upload specifications to docs/planning/lulu-cover-upload-guide.md:

• Interior and cover file specs
• Spine width formulas (paperback + hardcover lookup table)
• Cover spread layout diagrams
• Dust jacket flap dimensions
• Linen wrap foil stamp character limits

Decisions Made

1. Pure white interior background — #FFFFFF not #FFFBF5. Tinted backgrounds trigger Lulu ink coverage warnings.
2. Crimson Pro as default body font — replaces Times-Roman (unembedded built-in) to satisfy Lulu's font embedding requirement.
3. Hardcover wrap margin = 0.75" — reverse-engineered from Lulu's expected dimensions (14" x 10.75" for 6x9" casewrap).
4. Lulu download on admin page, not customer page — tied to specific paid orders in the Print Orders table. No RBAC mixing.
5. No dust jacket support yet — casewrap only. Dust jacket adds flaps (3.25" each), can add later.
6. Real page count, not estimates — the download button renders the actual PDF first, counts pages from the blob, then validates against Lulu minimums before generating the cover.

Files Modified

Files Created

Next Steps

• Test full Lulu upload flow with Sheri's real book data (C.C. Dudley)
• Add dust jacket cover support (linen wrap with flaps) if needed
• Wire up Lulu API for automated order submission
• Add Lulu pod_package_id values to book-sizes.ts