Version 1.3 Contents Getting Started 3 Setting the Spine Width & Text 9 Changing Background Graphics & Art 14 Creating a Full-Wrap Cover Background 18 Converting an eBook Cover to Print 23 Changing Individual Background Graphics 29 Adjusting Text, Fonts, Colors & Live Elements 33 Adding Photos & Images 38 Getting Ready for Print & Creating PDFs 42 Resources & Troubleshooting FAQ 45 License, Support & More Info 49 2 Getting Started 3 Installation is Easy! Open The Download .ZIP File Folder OR Extract the Template Files from the ZIP Download File Locate the compressed (zip) folder that you just downloaded. This contains the template and all associated files. Newer PCs and Macs will allow you to open and work out of the .ZIP file with- out extracting the contents. The .ZIP file will appear as a standard folder on your PC or Mac, containing the template and related files. On many older PCs, you must extract the contents of the .ZIP file folder to a location of your choice on your computer, such as the desktop. This will allow you to access the template files, documentation, links and other materials. Install the Fonts Inside the template folder, locate the “Fonts (INSTALL FIRST)” folder and open it. Install all of the included fonts (in TTF and OTF format) by clicking to opening each one individually, and clicking the install button. (Alternately, you may copy/paste or drag/drop the font files to your Windows Operating System PC’s “C:\Windows\Fonts” folder or to your OSX Operating System Macintosh’s “Font-Book”.) Open the Template file for your version of MS Word. Open the folder containing the Word .DOCX template files. Open the file Labeled “CS” for CreateSpace compatible covers. Open the file labeled “LS-IS” for Lightning Source or Ingram Spark compatible covers. Open the file labeled “Generic” to create a generic cover file that may be used at many boutique printing companies. Note: The Cover Templates require MS Word version 2007 or newer. Note: The template will contain sample text and content to help you get started. You may overwrite or remove this content as needed. 4 @Copyright 2014 – BookDesignTemplates.com – All rights reserved. Cover Template Layout Overview Adjustable Spine: Easy to adjust Visible Bleed Area: The dark grey spine width allows you to size bleed areas are clearly marked so you your spine to match your page can avoid placing live elements where count in seconds. they may get cut out. Ready to Enter Copy: Properly aligned and formatted sample text is ready for you to overwrite with your own copy. Pre-aligned Data Blocks: Just fill in Pre-Placed Title Text: The fully your metadata, price, author photo, bio customizable title text is pre- and place your barcode in the pre- aligned to center correctly. Just en- aligned blocks. ter your title information, change the colors and fonts. The text is also Three Background Panes: Create a full- independent of the background spread cover with ease, or convert an eBook image, so you can adjust it as need- cover to print. Just replace the panes you ed without shifting your text. need with your own artwork. 5 @Copyright 2014 – BookDesignTemplates.com – All rights reserved. Cover Construction Basics for Print Covers have Bleed Areas Covers are often printed on large sheets of thick paper stock and cut out by ma- chines. These cuts are made in a special “bleed” area. To assure that there is not a border of white paper on the edges of the book, the artwork for the cover of the book must extend into this bleed area. It is important that no text or “live ele- ments” of the book cover be placed in the bleed area because it may get cut out. Our cover templates have the bleed area highlighted in dark grey, so you can vis- ually see where the cuts will be made. The graphical templates included also have these bleed areas. Your cover artwork should completely cover the bleed areas, from edge to edge. Alert: Allow an extra 0.25” of space away from the bleed and spine edges (trim and fold) for safety. Some printers may reject a cover with text that is closer than 0.25” to any bleed area. Just to be safe, keep a wide margin from the outside edges of the cover, and keep text as far from the bleed area as possible. 6 @Copyright 2014 – BookDesignTemplates.com – All rights reserved. Cover Construction Basics for Print There are Three Panes in the Template. The entire cover area of the template on the page is a table, consisting of three rows. Each row corresponds to the front, back, and spine area of the book, and operate independently. The front and back cover areas are preconfigured to have the correct width and height for your book cover, with bleed. The spine area is preconfigured for the height dimension of your book, and is adjustable for the spine width. Adjusting the spine width using the process in this book will cause Word to automatically adjust the rest of the cover to con- form to the correct placement on the page. The spine width is the only meas- urement that should require adjustment. 7 @Copyright 2014 – BookDesignTemplates.com – All rights reserved. Cover Construction Basics for Print The Text Elements “float” over the Background Graphics The included text areas are specially configured to “float” over the three back- ground images provided in the template. You may edit the text inside of these text boxes independently to change the font size, color, or typeface to your liking. Changes to the text will not interfere with the background images. Tip: Use the Text Elements Provided with the Template Each text element has a special text effect applied to assure that they render cor- rectly on the PDF output you will provide to your printer. Adding a new text box that is not included with the template requires special care, as outlined in the back of this guide. 8 @Copyright 2014 – BookDesignTemplates.com – All rights reserved. Setting the Spine Width and Text 9 @Copyright 2014 – BookDesignTemplates.com – All rights reserved. The Spine The Spine Width is based on the Page Count of the Book Interior The spine measurement for your cover must be precise. Each print vendor pro- vides tools, calculators, or formulas for calculating your precise spine width based on the number of pages for your book and the type of paper your select. Please use these tools to find the correct spine width for your book. Links for each vendor are in the back of this guide for your convenience. The Word template will accommodate accuracy of 1/100th of an inch. If you enter a spine width with higher degree of accuracy, the template will automatically round it to the nearest 1/100th. Tip: Most printers calculate spine width by pages, not sheets In book printing, pages and sheets are two distinct terms. Since a page in a book is typically printed on both sides of the paper sheet, there are two book pages per sheet in the book interior. A 200 page book, will therefore print on 100 sheets. Most printers calculate the spine width based upon pages, instead of sheets, so be sure to use the right measurement metric when calculating spine width. 10 @Copyright 2014 – BookDesignTemplates.com – All rights reserved. Changing the Spine Width Make sure that you have the correct spine measurement for your book before you proceed. Select the Spine Area by clicking on the top of the spine. Place your mouse over the top of the spine in the bleed area and click to highlight the spine table cell. Select “Layout” from the “Table Tools” tab at the top of your screen. Enter your spine width measurement in the “Width” field of the “Cell Size” area. The spine will change to the new width entered, and the entire cover area will update with the new measurements for the overall width of the entire cover. Tip: The Word template will accommodate accuracy of 1/100th of an inch. If you enter a spine width with higher degree of accuracy, the template will automatically round it to the nearest 1/100th. 11 (Continued on next page.) @Copyright 2014 – BookDesignTemplates.com – All rights reserved. Changing the Spine Width Select the Spine Area Graphic by clicking on the top of the spine. Place your mouse over the top of the spine in the bleed area and click to highlight the spine graphic. Select the center-right drag box, and drag the center spine graphic until it fits precisely between the two dotted lines of the spine cell. Repeat this resize process with the Book Title, Author Name, and Publisher Logo. Click on each element to highlight it. Use the center-right drag boxes to resize the element to fit inside of the blue dotted lines of the spine cell. Note: Most publishers can not print text or a publisher logo on a spine with less than 120 pages. If your book’s spine is too small for text, or you wish to omit the spine text and logo, simply highlight and delete the spine text and logo elements. 12 @Copyright 2014 – BookDesignTemplates.com – All rights reserved. Changing the Spine Text Change the Book Title. Place your mouse over the book title and click to activate the element. You may then type over or replace the text. You may change the font size, color and typeface as needed by using the font options on the home tab. Change the Author Name. Place your mouse over the author name and click to activate the element.