What dimensions the Kindle book's cover should be?

by 16 replies
20
Hello Everyone,

I've heard so many things that I got confused about the Kindle Cover Dimensions. Please, does anyone really know what are the requirements for that?

I'm planning to TRY doing myself it on Photoshop, but I'm not sure about the dimensions.

Please, I really need a honest hand on this.

Many Thanks
#main internet marketing discussion forum #book #cover #dimensions #kindle #kindle cover design
  • Ronald,

    Your best source of information about Kindle book requirements are Amazon.com. You'll find information about cover size at https://kdp.amazon.com/self-publishi...A2J0TRG6OPX0VM

    Bonnie
  • Amazon Embedded Cover: 600px x 800px. Hope this helps, Good Luck
    • [1] reply
    • Amazon now imbeds the cover in the front of the book automatically. It is no longer necessary to do so.

      Also cover images should be larger that the previously required 600 x 800

      The link from Bonnie contains the pertinent info.
      • [ 3 ] Thanks


  • The fact that you stoped by and left a reply means a lot to me and say a lot about your person.
    Seriously, THANK YOU!


    Now, the interesting thing is:
    I got from 3 different sources PSD templates and PowerPoint templates in order to help me to create my kindle cover.

    The templates are amazing, however once I look for the "image size" I find the following:

    FIRST SOURCE:
    PSD 1563x2500px 300resolution
    POWERPOINT 541X864px (don't show resolution)

    SECOND SOURCE:
    PSD 800X1066px 72resolution
    PSD 1563x2500px 72resolution

    THIRD SOURCE:
    PSD 500X800px 800resolution
    PSD 550x800px 800resolution


    My questions are:

    1) Can I JUST save the images as they are and upload them to Kindle?
    2) Do I have to resize the ecover(to a specific size) before uploading it?
    3) Do I have enough with 72px resolution? What is the minimum required? What is the best?


    Thank You so much if you can help me in my confusion.
    • [1] reply
    • 1) You can't upload the .psd files to KDP. Open the files in Photoshop and go to File > Save for Web & Devices. Save it as a .jpg file. This is what you upload to KDP.

      2) You don't have to, but I have found KDP's recommended size to be too large. The Kindle devices are so small that when a huge cover image gets shrunk down to fit on the screen, it looks like crap in my opinion. I personally use a cover size of 1000 x 1400 pixels. This is contrary to what KDP tells you to use, but it works well. Also, the file size will be smaller, so bandwidth fees won't take as much away from your royalties as a larger file would. Since your covers are already made, resizing them to 1000x1400 may distort their appearance, so you could try to aim for something in that ballpark without distorting the image. You may need to do some cropping in addition to resizing. Or, you could just ignore my input and use the size that you currently have, which is perfectly acceptable.

      3) 72 is good enough for the web and Kindle. 300 dpi is required for print books.
  • I think you should be good the way you are. Most of the time Amazon will format your cover accordingly if the size is off but that could lead to a poor resolution. Once you upload it and it's approved you can check it out to see everything looks fine or re-upload it if there is a problem
  • Kindle images must be jpg or tiff... So the psd files need to be converted to either jpg or tiff
  • If you have to compress the image to meet their 127KB requirement for Kindle I've found that Image Compressor works well and is a free option.


  • Even though most of the confusion has been relieved
    I still don't get few things:

    1) Can I convert my "Powerpoint template" that is 541x864px to jpg and upload it without problems? Or they MUST be at least 625x1000px?

    2) In case you advise me to do what Kindle asks...I could change my powerpoint template's sizes from 541x864px to 1563x2500px without major problems. However, now when I save the image to jpg I have 731KB and as Gail pointed Kindle requires 127KB resolution.
    So, how can I change the image resolution to Kindle's standards without losing the required sizes?

    Again, Many Many Thanks
    • [1] reply
    • Last time I checked, the aspect ratio recommended was 1.6, this leads to narrow-ish images, but I use it anyway.

      I use 1000x1600, jpg images. So far it worked well. They might require bigger pictures as the technology advances.

      Those dimensions are good when you are buying images for the cover, thinking on the cost side of the equation.
  • Informative post... i'm just about to upload a new ebook to amazon/kindle.
  • OK amazon says:
    1563 pixels on the shortest side and 2500 pixels on the longest side
    However, there is a 127K limit on your jpg.

    That means I use 600 X 800 for my book cover.
    Hey, those work out OK for me.

    Please remember to use short BOLD words like GOLF.
    That way people can see it in icon size.
    • [1] reply
    • I always use 1563 pixels on the shortest side and 2500 pixels on the longest side so when compressed don't loose its quality.
      I don't know about you but I pay attention on that thing because it's first impression visitors get when visit your offer.
  • We do covers all the time and you definitely want to do a Kindle book cover that is 1563 x 2500.
  • I could save the powerpoint template that before was 541x864px to 1563x2500px but the JPG now has 731KB.

    Using Photoshop and "save for web" I could turn the "quality" to Low.
    The result of it is: 1563x2500px and 198KB.

    It's still HEAVY for Amazon standards which is 127KB and on top of that I'm losing some color's quality.

    What am I doing wrong?
    Any Help On That?

    THANKS!
    • [1] reply
    • For the cover, you save as the highest quality, do not save as low or medium.
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