Dust Jacket
Printing

Best price and quality

Functionality without the fuss - dust jackets made to last

Scuffs, scratches, spills - it’s all too easy to damage our beloved books. But if you want to protect your work from further wear and tear, adding a dust jacket is the oldest trick in the book.

Protective yet personal, the dust jacket layout means you can add information about the author, highlight reviews, display publisher information and include promotional material. They're one of the first things we notice when we pick up a book and can be responsible for a book’s success. Dust jackets are a compelling design feature for books of all subjects and incorporate a layer of sophistication to your work.

Special Finishes

Metallic Foil

Boost your book’s appeal with shiny lettering or timeless graphics. Our metallic foiling will ensure your dust jackets catches the light and the eyes of book lovers alike.

Spot UV

Spot UV is one of the trendiest ways to revamp your dust jacket. High quality, high shine and high impact - adding spot UV will allow your book to stand out on bookshelves and away from the competition.

Gloss Lamination

Gloss lamination amplifies reader’s expectations before they even reach the first page of your book. Protective by nature and adding some extra polish, this lamination will give your project the attention it deserves.

How to add a dust jacket to your order

Visit the Books section under the ‘All products’ tab at the top of Mixam’s website. Dust jackets are available for the following items:

On each of these product pages, you will see our Instant Price Calculator. Scroll down to the bottom of the Calculator, and you will see an option to add a dust jacket to your design. The price will update straight away once you select the dust jacket option. You can then choose between colour printing vs greyscale and select a finish. Click ‘Add to Cart’ once you are happy with your quote and estimated delivery date.

Select the dust jacket option at the bottom of the Instant Price Calculator. A checkmark will appear in the box, and you can then choose your print specifications.

How to design your dust jacket

There are five key elements to consider when creating your book jacket design:

  • The front cover
  • The front flap
  • The back cover
  • The back flap
  • The spine

The dust jacket flaps will be slightly shorter than the dimensions of your front and back cover. As the end flaps will fold inside the book, you will need to make space in your design to accommodate these folds. Creating a template with fold guidelines will ensure your printed dust jacket wraps around the entire book without any strain or tightness. Working with a template will also help you place your content in the correct order and prevent text and graphics from becoming obscured. Your template should also include trim lines, bleed and quiet areas. You can download templates from our hardcover books product page.

How to set up your dust jacket file

Your dust jacket will be printed on one single sheet of paper and wrapped around the outside of your book. Please supply your artwork as a single spread design.

When uploading your files, please also name your design appropriately so our system can identify them and print them to the correct dimensions. Acceptable file names can include keywords such as "dustjacket", "dust-jacket", "dust_jacket" and "dust jacket".

Size and orientation Width x Height Flap width
Digest portrait 5.5” x 8.5” 2.5”
Digest landscape 8.5” x 5.5” 2.5”
US Trade Portrait 6” x 9” 2.5”
US Trade landscape 9” x 6” 2.5”
Letter portrait 8.5” x 11” 2.5”
Letter landscape 11” x 8.5” 2.5”
8.5” Square 8.5” x 8.5” 2.5”
7.5” Small Square 7.5” x 7.5” 2.5”
7.25” x 9.5” Portrait 7.25” x 9.5” 2.5”
7.25” x 9.5” landscape 9.5” x 7.25” 2.5”
7” x 9” Portrait 7” x 9” 2.5”
7” x 9” landscape 9” x 7” 2.5”
Pocket Book Portrait 4.25” x 6.87” 2.5”
Pocket Book Landscape 6.87” x 4.25” 2.5”
Royal Portrait 6.14” x 9.21” 2.5”
Royal Landscape 9.21” x 6.14” 2.5”
Executive Portrait 7” x 10” 2.5”
Executive Landscape 10” x 7” 2.5”
Crown Quarto Portrait 7.44” x 9.68” 2.5”
Crown Quarto Landscape 9.68” x 7.44” 2.5”
A5 portrait 5.8” x 8.3” 2.5”
A5 landscape 8.3” x 5.8” 2.5”
A4 portrait 8.3” x 11.7” 2.5”
A4 landscape 11.7” x 8.3” 2.5”

Example dust jacket artwork dimensions

Our dust jackets have standard sizing for the spine. For example, below we have a 5.5" x 8.5" book with a 0.4" spine. The standard sizes for dust jacket spines are 0.375", 0.575", 0.775" and 0.975".

So you must choose a standard size closest to the size of your spine in the order, always rounding up. So for this example, this dust jacket should have a spine standard size of 0.575".