Dust Jackets

Here's how to wrap readers up in your story with dust jackets for books.

 

Dust Jacket Design

A book dust jacket is a detachable outer cover with folded flaps. The folded flaps wrap around the front and back of the book covers to prevent dirt and damage, maintaining a book's appearance and durability. 

Dust jackets preserved cloth-covered Hardcover Books in the 1800s. Today, dust jackets are a great way to enhance the presentation of your book. We print dust jackets on 80 lb. satin paper stock with gloss or matte lamination. 

Dust jackets are a great way to make your book eye-catching and have great creative potential. The flaps (or panels) that wrap around your book are perfect for displaying information about the author, reviews and social media profiles.

Ready to order dust jackets? Visit this page for more information.

Example of a printed dust jacket
 

Dust Jacket Setup Guide

As we will print your dust jacket as a single sheet and then wrap it around the outside of your book, please supply your dust jacket design as a single spread design.

When you upload your dust jacket file, you should clearly label it so our system can identify and print it to the correct dimensions. Acceptable file names can include keywords like dustjacket, dust-jacket or dust_jacket.

From the finished internal book size, add:

  1. 0.275” to the front and back cover width
  2. 0.275” to the front and back cover height
  3. Add your spine width
  4. Add the required flap sizes to each side
  5. Add 0.125” bleed to all external sides

 

Hardcover book with a dust jacket partially attached
 
Size and OrientationWidth x HeightFlap Width
Digest Portrait5.5” x 8.5”2.5”
Digest Landscape8.5” x 5.5”2.5”
US Trade Portrait6” x 9”2.5”
US Trade Landscape9” x 6”2.5”
Letter Portrait8.5” x 11”2.5”
Letter Landscape11” x 8.5”2.5”
8.5” Square8.5” x 8.5”2.5”
7.5” Small Square7.5” x 7.5”2.5”
7.25” x 9.5” Portrait7.25” x 9.5”2.5”
7.25” x 9.5” Landscape9.5” x 7.25”2.5”
7” x 9” Portrait7” x 9”2.5”
7” x 9” Landscape9” x 7”2.5”
Pocket Book Portrait4.25” x 6.87”2.5”
Pocket Book Landscape6.87” x 4.25”2.5”
Royal Portrait6.14” x 9.21”2.5”
Royal Landscape9.21” x 6.14”2.5”
Executive Portrait7” x 10”2.5”
Executive Landscape10” x 7”2.5”
Crown Quarto Portrait7.44” x 9.68”2.5”
Crown Quarto Landscape9.68” x 7.44”2.5”
A5 Portrait5.8” x 8.3”2.5”
A5 Landscape8.3” x 5.8”2.5”
A4 Portrait8.3” x 11.7”2.5”
A4 Landscape11.7” x 8.3”2.5”

Example Dust Jacket Artwork Dimensions

 

 

Dust Jacket Special Options

If you have selected foiling or Spot UV for your dust jacket, you must create a new file for this layer in your design. Please email our team for a custom quote and include your order number if you have one.

Hardcover book with gold metallic foiling