11-13-2012, 07:10 PM | #1 |
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What size cover picture?
I´ve read the the format of a cover picture for an e-book should be 500x600 or 600x730.
What about 500x707? Is that okay? |
11-13-2012, 10:14 PM | #2 |
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Yes, it should work but best to check it on the particular device your targeting.
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11-14-2012, 05:01 AM | #3 |
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11-14-2012, 01:43 PM | #4 | |
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Dale |
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11-14-2012, 10:34 PM | #5 |
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If I have a large enough cover image, I scale it down to 1024 lines and leave it at the correct aspect ratio. The SVG code for the cover will cause the image to fit the screen and if you do it correctly, you will display the image with the correct aspect ratio. Just ignore people that don't mind images to be stretched. The correct aspect raio is much preferred (overall).
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11-15-2012, 03:21 AM | #6 | |
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This sounds like: might work, perhaps.... Is the situation that volatile? I have the same picture in different sizes; 500x707 and 800 x 1131. Can I use one of these or should I ask my designer friend who made the picture to do another with a different size/ratio? If so, which? |
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11-15-2012, 03:25 AM | #7 | |
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(Wanna exchange my "connoisseur" title for "amateur in this field", so everyone understands how little I know.) |
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11-15-2012, 04:21 AM | #8 | |
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by this do you mean scaling it down to 1024 on the longest side?
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11-15-2012, 06:06 AM | #9 |
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Ok, so you tailor your e-book to 600x800. But what do you do if a colour e-ink reader with a 800x1280 screen comes out tomorrow? Wouldn't it be better to resize the image to something like 1500 px tall and scale it at 100% display size with an XHTML tag? This way you don't have to worry about panel sizes, aspect ratios, etc. Or are today's e-readers that stupid?
Last edited by DSpider; 11-15-2012 at 06:09 AM. |
11-15-2012, 08:28 AM | #10 |
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Just to muddy the waters here, aren't Apple going to insist shortly that cover images are 1400px minimum on the shortest side?
(Bless 'em - - with the big naily blessing stick!) |
11-15-2012, 10:29 AM | #11 |
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There are ereaders with screens with 600x800 pixels and tablets with 768x1024 pixels (yes, there are some other formats too). The aspect ratio of the screen in both kind of devices is 1,333, so the cover should have this ratio too.
When resizing a picture there is less loss of quality when downscaling than when upscaling. So in any case you should choose the largest version of your picture. And, here we are again with Amazon: For KDP they want a cover with a height of at least 1000 pixels. Which means: The width of 800 px (your largest picture) needs a height of 800x1,33=1066 px (1131 px is too much). But there could be a menu bar and a status line, as DaleDe mentioned, which means 1066 px minus about 66 px. So your designer friend has to cut off some pixels at the top and/or at the bottom of the picture with a resulting cover of 800x1000px. On an ereader it will be shown with 600 x 750 px only, but the cover will be shown in good quality also on a tablet with a larger screen. I'm afraid there will be bars in any way depending on devices, because you don't know if they have menu bars or not. But if you get a blank bar at the bottom, it will be so small that it will be acceptable and you still have the original quality of the picture. Resizing the cover by a device to full screen with a different aspect ratio of width/height will cause distortions. Maybe this is not apparent in the picture, but you will see it in the letters. I would prefer the first version with width=100%. George |
11-15-2012, 02:13 PM | #12 | |
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amazon's also recommending a cover that's 1500px on the longest side and minimum 1000px on the shortest, so amazon's requirements seem to be pushing a 2:3 ratio. -- see comment below Last edited by mzmm; 11-16-2012 at 04:24 AM. Reason: clarity |
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11-16-2012, 03:36 AM | #13 |
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@mzmm
Actually the KDP guidelines say: Requirements for the size of your cover art have an ideal height/width ration of 1.6, this means: • A minimum of 625 pixels on the shortest side and 1000 pixels on the longest side • For best quality, your image would be 1563 pixels on the shortest side and 2500 pixels on the longest side I just looked into an Amazon sample that had a cover 860 x 1226 px. The ratio is 1.426. So anything goes? As for GraciousMe, who said in another thread she doesn't publish at Amazon, a cover with a size of 800 x 1000 px would be ok, though it has not the ideal ratio of 1.6 recommended by Amazon. For KDP I found some useful information on: http://kevinomclaughlin.com/2012/04/...commendations/ "A last note on this: these images are the display images Amazon uses to sell books on their site, NOT the cover image included in the book. In most cases, it is advantageous to include in the book file an image on the lower end of the spectrum, since readers will rarely actually see it there, and higher quality images result in a larger files size for the ebook. Since indie writers getting the 70% royalty from Amazon are billed a small amount for file downloads, the bigger the file, the less you earn per sale. Those pennies can add up in the long run, so best practice is to include in the book file a smaller file size of image than the one you’re using for display." George |
11-16-2012, 04:24 AM | #14 |
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@George
wow yeah - how did i misread that. thanks for the correction |
11-16-2012, 05:33 AM | #15 |
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I felt a bit lost, now I am totally confused.
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