Word 2019 doc to pdf messing up the margins (on a PC)

Thanks for the ping!

Not sure this is truly a KDP issue except that the result has to match KDP submission requirements. Export from Word is limited (compared to InDesign, my usual book design platform) and Word doesn't really understand the concept of bleed very well.

Some general guidelines, though —

• It's easy to get tangled up in KDP's many guidelines and requirements, and error messages can be completely misleading. (There is, for example, a common error saying there is insufficient bleed that actually means you have live content elements too close to the margins!)
• The document should be set up at the exact page size for the KDP print format — 6x9 inches, 8.5x11 inches, etc. The trim size. Don't adjust the page size to try to add "bleed" or "gutter" or if KDP gives confusing instructions along these lines. The document page size should always be the trim size.
• Be sure to export using the Print function, with Adobe PDF selected as the printer. Don't use any inherent/menu items for "Save As PDF" or the like. You must use the real Adobe PDF export function to get a reliable result.
  • Be sure to uncheck "Rely on system fonts." (This antiquated setting shouldn't even be on the menu any more, and has to be set on every single new export!)

Unfortunately, I know nothing useful about exporting a document with bleeds from Word. The one and only setting I know of is what Microsoft calls the "gutter," an inside margin/bleed for binding purposes, and I am not sure how it interacts with either PDF export or KDP's demands. It's set in the Page Setup/Margins panel and seems to be a left or top only setting.

I'm... just not sure I'd try to use Word to do a layout this complex, for photo content at all or with page bleeds.

@James Gifford—NitroPress here's a KDP question for you!