I need help with my IngramSpark print book cover.

[branch234]

I am preparing a full cover for a casebound book. I have two PS documents on my Mac:

1. the 6x9 template which has the barcode

2. the cover art (which needs the barcode moved to it)

I saved the template as a pdf and cut out the barcode. I saved the barcode both as .rtfd, and .pdf.

I placed the cover art on the template, but cannot get the barcode to stick on the cover art when I place it on the cover. I am usimg CS6, which I haven't used much.  what am I missing?

[Derek Cross]

There are two kinds of cover for a hard-back book -- one had a loose jacket and the other is cased-in. Assuming yours is artwork for the former, you need one document that includes the front cover 9" x 6",  the back cover 9"x 6", the spine in between the front and back covers (the width of the spine will depend on the substance of the paper and number of pages and the kind of binding - your printer should advise you), in addition there will be flaps at each end, say 2.5" wide. So your document will be 9" x 17" plus the spine plus 1/8 " for bleed on each edge. Check with your printer, but you would normally supply a PDF (such as PDF/X-4) but in this instance they may want a JPG. Ensure your artwork has a resolution of around 300PPI and is in RGB color mode (though if your printer had an archaic workflow, s/he may ask for CMYK).

InDesign would be the professional application to use to assemble your Photoshop images and add text for the blurb, bar code etc.

[branch234]

COMBINING THE  COVER WITH THE TEMPLATE.

Thank you Mr. Cross. Guess I didn't explain what I needed good enough. I will try again.

I am preparing a full cover for a casebound book. I have two PS documents on my Mac: The template and the cover art. I had previously hired a designer to create the cover, but this time I wanted to see if I could do it.

Here's what I have done so far.

1. Export the 6x9 pdf template, which has the barcode, to a Tiff.

2. Be sure the cover art is a Tiff also.

3. Cut the barcode out in photoshop. Then paste it onto the cover art

4. Now how do I get the cover placed onto the template and what form should they both be in at that point? pdf or tiff?

Once the two are "married"  I was cautioned to delete the template as it might introduce data that might mess up your cover. How do you do that without deleting the cover. And then the cover has to be exported as pdfx1a2001.

I am using CS6, which I haven't used much.  What am I missing?

[Derek Cross]

A further thought, 9 x 6 will presumably be the TPS (Trimmed Page Size), if this was a paper bound book, that would be the the size of the front and back covers (plus spine) but as the book is case bound it will probably be larger. You need to find the dimensions out from your printer (or get a sample made up).

Regarding making up the collection of items, maybe create a canvas the size I indicated in my first post (plus the extra depth for the case) then add the various items on different layers to scale and move them into position.. Perhaps them printout a mockedup copy on your desktop printer and send it to your commercial printer for checking before proceeding.

To create a TIFF (or JPG) from a Photoshop file, use Save As and select the format you require from the Format drop-down menu.