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Inspiring
May 8, 2019
Answered

How do I get a print-ready image for a papberback for Kindle Direct Publishing?

  • May 8, 2019
  • 4 replies
  • 4410 views

I'm using PE 19 and when I went to save it there as a pdf jpeg compression was the default. Then there was "zip" and "none" as the other choices. I chose "none" figuring that would be the best quality. Lossless. The file was pretty big. 39MB. But I'm figuring it's not an ebook, where the file size matters for delivery costs, so Amazon can do what it wants with it. I'll soon see if they accept it. Thanks.

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    Correct answer Test Screen Name

    There's absolutely no reason to go from ZIP to None, in fact no reason to use None. The buzzword here is "lossy" which means the image is changed (we assume for the worse). JPEG is always lossy, but the chances you will see any difference on a photo at top quality settings is small. But don't use JPEG for things with text, ever! It's for photos, that's what the P stands for.

    ZIP is lossless. What comes out is perfectly the same, every time. So None just wastes space for no quality gain.

    4 replies

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    Test Screen Name
    Legend
    May 9, 2019

    Yes it’s the same compression as ZIP, but not the same as a ZIP file. None is no compression, yes. There is no other difference.

    Even at 300 ppi, text can be poor quality. Ok for a large print title, probably, but not for small text. Photoshop can save vector text if the stars are in the right place, not sure about Photoshop Elements.

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      BadStarAuthor
      Inspiring
      May 9, 2019

      Thank you. Amazon accepted my 40MB cover made with "none." I did another cover today in PE and I took your advice and used "zip." The file was about half the size of the "none" file. I did notice, though, that there was a pre-selected "8bit" in the "zip" selection. I've read about that and I'm sure it's okay.

      Still, not to beat a dead horse, but if "zip" and "none" are both no compression and if choosing "zip," the file is saved as a pdf (not as a zip file), why do they have the two choices (zip and none)?

      And I added a subtitle to the cover I did today. The text was pretty small and I wasn't thrilled with the sharpness. Would vector text have been sharper?

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      Test Screen NameCorrect answer
      Legend
      May 8, 2019

      There's absolutely no reason to go from ZIP to None, in fact no reason to use None. The buzzword here is "lossy" which means the image is changed (we assume for the worse). JPEG is always lossy, but the chances you will see any difference on a photo at top quality settings is small. But don't use JPEG for things with text, ever! It's for photos, that's what the P stands for.

      ZIP is lossless. What comes out is perfectly the same, every time. So None just wastes space for no quality gain.

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        BadStarAuthor
        Inspiring
        May 9, 2019

        Awesome. Thank you.

        Questions

        1)So "zip" is zip compression, right? (lossless)

        2) And "none" is no compression, right? (lossless)

        3) What (besides file size) is the difference between zip and none?

        4) My book covers are made with 300DPI digital photos but I've added text to them, so the text would be a reason to never use JPEG compression to make the pdf, right?

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        Test Screen Name
        Legend
        May 8, 2019

        That's a good way to make a print-ready PDF but make sure your original is print ready. No good if it's designed only for screen use. What is the resolution (ppi)? If you don't know, what is the size in pixels?

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          BadStarAuthor
          Inspiring
          May 8, 2019

          Thanks Test. The original was 300 ppi so I think I'm good. The pixel size is 1838X2775.

          So when it comes to saving pdfs in PE, Jpeg compression (and the various choice within it: maximum etc) compresses the pdf the most, then comes zip compression. And so if I want the least compression, I choose "none," right? And choosing "none" in effect would be the most print-ready pdf, right?

          MichelBParis
          MichelBParis
          Legend
          May 8, 2019

          When Elements saves as pdf, it saves as "Photoshop pdf". That's a variant of the pdf formats which consists in a plain 'Acrobat' pdf (printing file) together with a normal .psd (image) format. Hence the very big size.

          With this format, the pdf can be opened directly in PSE, Photoshop as well as in Acrobat, Indesign...

          If you save a layered pdf with text or vector layers, you get them back when opening in PSE without having to convert to bitmap. The same format is opened directly in Acrobat Reader.

          If you want a regular Acrobat pdf, instead of 'save as', rather use a virtual pdf printer driver (such as Microsoft Print to Pdf). You'll master the size of your output pdf. You 'print' instead of 'save', and you get the expected pdf file format.

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            BadStarAuthor
            Inspiring
            May 8, 2019

            Thank you, Michel. I flattened the image before I saved it as a pdf. I'm not concerned about opening it and having the layers available, but that's very good to know that I can should I need to.

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