Pagemaker - Book cover layout - please help

[FreakofSnow]

I am self publishing and am on the last leg of the project. But I just realized last night that although I have the Photoshop files for the cover (back, front and spine), I have not put them into PageMaker.

The dimensions of my book are: 5.5" x 8.5" with 100 pages

I have a book that I have based mine off of (as far as paper quality, cover stock etc). I measured the spine and it is 1/4" thick.

Here are my 3 questions:

1. Is it necessary for me to put the Photoshop files for the cover into Pagemaker OR does the printer usuall do this?

2. If I do need to put the cover files into PageMaker, would I be correct that I need to make the pages 5 5/8" x 8 3/4"?

3. If #2 question is true, do I just put the 1/4" wide spine graphic centered inbetween the front and back on 2 pages in PageMaker?

Thanks in advance!

 

[Eggles]

The cover should be set up as a separate file, especially if you have numbered the pages of your book and you do not want the cover pages included in the page numbering.

How will the book be bound? Perfect binding, in which case the spine measurement will need to be included in the file layout, or will it be saddle stitched (stapled at the fold). This will make a difference to the size of the page in the layout.

Are your cover photos are going to need bleed on the outside edges? They must not bleed onto the inside edges unless you are specifically wanting to overlap any of the photos onto the other cover/spine.

The front and back cover will probably be printed on the same side of the sheet, so you can set up just a single page for the cover, which will include front, back and spine.

So - set up a file that is the width of front and back covers (2 x 5.5 = 11") plus the 0.25" spine (if the book will be perfect bound) plus the bleed (if you want the photos to be printed right to the edges) on the outer edges of front and back cover. Bleed allowance is usually 0.125" on each edge (i.e. outer edges only, not the centre where the covers meet the spine). See link below for a diagram of bleed allowance:

http://desktoppub.about.com/library/glossary/blg_bleed.htm

So, total width will be 11 + .25 + .25 = 11.5"

Total height wil be 8.5" plus the two bleeds i.e. 8.75"

However, because it is a good idea to show the crop marks in the file, you should set up the file a little larger so you can draw these in manually (use hairline rules).

See

http://desktoppub.about.com/library/glossary/blg_crop.htm