Supported File Formats for Book Printing

Book artwork can be supplied as a final production PDF, an editable source file, or a visual reference. The suitable format depends on the file content and whether technical adjustment is still required.

A print-ready PDF is preferred when the layout has been approved. Editable files are useful when the Prepress Artwork review requires access to linked images, fonts, layers, or structural templates.

Preferred Production Formats

Print-Ready PDF

PDF is the preferred final format because it preserves the approved page arrangement without requiring the original design software.

Interior pages, covers, endpapers, inserts, and special production artwork should normally be exported as separate PDFs. The document must use the approved page dimensions and retain the required fonts, images, color information, and production elements.

PDF/X-4 is suitable for many modern printing workflows, while PDF/X-1a may be requested when flattened transparency and restricted color data are required. The correct preset depends on the production workflow rather than the design software alone.

Files should not contain passwords, security restrictions, comments, or unused alternative pages. The final submission should remain consistent with the File Preparation Checklist.

Adobe InDesign Files

InDesign is suitable for long interiors, repeated page layouts, page numbering, running headers, and projects containing many linked images.

An editable InDesign project should include the layout document, linked graphics, permitted fonts, and a reference PDF. The reference PDF records the approved appearance and helps identify changes caused by missing assets or software-version differences.

IDML improves compatibility when the receiving system cannot open the original INDD version. An INDB file should be supplied with every document included in the complete book.

Adobe Illustrator and Vector Files

Illustrator is suitable for covers, logos, line graphics, barcodes, and technical production layers. Vector artwork retains clean edges when resized and is more reliable than flattened images for precise shapes.

AI, EPS, and vector PDF files are normally preferred for production. SVG may be accepted as a source file, but its fonts, effects, transparency, and color settings must be checked before output.

Long multi-page interiors should be created in page-layout software rather than Illustrator. Font treatment should follow the project’s Fonts and Outlines requirements.

Adobe Photoshop Files

Photoshop is suitable for photographic covers, painted illustrations, image compositions, and retouching. Keep the layered source file when image or color adjustment may still be required.

It is less suitable for long interiors, small body text, barcodes, and precise technical paths. Those elements should remain in page-layout or vector software where possible.

The document should be created at the intended print size. Suitability at the final placed dimensions depends on the Image Resolution, not only on the pixel dimensions shown in the original file.

Image File Formats

TIFF

TIFF is suitable for high-quality raster artwork and linked images. It can retain detailed photographic or grayscale information without relying on JPEG compression.

JPEG

JPEG is acceptable for photographs when the original file has sufficient quality. Heavy or repeated compression can soften details and create visible artifacts, so it is less suitable for fine text, barcodes, line drawings, and production masks.

PNG

PNG is useful for transparent graphics and screen-based references. Many PNG files are created for digital use, so they should be checked before being placed in final artwork.

Where an original vector file exists, the AI, EPS, or vector PDF should be used instead of a flattened PNG.

BMP

BMP files may contain usable image data, but they are inefficient and offer limited production advantages. PSD is normally more practical for editable or high-quality raster artwork.

CorelDRAW Files

CDR files may be supplied for covers, vector layouts, and technical artwork.

Compatibility can vary between CorelDRAW versions. Submit the editable CDR file with a reference PDF and any linked assets needed to reproduce the approved layout. A converted production PDF is also useful when available.

Canva Files

Canva artwork should be exported as PDF Print, not as a screenshot or web-resolution image.

It can be used for simple covers and page layouts, but it offers less control over professional color channels, editable linked assets, and technical finishing layers. Separate vector artwork may therefore be required when the project includes foil, Spot UV, embossing, white ink, or die-cutting.

The Canva document should already use the correct Trim Size, with Bleed included where artwork reaches the finished edge.

Microsoft Word and PowerPoint

Word and PowerPoint may be supplied as editable source files, but they are not preferred as final production artwork.

Fonts, page settings, and object positions can change between systems or software versions. A checked PDF should therefore accompany the editable document so that the intended appearance remains clear.

Complex covers, full-bleed layouts, and technical production layers should be prepared in professional page-layout or vector software.

Reference-Only Files

Screenshots, phone photographs, website images, flattened mockups, and low-resolution previews can show the intended appearance, but they do not contain the full production information needed for printing.

A reference file may accompany the artwork, but it should not replace the final PDF or editable source files.

File Submission by Artwork Status

When several source assets are required, they should be supplied in one organized package consistent with the File Preparation Checklist.