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Hardcover book publishing
A hardcover sells at a higher price, sits better in libraries and makes the gift copy your readers keep. It also has its own cover file, spine maths, ISBN and distribution rules. We set your hardcover up correctly on KDP and IngramSpark, in your name, alongside your paperback and ebook.
Tell us the book, the page count and the trim. A specialist replies within one business day with a quote. Nothing is charged until you approve it.
The short answer
A self-published hardcover is usually printed on demand as a case laminate edition, with the cover printed and laminated onto rigid boards. Amazon KDP prints hardcovers from 75 to 550 pages in five trim sizes and sells them on Amazon only; IngramSpark adds cloth and dust-jacket options and makes the hardcover orderable by bookstores and libraries. Each hardcover needs its own ISBN and its own cover file. Columbia Publication includes the hardcover edition in every publishing package from $1,499, set up on accounts in the author’s name.
Prices checked October 26, 2026 · Reviewed by Gia Kahn, Lead Editor · Next review November 2026 · How we check
In the hand
Case binding, sewn book blocks, cloth and foil: the finishes that make a hardcover worth keeping. Every title is proofed before the run.
Is this you?
A hardcover is a different product, not a thicker paperback.
The cover wraps around boards, so it needs extra artwork past the edge, a hinge gap and a spine sized to the final page count. KDP hardcovers do not reach bookstores. Converting a paperback listing does not work; it needs its own ISBN and its own setup. Get any of it wrong and the file bounces, or the book prints with text in the fold.
We build the hardcover cover and interior to each platform’s specification, register its ISBN, and set it up on KDP for Amazon and IngramSpark for the trade, so it is right the first time.
Start here
Three routes, depending on where you want it sold and how it should look.
| Hardcover | Where it sells | Choose it if |
|---|---|---|
| KDP case laminate | Amazon only | You want a simple hardcover on Amazon with no stock to hold |
| IngramSpark case laminate, cloth or jacketed | Bookstores, libraries and online retailers | You want bookstores and libraries to be able to order it, or you want a dust jacket |
| Offset special edition | Your own stock, signings and gifts | You want foil, ribbon markers, gilded edges or a premium run. See book printing |
Most authors list the hardcover on both KDP and IngramSpark. Not sure? Apply for the free formatting preview below and see your first chapter set as a finished hardcover interior.
Specifications
| Requirement | KDP hardcover | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Trim sizes | 5.5 × 8.5, 6 × 9, 6.14 × 9.21, 7 × 10 and 8.25 × 11 inches | Pick the trim before formatting; it sets the page count |
| Page count | 75 to 550 pages | Outside the range, KDP cannot print it |
| Cover file | One PDF at 300 DPI, artwork 0.51 inches past the edge, text 0.635 inches in, 0.4 inch hinge gap | The cover wraps around boards, unlike a paperback |
| Interior | Black ink on white or cream, or premium color on white | Paper choice changes the spine width |
| Not available on KDP | Dust jackets, cloth binding, Expanded Distribution | For those, the hardcover also needs IngramSpark |
Want your hardcover on Amazon and orderable in bookstores? We set up both.
Get My Hardcover QuoteThe math
KDP publishes its hardcover printing formula. On Amazon.com, a black ink hardcover of 110 to 550 pages costs $5.50 a copy plus $0.012 a page, so a 300-page book costs $9.10 to print. Books of 75 to 108 pages cost a flat $6.80, and premium color costs $5.50 plus $0.070 a page.
That print cost comes out of each sale, so a hardcover is priced above the paperback. IngramSpark has free title setup and, from February 2026, a 1.875% market access fee on distribution-enabled books. For larger quantities, an offset hardcover run lowers the cost per copy; see book printing.
Print on demand or offset
Each copy is printed when someone orders it, so there is no minimum and no stock to store. Right for almost every author at launch.
For signings, gifts or a speaking tour, an offset run lowers the cost per copy and allows cloth, foil, ribbon and gilded edges.
From an author we published
“It turned out better than I could have imagined when I first started.”
Jason Patterson, author of City of the Gods, published with us in ebook, paperback, hardcover and audiobook. Read the case study
Packages
Paperback, hardcover and ebook, set up on accounts in your name.
Ready to publish
$1,499
Your edited book designed and formatted in paperback, hardcover and ebook, with ISBNs and distribution.
A hardcover beside your paperback and ebook on Amazon and in store ordering systems, with its own ISBN and a case cover built to spec.
Cover, formatting, ISBNs, distribution
Price This for My BookRecommended
$2,499
Global Publish plus a full proofread and one project manager overseeing the hardcover build from file to proof.
A proofread hardcover, with one project manager checking every hinge, spine and margin before the file reaches the printer.
Everything in Global Publish, plus proofreading
Price This for My BookAuthority
$4,999
Full Production plus a full copy edit, keyword and category work, an author website and a press release for the launch.
A copy-edited hardcover with a website and press release behind it: the edition you hand to a bookstore buyer or a reporter.
Everything in Full Production, plus copy edit
Price This for My BookWhat stands behind your hardcover
Paid in full upfront once you approve the quote. Already published in paperback? Adding a hardcover edition on its own is quoted to your book.
What you can count on
How it runs
We’ve started with Publishing & distribution. Add anything else your manuscript needs, and a specialist sends an itemized quote within one business day. Free, confidential, no obligation.
Your quote within one business day. Nothing is charged until you approve it. 100% of your rights stay yours.
Questions
Yes. KDP prints case laminate hardcovers on demand, from 75 to 550 pages in five trim sizes. They sell on Amazon only, so for bookstores and libraries the hardcover also needs an IngramSpark listing.
The full-color cover is printed and laminated directly onto the boards, with no separate dust jacket. It is the most common self-published hardcover.
Yes, through IngramSpark, which offers jacketed and cloth editions that KDP does not, or through an offset print run.
The hardcover edition is included in every package from $1,499. Printing on demand costs from $6.80 a copy on KDP, set by page count and color.
Yes. Each format needs its own ISBN, and it is included.
Above the paperback, high enough to cover the print cost and earn a royalty, and in line with what readers pay in your genre.
In full upfront, once you approve the quote listing every edition and its price.
Page count, trim and how you want it bound. A specialist replies within one business day.
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