What size and margins does a KDP coloring book need?

Trim size

Coloring books can use any of KDP's paperback trims. For big pages, look at the large trims: 8.5×11, 8×10, square 8.5×8.5 and A4 (8.27×11.69 in).

In black ink on white paper, 8.5×11 and 8.5×8.5 allow up to 590 pages and 8×10 up to 828. Anything wider than 6.12 in or taller than 9 in counts as a large trim, which costs more to print.

Bleed

If your drawings or borders run to the edge, set up the whole file with bleed. KDP trims 0.125 in off the top, bottom and outside edge, so make each page 0.125 in wider and 0.25 in taller than the trim. An 8.5×11 book becomes 8.625 × 11.25 in. A book with bleed must be uploaded as a PDF.

Margins by page count

The inside (gutter) margin grows with the page count. The outside margins are at least 0.25 in without bleed and at least 0.375 in with bleed.

• 24–150 pages: 0.375 in inside.
• 151–300 pages: 0.5 in.
• 301–500 pages: 0.625 in.
• 501–700 pages: 0.75 in.
• 701–828 pages: 0.875 in.

One design per sheet

To keep the back of every picture blank, put a blank page after each design. This is a common coloring-book layout, not a KDP rule.

KDP counts each side as a page, so 30 designs make 60 pages. One blank page at a time is fine: KDP only rejects more than 4 blank pages in a row at the start or middle, or more than 10 at the end.

Paper, line weight and resolution

Black ink prints on white, cream or groundwood paper. White and cream are 50–61 lb (74–90 GSM), and groundwood is lighter at 45 lb (60 GSM). Choose white if you want colors to sit on a clean white page.

KDP's minimum for lines in graphic elements is 0.75 pt (0.01 in). IngramSpark's minimum for rule lines is 0.125 pt at 100% black. Coloring outlines should be far bolder than either, so they stay easy to color inside.

KDP needs images at 300 DPI or more. IngramSpark asks for 600 ppi for 1-bit black-and-white line art.

Page count, ISBN and IngramSpark

KDP's minimum is 24 pages, and spine text prints only on books with more than 79 pages. KDP says coloring books are not usually low-content books, so the paperback needs an ISBN: KDP's free one, which works only on KDP, or your own.

For IngramSpark, keep 0.5 in margins on all sides, add the same 0.125 in bleed (none on the bind edge) and upload a single-page PDF/X-1a or PDF/X-3 file. Paperbacks under 48 pages can't have spine text there.