THE COVER SHEET

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The Cover Sheet - MS Publisher

The Cover Sheet is always created on 11x17 sized paper. The book machine will trim this cover down to

size and wrap it around the Book Block. Download a template from friscolibrary.com/trailblazer

Open the Template in Publisher

As we work through the instructions, the place holder text and text boxes on the template will be

deleted.

The template has four components you will edit.

 Back Cover

 Front Cover

 Spine

 Bleed Line

Calculate Spine Size

Before adding any images or text we will need to resize the spine box on the template to match the

thickness of your Book Block page count. Then we will align the back cover, spine, and front cover. The

Cover Sheet you create must wrap around the Book Block, so calculating the width of the spine is a

critical first step.

Calculate the width of the spine for your Book Block using the formula:

Page Count of Book Block ÷ Pages Per Inch (ppi) = Spine Width

Premium White Paper for Book Block: 377 pages per inch

Example:

Book Block: 100 pages

Printed on premium paper: 377 ppi

100 ÷ 377 ppi = 0.265 inches for spine width

Minimum Spine Width for Text on Spine:

Book Block: 100 pages on premium paper

Minimum Spine Width: 0.26 inches

Note:

Do not round up or down.

Use 3 decimal places.

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Change Spine Size

Select the center spine box and enter the width

you calculated using the formula in the previous

section on page 1.

Tip: Do not maximize spine space for text. Leave

blank space above and below for a small

amount of shift.

Zoom In: use the zoom tool in the lower right

hand corner of the Publisher window.

1. Click on text of spine: the box for the spine

will then be highlighted with a gray border.

2. Table Tools:

3. Layout Tab

4. Enter calculated

Spine width

Very Narrow Spines: Spines less than .13 inches

Delete the box for the spine: Click on the spine box so that it is highlighted and then press Delete.

See next page.

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Very Narrow Spines: Spines less than .13 inches

After deleting the box for the spine. We will replace it with a shape that can be formatted to very

narrow widths. The original box on the template for the spine was designed to hold text, thus it cannot

be sized smaller than .13 inches.

Shapes, since they are not designed to hold text, they can be sized down quite narrow.

1. Insert a Shape

Insert Tab

Select Shape dropdown

Select the rectangle

2. Resize the rectangle

Click on the rectangle you added to sheet.

Select Drawing Tools – Format Tab

(This tab appears once you select the rectangle)

Edit Height: This should match your cover height

Edit Width: Enter calculated Spine width

3. Center – Middle Alignment

Select the rectangle you added for the spine.

Select the Drawing Tools Format tab.

Click on the Align dropdown.

Select Middle

Select Center

Tip: If the options Middle and Center options are grayed out, first select: Relative to Margin Guides

Next Steps:

We recommend you follow the directions on the following pages to align the front covers and spine box.

After aligning, remove/change the outline and fill for the spine box.

Right click on the rectangle shape and use the following controls:

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Align Covers with Spine

You will notice the space between the dashed line for the spine and the dashed line for the front cover.

Move the front cover box so the dashed line for the front cover and spine appear to be one single

dashed line.

Click on the front cover

Arrow Mouse-Pointer and Click:

Move cursor to border of the

front cover until it becomes a

four-pronged arrow. When it

becomes a four-pronged arrow:

click on the border.

Keyboard Arrow Keys:

You should now be able to use

the arrow keys on the keyboard

to reposition the front cover.

Tip:

Zoom in to check alignment.

Spine and Front Cover Aligned

The two lines now appear to be one.

We will need to close this gap.

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Delete Yellow Resize Spine Text Box and Arrow

Click on the yellow box with information on resizing the spine and delete it.

Do the same for the yellow arrow attached to the text box.

1. Click on text box border

2. Press Delete

3. Click on the arrow

4. Press Delete

Up Next: Grouping

At this point you may want to save your work. Some users find if they make an error in grouping, this is

a good point to start a second attempt at grouping.

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Group Front Cover, Back Cover, and Spine

To center the cover on the page, it will be necessary to group the front cover, back cover and spine into

one object.

1. Zoom In:

It will be easier to select the spine, front

cover, and back cover if you zoom in so

that the spine is a large target to click on.

2. Click on the Spine box:

Click in the center of the spine box so that it is

highlighted.

3. Shift + Click Back Cover:

Press and hold the Shift key down.

While the Shift key is depressed,

click on the back cover box. This will

keep the spine highlighted (selected)

and also select the back cover.

4. Shift + Click Front Cover:

While holding the Shift key down, now

click on the front cover.

5. Group the Three Boxes:

a. Table Tools tab:

b. Select the Layout Tab

c.. Click Group

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Center the Grouped Cover Boxes:

Next we will align the grouped cover boxes (front, back, spine) into the middle of the page vertically and

center of the page horizontally.

Select:

1. Table Tools Menu

2. Layout Tab

3. Align Tool

Click the small dropdown

arrow to bring up Align

Tool options.

Align Center

Select the Align Center to place the grouped cover

boxes in the horizontal center of the page.

Make sure you have the Relative to Margin Guides

selected.

Align Middle

Select the Align Middle to place the grouped cover

boxes in the vertical middle of the page.

You have now successfully placed the spine, front cover,

and back cover into the center of your 11x17 page in

Publisher. The book machine depends on the cover

being in the very center of the 11x17 paper in order to

trim it to the correct size.

Tip: Save Your Work

Before adding text and images, you may want to save your work.

Tip: Options Grayed Out?

First click “Relative to Margin

Guides” option. This will make

the align options available.

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Edit Front Cover

Replace the place holder text with information such as:

 Title

 Author Name

 Graphics / Images

 Series / Edition / Version number

Front Cover Margin

You will want to keep text and images at least 0.50 inches (1/2in) from the border of the front cover and

back cover. You will also want to keep a 0.50 inch margin from the top border of the spine (if your spine

is wide enough for text).

Adding Text:

Change the place holder text by highlighting and typing over.

Use the alignment tool to place the text on the cover. Avoid using the space bar to align.

Select a font and font size that fits the mood of your book and any images you are using.

Trouble placing the text on just the right part of the cover?

Try drawing a text box that you can bring in front of any image and artwork.

Once you draw the text box, you can click on it to add text. You can also change the borders and

select a fill (background) color of the text box.

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Adding Images:

Use the Insert Picture tool to add graphics. Avoid adding images by “drag and drop” or “cut and paste”

methods.

1. Insert Tab

2. Picture

3. Navigate to location of saved image.

Positioning Images

There are two controls that help position images on the cover that you may need to use if you find it is

difficult to drag the image into place:

 Text Wrap

 Bring Forward / Send Backward

Text Wrap

If you are having trouble placing the image, you may want to change the text wrap setting. This controls

how the text flows around the image.

1. Click on the image

2. Select Picture Tools (or Drawing Tools)

3. Click on Wrap Text dropdown

4. Select a text wrap option:

None or Tight recommended

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Bring Forward / Send Backward

This allows the artwork to either cover up another element (Bring Forward) or go underneath another

element (Send Backward).

Click on the image (text box, graphic, shape, etc.)

Select the Picture Tools (or Drawing Tools)

Bring Forward:

When you want a graphic or text box to lay

on top of another image, picture, or text.

Send Backward:

When you want an image or graphic to

appear behind the text, and keep the text

visible.

Edit Back Cover:

Using the same methods as with the front cover you will add content to the back cover. Common things

included on the back cover:

 Author Picture

 About the Author

 Praise / Review Quotes

 Series: list of other titles in the series

 Summary / Synopsis

 Bullet List of Included Content

Edit Spine

Your spine must be approximately 0.26 inches wide for text (at least 100 pages on premium paper or

113 pages on standard paper).

Remember to keep text approximately 0.50 inches from the top and bottom of the spine.

Typical content on the spine includes:

 Title

 Author Name

 Series Numbering

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Bleed Line

You will want to extend any cover colors beyond the borders of the back cover, spine, and front cover to

the bleed line.

When the book machine trims down the cover to the size of your book, sometimes minor variances in

the trim process occur. Extending the cover colors to the bleed line ensures that there will not be any

white tips along the edges of the cover.

1. Click on the Bleed Line

2. Select the Drawing Tools

3. Select Shape Fill

4. Select Color

Alternatively, you can also use the

eye dropper tool to match colors.

The color should now extend beyond

the back cover, spine, and front cover

border out to the bleed line.

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Delete Yellow Box and Arrow

Next you will want to delete the text box and arrow indicating the bleed line.

1. Click on the text box

2. Press Delete

3. Click on the arrow

4. Press Delete

Save as PDF/A

Once all of your edits and changes have been made, it is time to save this working file as a PDF/A. This

format is different from standard PDF format. This PDF/A is required by the book machine to properly

print and trim your cover. Double check the finished PDF/A, not all image and text effects are supported.

1. From the File menu:

2. Select Save As

3. Select location to save this PDF

4. Select PDF from dropdown

5. Click on Options button

In the Publish Options window:

6. Check PDF/A option

7. Click OK

8. Select “High Quality” if available.

9. Click Save

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NOTES

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NOTES