Dust jackets

Dust jackets were originally designed to protect cloth covered hardback books in the 1800s. Today, dust jackets are a great way to enhance the presentation of your book with beautiful art.

You can get creative with these detachable covers that wrap around your book and are held into place with folded flaps. These flaps, also called panels, are perfect for printing extra information about the author, reviews, or social media profiles.

Our dust jackets are printed on silk paper stock and are coated with protective gloss or matt lamination, and have a choice of gold or silver foiling. The effect is striking and eye-catching.

Dust jackets are printed on a single sheet of paper that is wrapped around the outside of your hardcover book. Because it is printed as a single sheet, we ask that your dust jacket artwork be supplied as a single spread design.

To create your dust jacket design (including side panels), please follow the instructions below or simply download a dust jacket template from our books page.

Download a dust jacket template

To create a dust jacket file, add 3mm to both sides of your spine width, add 80mm to the outside edge of both front and back covers to create the flaps. Then add a 6mm area around the outside edge of the entire spread (this includes a 3mm bleed area). These additional measurements are always the same, regardless of your chosen book size.

If you have selected foiling or another similar special option for your dust jacket, you will need to submit an additional file for this additional layer to your design.

Metallic foil set up guide