IngramSpark Interior Formatting Requirements, in Plain English

IngramSpark prints and distributes your paperback or hardback to bookshops, libraries and online stores around the world. It's also pickier about files than Amazon KDP, and a file it doesn't like comes back for correction, which can hold up your launch.

The rules live in IngramSpark's File Creation Guide, a 42-page PDF written for print professionals. Here's what it asks for in your interior file (the pages inside the cover), in plain English. Everything below comes from the August 2026 edition.

The quick list

• One PDF, with every page as a single page, not two-page spreads.
• Page size the same as your trim size, for example 5 x 8 inches or 6 x 9 inches, unless you have bleed (see below).
• All fonts embedded in the PDF. Files without them are rejected.
• Margins of at least 0.5 inches (13 mm) on every side, recommended.
• No crop marks or printer's marks.
• PDF/X-1a:2001 or PDF/X-3:2002: required for colour books, and the listed format for black-and-white ones.
• Text in 100% black, and black-and-white images in greyscale at 300 ppi.

Now the detail, and why each one matters.

Page size, single pages and blank pages

Your PDF's page size should match the trim size you choose when you set up the book in IngramSpark. A 6 x 9 inch book needs 6 x 9 inch pages. If they don't match, expect the file to come back. (Not sure what size to pick? See trim sizes explained.)

Pages should be single pages in order, not side-by-side spreads. And don't worry if IngramSpark adds a blank page or two at the end: it stores every book with an even page count and uses the last page for its own printing information.

Margins and the gutter

IngramSpark recommends at least 0.5 inches (13 mm) of margin on every side, and everything that isn't meant to bleed has to stay inside it: text, headers, page numbers and images. Printing and trimming can shift by up to 1/16 inch, so anything closer to the edge risks being cut off.

Half an inch is the minimum, not the goal. The inside margin, called the gutter, should be wider so the words don't disappear into the spine, and wider again for a thick book. (More in book margins and gutter explained.)

Bleed

Bleed only matters if something on a page runs right to the edge, like a full-page photo or a coloured background. Most novels don't have bleed, and then the page size is simply the trim size.

If you do have bleed, IngramSpark wants an extra 0.125 inches (3 mm) on the top, bottom and outside edges, but not on the inside edge, where the pages are bound. So a 6 x 9 inch book with bleed has pages of 6.125 x 9.25 inches. (More in bleed vs no bleed explained.)

Fonts

Every font has to be embedded in the PDF, so the printer has exactly the letters you chose. You can check in Adobe Acrobat or Acrobat Reader: open File, then Properties, then the Fonts tab. Each font should say "Embedded" or "Embedded Subset" next to it. If one doesn't, the file will be sent back.

PDF/X

PDF/X is a stricter kind of PDF made for professional printing. IngramSpark's guide says colour interiors must be PDF/X-1a:2001 or PDF/X-3:2002, and lists the same two formats in its black-and-white specifications.

If your formatting tool doesn't make PDF/X files, Adobe Acrobat Pro can check a PDF and convert it, using its Preflight tool. It's worth doing for any colour book.

Black text and images

• Text should be pure black. A very dark grey or brown looks black on screen but prints as a pattern of tiny dots, which makes small text look fuzzy. IngramSpark asks for 100% black on text up to 24pt.
• Don't add colour profiles or spot colours to a black-and-white file. The guide warns that a colour profile can turn black text grey.
• Convert images to greyscale for a black-and-white book, at 300 ppi. Colour images get converted when printed anyway, and the shades can shift in ways you won't like.
• Make thin lines at least 0.125pt and 100% black, including scene break ornaments and the rule above footnotes. Thinner or paler lines may not print evenly.
• For colour books, images should be CMYK, and the total ink shouldn't go over 240%.

The mistakes that get files sent back

• A page size that doesn't match the trim size picked in IngramSpark.
• Fonts that aren't embedded.
• Bleed added to the inside edge as well as the other three.
• Two-page spreads instead of single pages.
• Text, headers or page numbers too close to the edge.
• Crop marks left on.

IngramSpark doesn't check your files before they go into production, and it won't fix anything for you, so it's worth ordering a printed proof before you approve the book. Your PDF is what gets printed.

Making an IngramSpark interior in Koberger

Koberger has a print setting for IngramSpark. It makes your interior as one PDF of single pages at your chosen trim size, with every font embedded, no crop marks, and margins wider than IngramSpark's half-inch minimum at every setting, with a wider gutter on the inside. It also warns you about things to look at before you upload, like numbered front matter or a tight gutter on a long book, and you can page through the whole book in the print preview first.

For a black and white book, Koberger prints all your text, rules and ornaments in 100% black, so small text stays sharp. If you’re paying for a colour interior, set Interior to Colour in your print settings to keep your design’s colours.

Koberger doesn't make PDF/X files yet, so for a colour book, run the PDF through Acrobat Pro's Preflight before you upload it.

If you also sell through Amazon, see KDP vs IngramSpark and how to publish wide.