To design your own custom full wrap photo covers in Photoshop for Zookbinders PhotoBooks, PhotoBook Plus, and LustreBook, just follow these step-by-step directions. Start by creating a new canvas in Photoshop to the specification listed in the linked PDF for wraparound cover height and width: Cover Specs
As an example, let us create a 10×10 cover for a 20 page (40 side) PhotoBook Plus. Remember, this chart is based on page inserts; each page on the chart equals two sides (front and back) in your book.
Width: 22.375 inches (based on the table)
Height: 11.5 inches (the same for all 10 inch high covers)
Resolution: 300 pixels/inch
Color Mode: RGB Color / 8 Bit
Now we’ll set your margins. From the outer edge of each side, set a guide line in 0.75 of an inch. This is the case for ANY sized book and accounts for the part of the image that wraps around the edges of the cover and won’t be visible. In our example, margins are set at 0.75 and 21.625 inches on the outer edges and 0.75 inch and 10.75 inches from the top.
Next we’ll set the spine width which is the width of the cover face in from your edge margins. In this example we’ll have guide lines set at 10.75 and 11.625 inches. Then we set additional guide lines 0.5 inches outside the spine with for the “pinch” or hinge part of the cover on either side of the spine guides: 10.25 and 12.125 inches.
We recommend that you save this canvas at this point as a template that you can use it over and over again for books of the same size and page count.
You’re now ready to layout your cover and add your images, background, text and logo. We still recommend that you don’t place critical elements too close to the margins as our covers are hand made and very slight variations can take place. If you have any additional questions about your covers please let us know. Happy designing.
Tags: digital album, photo albums, photo book, photography tips, wedding photo books
Very helpful tip!
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[...] Once you have your canvas size set, drag guide lines 3/4 of an inch in from each outer edge. Then, from the left guide line, come in the width of your cover (for a 10×10 album come in 10 inches, for an 8×12 album come in 8 inches) and set another guide line there. Now do the same from the far right guide line. Now, from each of these inner guide lines set another guide line 1/2 inch in toward the center of the cover. The remaining gap between these two sets of double lines will be your spine. For more details see our previous article. [...]