KDP, printers and Word each have their words for the parts of a book and its pages. Below they are grouped by where they come up. Each term also has its German (DE), Turkish (TR) and Spanish (ES) name, and most link to the guide that covers them.
Page size and margins
Trim size
The width and height of the finished book, after its pages are cut. KDP calls 6 × 9 inches the most common trim size for books in the US.
DE Format TR Kitap boyutu ES Tamaño de impresión A 6 × 9 paperback on KDP
Bleed
Printing that runs past the trim line, so that no white edge shows after cutting. KDP trims 0.125″ from the top, the bottom and the outside edge. A page with bleed is therefore 0.125″ wider and 0.25″ taller than the trim size.
DE Beschnittzugabe TR Taşma payı ES Sangrado KDP bleed or no bleed: which to choose
Margins
The empty space between the text and the edges of the page. KDP sets a minimum for each edge, and the one at the spine grows with the page count.
DE Ränder TR Kenar boşlukları ES Márgenes KDP margin & gutter calculator
Inside margin (gutter)
The margin on the spine side of each page. KDP's minimum for it grows with the page count, from 0.375″ up to 150 pages to 0.875″ above 700.
DE Innerer Rand (Bundsteg) TR İç kenar boşluğu (cilt payı) ES Margen interior (medianil) How KDP gutter margins work
Outside margin
The margin on the edge away from the spine. KDP asks for at least 0.25″ there and at the top and bottom, or 0.375″ with bleed.
DE Äußerer Rand TR Dış kenar boşluğu ES Margen exterior
Mirror margins
A Word setting for facing pages: the inside and outside margins swap between left and right pages, so the inside margin always falls at the spine. It is under Layout → Margins → Custom Margins → Multiple pages.
DE Gespiegelte Ränder TR Karşılıklı kenar boşlukları ES Márgenes simétricos
Page count
Every page of the interior, blank ones included. KDP prints a black-ink paperback from 24 pages, and it rounds an odd count up to the next even number.
DE Seitenanzahl TR Sayfa sayısı ES Número de páginas How many pages will my book be?
Recto and verso
The right-hand and the left-hand page of an open book. A recto always carries an odd page number, a verso an even one. Chapter one starts on a recto.
DE Rechte und linke Seite TR Sağ ve sol sayfa ES Página impar y página par What goes at the front of a book
Blank page
A page with nothing printed on it, often added so that the next page opens on the right. It counts in the page count and the numbering, but shows no page number.
DE Vakatseite TR Boş sayfa ES Página en blanco
The cover
Full cover
The back cover, the spine and the front cover side by side in one file, with bleed all round. Its width depends on the spine, so it is made once the page count is final.
DE Vollständiges Cover TR Açık kapak ES Cubierta completa A KDP paperback cover in Canva
Spine
The edge of the book where the pages are bound, the one that faces out on a shelf. In the cover file it is the strip between the back and the front.
DE Buchrücken TR Sırt ES Lomo
Spine width
The page count times the thickness of one page of the chosen paper. At 300 pages it is 0.676″ on white paper and 0.750″ on cream.
DE Buchrückenbreite TR Sırt genişliği ES Anchura del lomo Spine width & cover size
Spine text
The title and author printed along the spine. KDP allows it from 79 pages, in type of at least 7 points, and asks for 0.0625″ between the text and each edge of the spine.
DE Buchrückentext TR Sırt yazısı ES Texto del lomo KDP minimum page count, and when a spine can carry text
Safe area
The part of a page or a cover far enough inside the trim line that nothing in it is cut off. Text and important images belong there.
DE Sicherer Bereich TR Güvenli alan ES Zona segura
Barcode
The ISBN in machine-readable form, on the back cover. If the cover has none, KDP adds one in a 2 × 1.2 inch white box in the lower right-hand corner. That area has to stay empty.
DE Barcode TR Barkod ES Código de barras The KDP barcode: size, placement and what to keep clear
Paper, printing and files
Paperback
A book with a flexible card cover, its pages glued at the spine.
DE Taschenbuch TR Karton kapaklı kitap ES Libro de tapa blanda
Hardcover
A book bound in rigid boards. KDP prints hardcovers of 75 to 550 pages, and not on groundwood paper.
DE Gebundene Ausgabe TR Ciltli kitap ES Libro de tapa dura
Interior
The file with the book's pages, without the cover. KDP calls it the manuscript, and takes it only as a PDF when it has bleed.
DE Innenteil TR İç sayfalar ES Interior
Print-ready PDF
A PDF that can be printed as it is: at the trim size or with bleed, its text inside the margins and every font embedded.
DE Druckfertiges PDF TR Baskıya hazır PDF ES PDF listo para imprimir Why KDP rejected your interior
White and cream paper
KDP's papers for black ink in paperbacks and hardcovers alike, at the same price. Cream pages are slightly thicker, so the spine is a little wider. Color ink is printed on white only.
DE Weißes und cremefarbenes Papier TR Beyaz ve krem kâğıt ES Papel blanco y papel crema Cream, white or groundwood paper on KDP
Groundwood paper
A lighter paper KDP offers for black-ink paperbacks, at about 5% less per page. It is not available for hardcovers or for color ink.
DE Holzschliffpapier TR Groundwood kâğıt ES Papel de pasta mecánica de madera
Standard and premium color
KDP's two color inks, both printed on white paper. Standard color takes 72 to 600 pages, premium color 24 to 828.
DE Standardfarbe und Premiumfarbe TR Standart ve premium renkli baskı ES Tinta de color estándar y prémium
Print Previewer
KDP's view of the uploaded interior and cover, page by page, as they will print. It flags text outside the margins, and it may scale down a page whose content does not fit.
DE Druckvorschau TR Baskı önizleyicisi ES Previsualizador KDP says text is outside the margins
Proof copy
A printed copy ordered before the book is published, to check it on paper. It carries a “Not for Resale” watermark. An author copy, ordered once the book is live, does not.
DE Probedruck TR Prova kopya ES Copia de prueba Ordering a KDP proof copy, and what to check on it
Embedded fonts
Fonts stored inside the PDF, so that it prints the same on any machine. KDP requires every font in the interior to be embedded.
DE Eingebettete Schriftarten TR Gömülü yazı tipleri ES Fuentes incrustadas
Image resolution
How many pixels an image has for each inch of its printed size, given as DPI. KDP recommends at least 300 DPI at the size the image is printed.
DE Bildauflösung TR Resim çözünürlüğü ES Resolución de imagen KDP image resolution: 300 DPI and how to check it
PDF/X
A family of ISO standards for PDF files made for printing. KDP prefers PDF/X-1a and takes other PDFs. IngramSpark requires PDF/X-1a or PDF/X-3.
Can you use your KDP files on IngramSpark or Lulu?
ISBN
The number that identifies one edition of a book in one format. A paperback cannot reuse the ebook's ISBN, and on KDP an ebook needs none. KDP's free ISBN for print books can be used only on KDP.
How to turn a Kindle ebook into a paperback
Parts of the book
Front matter and back matter
The pages before the text, from the half title to the contents, and the pages after it, such as appendices, notes and the index. Front matter is numbered in lowercase roman numerals.
DE Titelei und Schlussteil TR Ön sayfalar ve arka sayfalar ES Páginas preliminares y finales What goes at the front of a book
Half title
The first page of the book, with the title alone on it. It is a right-hand page, before the title page.
DE Schmutztitel TR Ön iç kapak ES Anteportada
Title page
The right-hand page with the title, subtitle, author and publisher, page iii when a half title comes first.
DE Titelseite TR İç kapak ES Página de título
Copyright page
The back of the title page. It carries the copyright notice and year, the edition and the ISBN of this edition.
DE Impressumseite TR Künye sayfası ES Página de créditos
Dedication
A short line naming the person the book is for, alone on a right-hand page after the copyright page.
DE Widmung TR İthaf ES Dedicatoria
Epigraph
A quotation at the start of a book or of a chapter. In the front matter it has a right-hand page of its own.
DE Motto TR Epigraf ES Epígrafe
Table of contents
The list of chapters with their page numbers, placed before any foreword or preface. An EPUB carries its own as a navigation document, which reading apps show as the contents.
DE Inhaltsverzeichnis TR İçindekiler ES Índice
Imprint
The publisher's name tied to a book's ISBN, usually printed on the title page and the spine. With KDP's free ISBN it reads “Independently published”.
DE Imprint TR Yayınevi adı ES Sello editorial
Text on the page
Typesetting
Arranging the text into finished pages: the type, the line and page breaks, and where everything sits on each page.
DE Satz TR Dizgi ES Maquetación
Widow
The last line of a paragraph left alone at the top of a page. It is the worse of the two faults, especially as one short word.
DE Hurenkind TR Dul satır ES Línea viuda Widows, orphans and rivers
Orphan
The first line of a paragraph left alone at the foot of a page. The two names are often swapped.
DE Schusterjunge TR Öksüz satır ES Línea huérfana
Hyphenation
Breaking a word at the end of a line, with a hyphen. In justified text it keeps the word spacing even. The breaks follow the rules of the book's own language.
DE Silbentrennung TR Heceleme ES División de palabras
Drop cap
An enlarged first letter at the start of a chapter, set down into the first lines of the text.
DE Initiale TR Büyük ilk harf ES Letra capital
Running head
A line at the top of the page with the book's title, the author or the chapter. It is left off chapter openings and blank pages.
DE Kolumnentitel TR Sayfa başlığı ES Titulillo
Folio
The page number. A page that counts but shows no number, such as the title page, has a blind folio.
DE Seitenzahl TR Sayfa numarası ES Número de página
Measure
The length of a line of text, usually counted in characters. It follows from the trim size, the margins and the type size.
DE Zeilenlänge TR Satır uzunluğu ES Longitud de línea
Leading
The distance from one line of text to the next, measured from baseline to baseline. The name comes from the strips of lead once set between lines of metal type.
DE Zeilenabstand TR Satır aralığı ES Interlineado
Justified text
Text aligned to both margins, with the word spacing adjusted on each line. Without hyphenation the spaces can line up into pale channels, called rivers.
DE Blocksatz TR İki yana yaslı metin ES Texto justificado
Heading styles
Word's built-in styles for titles: Heading 1 for chapters, Heading 2 for the sections inside them. Word builds its table of contents from text set in these styles.
DE Formatvorlagen für Überschriften TR Başlık stilleri ES Estilos de título From Google Docs to a KDP paperback
Ebooks
EPUB
The open file format for ebooks, maintained by the W3C. KDP, Apple Books, Kobo and Google Play all take it.
Reflowable and fixed layout
In a reflowable ebook the text flows to fit the screen and the reader's type size, so it has no fixed pages. A fixed-layout ebook keeps every page as designed, as picture books and comics need.
DE Umfließendes und festes Layout TR Akışkan ve sabit düzen ES Texto adaptable y diseño fijo
Alt text
A short description of an image, read aloud by screen readers for people who cannot see it.
DE Alternativtext TR Alternatif metin ES Texto alternativo
Accessibility metadata
Statements inside an EPUB about how it can be read: as text, with alt text, with a navigable contents. The European Accessibility Act has asked for them since 28 June 2025.
DE Barrierefreiheits-Metadaten TR Erişilebilirlik meta verisi ES Metadatos de accesibilidad What the EU now asks your ebook to say about itself
EPUBCheck
The W3C's validator for EPUB files. Apple Books and Kobo run it on upload.
Sources
- Set Trim Size, Bleed, and Margins
- Print Options
- Groundwood Paper
- Paperback Submission Guidelines
- Create a Paperback Cover
- Barcodes
- Format Images in Your Book
- Fix Paperback and Hardcover Formatting Issues
- Proof and Author Copies
- What is an ISBN and Imprint?
- Set mirror margins for facing pages (Microsoft)
- Create different headers or footers for odd and even pages (Microsoft)
- Insert a table of contents (Microsoft)
- EPUB 3.3 (W3C)