Scribe Media Interior Graphics Guide

Scribe Guide to Interior Graphics

Guide for Optimizing your Interior Graphics with a Professional Designer

Other Common Trim Sizes

  • For 5″ × 8″, use a 246 pt × 450 pt text block (3.4167″ × 6.25″).
  • For 6″ × 9″, use a 297 pt × 510 pt text block (4.125″ × 7.0833″).
  • For nonstandard trim sizes, try to maintain a similar ratio.

Live Area/Safe Zone

For full page images, live elements (e.g. text or other “meaningful” elements) cannot be within 0.75″ of the inside (gutter) edge or 0.25″ of the outside trim edge. Non-live elements (such as background fills/patterns) may occupy this space.

Minimum Font Size and Stroke Weight

For lines, please do not use any less than a 0.5pt stroke weight. For type, stick to 6pt or greater. Note that this is just a general minimum, and that certain fonts, particularly script or display typefaces, may require larger sizes in order to be legible.

Annotated example page. Vector graphics are ideal but not always feasible; supply them in PDF if at all possible, using Adobe preset PDF/X-1A:2001. Avoid EPS (a legacy format) and SVG (a web format) as these must be converted, which can cause unwanted effects. Send one file per asset, not a multi-page PDF with one asset per page. Optimize for black and white CMYK (K channel only) unless you are certain it is a color book; 100% black tends to print better than screened grays. Design with the constraint of the 270 pt by 480 pt text block in mind; if a full page design with bleed is required, the file must include a 9 pt (0.125 inch) bleed on the top, bottom, and outside edge, with no inside bleed. Photos and rasters should be at least 300 PPI; if below 200 PPI, consider replacing or omitting nonessential images. Trim shown: 396 pt (5.5 inch) width by 612 pt (8.5 inch) height. Only consider a bleed if edge-to-edge images are absolutely required.