Got a rejection? Start here.
Your book was rejected. Here's what the message means.
Printer rejection messages are short, shouty and written for print shops. This site turns each one into plain English: what it means, why it happened, and what to do next.
Most KDP and IngramSpark rejections come down to a handful of problems: missing bleed, content outside the safety area, a PDF at the wrong page size, total ink over 240%, color in a black and white book, a wrong spine width, fonts not embedded and template lines left on the cover. Each has a known fix.
Look up your message
| If your message mentions… | It's really about | Go to |
|---|---|---|
| "bleed" | Cover art doesn't reach past the trim edge | IngramSpark · KDP |
| "safety area", "margins", "too close to the edge" | Text or page numbers too near an edge | IngramSpark · KDP |
| "not centered", "page size", "trim size" | PDF pages are the wrong size (often letter) | IngramSpark · KDP |
| "240%", "ink coverage", "TAC" | Too much ink in dark areas | IngramSpark |
| "RGB", "color in black and white" | Screen color hiding in the file | IngramSpark |
| "spine width", "spine text" | Cover built for the wrong page count or paper | IngramSpark · KDP |
| "template elements", "document size" | Printer's guide lines left in, or wrong cover size | IngramSpark |
| "font", "embedded" | Fonts not built into the PDF | KDP |
| "resolution", "DPI", "blurry" | Pictures too small for their printed size | KDP |
| "ISBN does not match" | Barcode ISBN differs from the edition's ISBN | IngramSpark |
| "jacket layout", "fold" | Text on a dust jacket fold, or wrong jacket size | IngramSpark |
| "PDF/X-1a" | The PDF type isn't the print standard | IngramSpark |
First, don't panic
A rejection doesn't mean your book is bad, and it doesn't cost you your spot. It means one or two technical things in the file don't match the printer's rules. Almost all of them are fixable in an evening, if you know what they mean. Here's exactly what to do after a rejection.
Why the messages are so confusing
- They're written for print professionals. "Bookblock", "TAC" and "PDF/X-1a" are print-shop words.
- One message can have several causes. "Content outside the safety area" can be small margins, low page numbers or the wrong page size.
- They rarely say where. You get the problem, not the page number.
- Several problems come at once, and fixing one can trigger another.
SparkPrep's founder got 18 rejections on his own book before he understood every one of these. SparkPrep was built so you don't have to. It reads your files and shows each problem, where it is, in plain English.
Find out what's wrong with your files before the printer does
SparkPrep checks your cover and every interior page against the exact rules Amazon KDP, IngramSpark, Barnes & Noble Press and Lulu use, tells you each problem in plain English, and can fix it for you.
Scan my book free See how SparkPrep worksThe scan is free and shows how many problems your files have. To see every problem and where it is, the audit is $1.99 ($3.99 after January 1). The Advanced Audit checks every page, up to 300, for $9.99.
Questions people ask
Why did IngramSpark reject my book?
The most common reasons are missing cover bleed, interior content outside the 0.5 inch safety area, total ink over 240%, color in a black and white interior, and a wrong spine width.
Does a rejection cost money?
The rejection itself doesn't. What costs you is time: fixing, re-uploading and waiting for the next review, and paying a freelancer again if they made the file.
Free help from SparkPrep
Last updated 2026-11-01. Written by Joshua Davis, founder of SparkPrep. Numbers come from each printer's own published guides; always double-check your printer's current rules before you upload.