What actually changes between the store image and the printed wrap, and why one file cannot do both jobs.

1. The ebook file is a front cover

An ebook cover is one image in a fixed ratio, stored at a pixel size the retailer can display. The Kindle store currently asks for a 1600 × 2560 px image at 300 DPI in JPEG or TIFF, which is a 1.6:1 ratio. There is no spine, no back cover and no bleed, because nothing is being cut.

2. The print file is a wrap

A paperback cover is a single file containing the back cover, spine and front cover, plus bleed and a safe area. Its width depends on the trim size and the page count, so it cannot be derived from the ebook file by stretching. The calculator gives you the panels and the spine; the printer's template gives you the exact placement.

3. Keep one design system, two exports

The design language should be identical: same title block, same palette, same image logic. What changes is the layout budget. The print front cover has its own safe area, and the spine needs a background that still works when it is only a few millimeters wide. Move elements between the two layouts instead of resizing the whole file.

4. Check each file against its own spec

The ebook file is checked in pixels and DPI; the print file is checked in inches against a template. Do not test one and assume the other. A cover that looks right on the store page can still be rejected for missing bleed, and a perfect print wrap can look soft in a search result.

File sizes live in two places: the print cover measurements has the full wrap for each trim, and the calculator turns your page count and paper into the spine width.

print cover size — The two formats have different rules: the print cover size depends on trim, page count and bleed, while the ebook cover is a single pixel size.

What to do next

Open the free cover generator to test a direction, then run the cover size calculator for your trim and page count before you export. If the file still is not right, the design services page lists what a human pass covers. The guides index has the rest of the process in order.