IngramSpark rejected your cover.
One of these 7 things is why.

Cover rejections are the most frustrating kind — the email rarely says whether it's your spine, your color space, or your DPI. Here's every real cause, and a free checker that names yours in 30 seconds.

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BookReady → IngramSpark cover rejected

An IngramSpark cover is a single wraparound PDF — back cover, spine, front cover, plus bleed — that must match the dimensions Ingram computes from your trim size, page count, and paper stock. Seven failure modes account for nearly every rejection.

The 7 causes

1. Full-wrap dimensions don't match the computed template

Ingram derives an exact wrap size from trim + spine + bleed. If your page count changed after the cover was designed — even by 10 pages — the expected spine changed and your file no longer fits.

Fix: regenerate with the final page count. Spine ≈ pages ÷ PPI for your paper (white ≈ 444 pages/inch, cream ≈ 360). Our cover checker computes the expected wrap and measures your file against it.

2. Spine width wrong (the page-count trap)

The most common version of #1: the designer was told "about 300 pages," the final book is 342. Spine text now wraps onto the front cover, or the barcode shifts onto the spine.

Fix: never finalize a cover before the interior is locked. Below ~100 pages, skip spine text entirely — it won't fit Ingram's minimum.

3. RGB instead of CMYK

Canva, Word, Google Slides, and most design tools export RGB. IngramSpark requires CMYK PDF/X-1a. The file looks perfect on screen — that's the problem; screens are RGB.

Fix: a true CMYK conversion with flattened transparency — this one IS automatable. BookReady's $9 auto-fix runs Ghostscript PDF/X-1a conversion, the same engine print shops use.

4. Embedded images under 300 DPI

The pre-flight reads the actual pixels of each embedded image, not the file's metadata. Canva's "300 DPI" export is the classic offender — it rasterizes at ~96 DPI internally and upscales. Full explanation here →

Fix: rebuild from higher-resolution source art. No tool can invent pixels that were never exported — anyone promising otherwise is upscaling, which Ingram also flags.

5. Missing or short bleed

Covers must extend 0.125" past trim on every outer edge. A file built at exact trim size has zero margin for the cutting blade — Ingram rejects rather than risk white slivers.

Fix: extend background art 0.125" past trim on all sides. Solid-color backgrounds are easy; photographic ones need the source image to be big enough.

6. Content in the barcode zone

Ingram places its ISBN barcode in the lower-right of the back cover (about 2" × 1.2"). Text or busy artwork there triggers a rejection or an ugly white box stamped over your design.

Fix: keep that corner clear or fill it with a quiet area of the design. The checker measures the zone and flags overlap.

7. Fonts not embedded / PDF version too new

Same rules as interiors: every font carried inside the file, and a PDF version Ingram's pipeline accepts (1.3–1.6 is safe). Designer handoffs via "Save As" from preview apps are the usual source.

Fix: export from the design tool directly with fonts embedded — or let the auto-fix re-embed and down-version the file.

Find out which one hit you — free

Upload your cover. 11 checks including per-image DPI, computed spine width, and the barcode zone. Auto-fix what's fixable for $9. Money-back if Ingram still says no.

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Designed in Canva?

Canva covers have their own failure pattern — see the dedicated Canva PDF checker and the Canva → IngramSpark export guide.

Free guide

Get the cover pre-flight checklist

The 7 checks above as a one-page checklist — run it before every upload.

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