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DOCUGRIP©

PDF for self-publishing

Most print rejections come down to geometry, and geometry can be checked before you upload.

Why files get rejected

Wrong margins and missing bleed are the single most common cause of rejection at IngramSpark. It is worth knowing that a file which passes IngramSpark generally passes KDP, while the reverse is not true — so check against the stricter one.

Fonts must be embedded. A font that exists on the machine that made the file but is not embedded in it will be substituted at the printer, and the substitution is usually visible.

Image resolution matters at print size, not screen size. A picture that looks sharp on a monitor can be well under the required density once it is placed on a page.

And trim geometry has to be right: the page box, the trim box and the bleed box all mean something specific to a printer.

The tools for it

  • Print checkFind out why a print shop would reject your PDF — before you send it.
  • Is my PDF scanned?Find out whether a PDF has real text or is just a picture of one — before you run OCR.
  • Resize PDFChange the page size — A4, Letter, or a margin you set yourself.
  • Crop PDFTrim the margins or cut down to just the part you need.
  • Convert a PDF to PDF/AThe archival format — and an honest list of what still blocks it.
  • Compress PDFMake a heavy file small enough to email, without wrecking it.

What this does not do

We detect whether your file uses RGB or CMYK. We do not convert between them.

That conversion needs proper ICC colour management, and doing it approximately in a browser would produce a file that looks fine on screen and prints wrong — which is worse than not offering it. If your printer requires CMYK, that step belongs in software built for it.

We also do not check against a specific printer specification. The checks are general; matching them to your printer template is still your job.

In every case above, the document is processed without ever being transmitted. Nothing is uploaded, which for confidential filings, student records, unpublished manuscripts and salary data is not a convenience but the point.