Print and PDFs

How do I check a print-ready PDF?

Updated

Answer

To check that the barcode on your finished cover is print-ready, open the cover PDF in Adobe Acrobat and go to Print Production, Output Preview, then Separations. Turn off every ink except Black: the barcode must be complete on the Black plate and gone on Cyan, Magenta and Yellow. Then scan a printed proof with your phone.

Steps

  1. Open the finished cover PDF (not the barcode file alone) in Adobe Acrobat.
  2. Open Print Production, then Output Preview.
  3. Under Preview, choose Separations.
  4. Turn off every ink except Black. The barcode must still be there, complete and sharp.
  5. Now turn Black off and the other inks on. The barcode must be gone.
  6. Scan a printed proof with a phone app and compare the number with your ISBN.
The four printing plates of a KDP barcode: Cyan, Magenta and Yellow are empty, the whole barcode and its thin frame are on the Black plate
Steps 4 and 5: A good barcode: Cyan, Magenta and Yellow are empty, everything is on Black. This is the KDP file from Barcode Rocket, split into its four inks. The thin frame is on Black too and set to overprint (0.5 pt), so it prints on top of the cover color and leaves no white gap.

What a problem looks like

Why it matters

Printers split your cover into one plate per ink. If the barcode is on four plates, the four layers never land exactly on top of each other, and the bars get color fringes that scanners misread. One plate means sharp bars.

Go deeper in the Guides

Print and PDFsWhere do I place the barcode on my cover?Place the Barcode Rocket PDF at 100% on the back cover, usually lower right, on white, at least 0.25 in (6.35 mm) inside the trim and spine, never in the bleed.Print and PDFsPrint words explained: vector, 100% K, overprint and morePlain explanations of the print words on Barcode Rocket: vector, 100% K, rich black, overprint, separations, bleed, trim, quiet zone, EAN-5 and 90000.Print and PDFsWhat is in the barcode PDF I download?Every Barcode Rocket download is one vector PDF in black ink only (100% K) at the right size, with a white box where needed and an overprint frame on three labels.