Custom Covers
All of our customers are offered over a dozen video book cover options, free of charge. If you are interested in further customizing the video books you order, we also offer custom printed covers using our full-color photo quality UV printers!
To design a custom cover, just click the "Design New Cover" button on the cover selection page when building a new video book at https://make.sendheirloom.com.
Do's and Don'ts
Follow these examples to avoid common custom cover pitfalls:
Why do I see a red margin around my design?
The red margin signifies the are which may not appear in your final print. This is known in the print industry as 'bleed'. If you wish to have your cover printed edge-to-edge, fill the entire design including the red margin. But know that anything in the red margin may not appear on your book.
The most important thing is that you don't include anything important, like a name or part of a logo in that red margin area, as it might not appear on the final cover. Please note that your design will not be perfectly centered on your book, it can be as much as 0.5cm off. This becomes most obvious if you include a big block of color or a border which is almost as large as the book and is close to, but not within, the red margin.
And no, the red margin won't actually get printed on your book. It is only visible to you as the designer.
Can I design the spine and back too?
Yes! After you design your front cover, you will be given the option to design a back cover as well. If you would like to make single design which includes both (and the spine of the book), you can find this option at the bottom of the front cover designer:
Your design will become wider, incorporating the spine and back cover as well:
The gray area in the middle of your design shows where the spine will be. The gray is just illustrative for you, it won't appear in the final design.
The thickness of the darker gray borders shows the uncertainty on where the spine will appear, please don't make your design rely on the spine falling in an exact spot, as it won't perfectly align when printed.
If your front design crosses the full darker gray area, the design will slightly wrap around to the spine:
If your design falls fully short of the darker gray area, what design you put on the spine will instead wrap a bit onto the cover of the book.
It's often easiest to add a background to the full front / spine / back and allow it to wrap around the entire book:
