01
Which print formats do KDP Print and IngramSpark offer?
Checked on 8 October 2026, KDP offers paperback and hardcover. Black ink uses 50 to 61 pound cream or white paper on either format. Groundwood, at 45 pound, is paperback black ink only. Premium color uses 60 to 71 pound white paper on both. Standard color, on 50 to 61 pound white paper, is paperback only, and for right-to-left books only on Amazon.co.jp. Paper weight varies by printing location. The default trim is 6 by 9 inches. Large trim is more than 6.12 inches wide or more than 9 inches tall. A custom paperback is 4 to 8.5 inches wide and 6 to 11.69 inches tall. Hardcover case laminate sizes are 5.5 by 8.5, 6 by 9, 6.14 by 9.21, 7 by 10, and 8.25 by 11 inches, each at 75 to 550 pages. Covers are 80 pound white paper, glossy or matte. After publication you cannot switch among standard color, premium color, and black and white. A black-and-white paperback can switch cream, white, and groundwood. Those updates typically take up to 72 hours. IngramSpark lists paperback, hardcover, and jacketed hardcover, glossy or matte, on white, creme, or groundwood, plus perfect binding, case laminate, a jacket, and digital cloth. The textured feel is only for books printed in the US and UK. Interiors are black and white, standard color, premium color, and ultra-premium color. Papers are groundwood 38 lb, creme 50 lb, white 50 lb, and white 70 lb. Not every ink is offered at every trim. White-paper paperbacks run from 4 by 6 inches to 8.5 by 11. Creme and groundwood paperbacks stop at 6.14 by 9.252. Hardcover white paper runs from 5 by 8 to 8.5 by 11. Hardcover creme and groundwood stop at 6.14 by 9.21. This answer quotes inches, not the millimeter pairs printed beside them.[220][285][290][291]
- Color costs more on KDP. Groundwood is about 5 percent less per page than cream or white.
- IngramSpark's FAQ says a book you distribute needs an ISBN for each format.
- IngramSpark's printing page does not list a dollar amount.
02
How do you order proof copies and author copies, and what do the pages say about cost and shipping?
On KDP, checked 8 October 2026, a proof is for a Draft book after Print Previewer approval, up to 5 copies. The cart-link email should arrive within 4 hours, and unpaid proofs leave the cart after 24 hours. Author copies, up to 999, are only for Live or Live with unpublished changes. The button can take 24 hours after the book goes Live. An order while changes are unpublished uses the previous file. A canceled copy can stay in inventory and ship later, and KDP will not replace or refund that older file. The printing date shows this, except on copies from kdp.amazon.co.jp. You pay print cost times the number of copies. KDP calls that the lowest price and says it cannot add a discount. Shipping is the checkout total. There is no free or Prime shipping and no formula. It depends on quantity, speed, destination, the Amazon site, and weight and size. IngramSpark's user guide, version 3.3 dated 24 August 2026, keeps an eproof link for 30 days and says an acceptable file reaches eproof in 3 business days. Order a print copy before a large order or distribution. Proof orders can differ later because the plant and the equipment change. On the rate card effective 1 February 2026, copies you ship to yourself or a reader are publisher-direct orders. Paperback economy usually prints in 3 to 5 business days. Paperback rush, at a 30 percent print surcharge, usually prints in 1 business day. Hardcover economy is usually 7 to 10 business days, and hardcover rush is usually 2 business days. Those times are estimates. Shipping is quoted at order and can vary by manufacturing point. No flat shipping price is stated.[222][286][287][288][292]
- Unpaid KDP proofs leave the cart after 24 hours.
- A canceled author copy can still ship, and KDP will not refund the older file.
- IngramSpark states no flat shipping price.
03
How is the print cost and royalty worked out?
KDP's paperback page, checked 8 October 2026, uses fixed cost plus page count times per-page cost. Bleed and cover finish do not change it. Its example for a 300-page black-ink regular-trim paperback on Amazon.com is 1.00 USD plus 300 times 0.012 USD, which is 4.60 USD. On that chart, Amazon.com black ink on cream or white paper, for 110 to 828 pages, is 1.00 USD fixed, 0.012 USD per page at regular trim, and 0.017 USD at large trim. Books of 24 to 110 pages pay only the fixed cost: 2.30 USD for Amazon.com regular trim. Groundwood per page is about 5 percent lower. Other rows are not copied here. Minimum list price is printing cost divided by the royalty rate, 50 or 60 percent. The paperback royalty page states those rates and subtracts printing cost. The hardcover royalty page states 50 or 60 percent of list price minus printing cost, and says hardcover publishing is not supported on kdp.amazon.co.jp. Its per-page chart is not copied here. IngramSpark's rate card of 1 February 2026 uses cost per page times pages, plus cost per unit. One row, a small black-and-white paperback on 50 lb white paper, 18 to 1,200 pages, lists 1.33 USD per cover and 0.0146 USD per page. This answer does not multiply that row into a book price. Publisher-direct discounts are 0 percent for 1 to 99 copies and are listed up to 35 percent for 10,000 or more. A wholesale sale pays list price less the discount less print cost, and the publisher is not billed for that order.[23][224][289][292]
- The 4.60 USD figure is KDP's example for that one book.
- The 1.33 USD and 0.0146 USD figures are one rate-card row, not a finished price.
- Editing, a cover, and formatting are separate from either print cost.
04
Can you use both KDP Print and IngramSpark, and what changes with ISBNs?
Yes, if you own the ISBN. IngramSpark's FAQ says the service is not exclusive. If you also publish that print book on KDP, leave KDP Expanded Distribution off. A free KDP ISBN works only on KDP. A free IngramSpark ISBN is owned by IngramSpark and cannot be transferred. IngramSpark's FAQ says you need an ISBN for each format of a book you distribute. Fee tables and returns stay on the comparison and ISBN answers.[24][51][220]
- Leave Expanded Distribution off if the same print book is also on IngramSpark.
- KDP Select limits the ebook. It does not by itself block print.
- A directory listing is not a print-quality preference.
05
Do the official pages compare print quality?
No. The KDP and IngramSpark pages used here do not compare one service's print with the other's. KDP says to order a proof before publication. IngramSpark's user guide says to review an eproof and a print copy before a large order, and that proof orders can vary later. Ordering those copies is how you check your own files.[222][285][291]
- A proof checks your file. It is not a score for the printer.
- These pages do not compare KDP print with IngramSpark.
- Directory inclusion is not a preference.
Use the guided answer
Apply this to your book
The guide preserves your exact choice in the URL, so you can return to it or send it to someone else.
Open the production stage