Part of: KDP Publishing Guide: Low-Content Books · KDP low-content publishing
Choose cream paper for novels, memoirs and text-heavy books read for long periods; choose white for non-fiction with images, workbooks, journals, puzzle books and any colour interior. Cream is available only with black ink, is thicker (0.0025 in per page vs 0.002252 in for white) and allows fewer pages.
| White paper | Cream paper | |
|---|---|---|
| Ink options | Black, standard colour, premium colour | Black only |
| Thickness per page | 0.002252 in (0.0572 mm) | 0.0025 in (0.0635 mm) |
| Max pages, most trim sizes (black ink, US) | 828 | 776 |
| Max pages, 8.5 × 11 in (black ink, US) | 590 | 550 |
| Minimum pages | 24 | 24 |
| Printing cost (black ink) | Same as cream | Same as white |
| Feel | Bright, crisp, high contrast | Warm, softer on the eyes, "bookish" |
| Typical genres | Non-fiction, textbooks, workbooks, journals, puzzle books, photo and colour books | Fiction, memoir, poetry, long-form narrative |
Source: KDP paperback printing options (US marketplace).
Cream is the convention for books people read cover to cover. Readers of novels, memoirs and poetry expect it, and the warmer tone reduces glare over long reading sessions. If your book is mostly text and printed in black ink, cream signals "trade paperback" to buyers the moment they open it.
White is the right choice whenever readers look at, write on or need contrast:
Spine width is page count times the paper's thickness, so cream always gives a wider spine at the same page count.
| Page count | White spine | Cream spine | Full cover width, 6 × 9 in (white / cream) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 100 | 0.225 in | 0.250 in | 12.475 / 12.500 in |
| 200 | 0.450 in | 0.500 in | 12.700 / 12.750 in |
| 300 | 0.676 in | 0.750 in | 12.926 / 13.000 in |
| 400 | 0.901 in | 1.000 in | 13.151 / 13.250 in |
Full cover width = back + spine + front + 0.125 in bleed on each side. KDP allows spine text only on books with more than 79 pages. The KDP cover calculator works out the exact size for your trim, page count and paper.
Insight: Decide your paper before you design the cover, not after. A 300-page book on cream needs a spine 0.074 in wider than on white — enough to push spine text off-centre and shift your front-cover artwork if you reuse a white-paper template.
If none of these settles it, order a proof copy on each paper. KDP proof copies cost the printing price plus shipping, and seeing both side by side decides it faster than any guide.
Paper colour does not change your printing cost or royalty for black-ink books. Royalty depends on list price, page count and ink type — the KDP royalty calculator shows the effect of each. Trim size and margins are covered in the KDP publishing guide.
No. KDP's printing cost for black-ink paperbacks depends on page count and marketplace, not paper colour — a 200-page book costs the same to print on white or cream.
You can't. Standard and premium colour ink are printed on white paper only. Cream is offered with black ink.
Paper type is part of your print options, and changing it changes the spine width. You need a new cover file sized for the new spine before republishing.
Usually white. Journals, planners, logbooks and puzzle books are written in, and white gives the most contrast for lines, grids and handwriting. Cream suits journals marketed as vintage or literary.
Cream pages are about 11% thicker, so the same page count makes a wider spine and a wider full-wrap cover. Re-run the cover size whenever paper or page count changes.
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