2026-11-11 · all guides

KDP Author Copies Cut Wrong or Trimmed Short? What Counts as a Defect and How to Report It

Two different problems that look alike

When printed copies look wrong at the edges, the cause is one of two things, and the fix is completely different for each.

• The print run. Some copies in the order are right and some are wrong. The file is fine. The cutting or binding drifted on part of the batch.
• The file. Every copy has the same flaw in the same place. The printer did what the file told it to.

Start by sorting your copies into those two groups. A mixed box, with good and bad copies of the same book, points at the print run. If you only have one copy, compare it with the Print Previewer on the Content page of your book. If the previewer shows the same problem, it is in the file.

The number KDP uses: 0.125 inch

KDP's help page on printing errors says that printing always has some variance in shift and trim, and that someone comparing copies may notice small differences. It then gives the figure: KDP's allowable variance is 0.125 inch, which is 3.2 mm or one eighth of an inch.

That number draws the line.

The limit covers the finished size of the book, not only where the cut lands on the page. KDP's table lists wrong trim size in the same row as cover shifting and an off-center spine. A book that should be 11 inches tall and measures 10.75 is twice the limit.

So "the book looks a little different from the last one" will not get far. "The trim is a quarter inch short, which is twice your stated variance" is a different message.

Measure before you write

Put a ruler against a bad copy and a good copy from the same order.

• Measure the page. An 8.5 x 11 book should measure 8.5 x 11. If a copy is 10.75 inches tall, it is 0.25 inch short, which is outside variance.
• Stand the copies side by side. Line the books up on a flat surface, spines out. Copies cut to different sizes show at once as uneven heights, and a photo of that row makes the point without a ruler.
• Measure the shift. If everything on the page sits too high or too low, measure the same element on both copies, such as the distance from the bottom edge to the page number.
• Look for a white strip. If your pages have bleed and a strip of bare paper shows along one edge, the cut landed outside the 0.125 inch of extra art that bleed provides.

Take the photos with the ruler in the frame. A photo that shows the measurement answers the question support would otherwise ask.

What to send KDP

KDP's help page asks for the first three items below. Sending everything in the first message saves a round of back and forth.

1. Photos of the problem. KDP says images are required to request a refund. Use the attachment option in the contact form.
2. The Product ID. This is the number printed under the barcode on the last interior page of the copy. It identifies the print run, so give the one from a faulty copy.
3. The ASIN or ISBN of the book.
4. The order number for the shipment the copies came in. KDP's page does not list this one, but it lets support find the order without asking.

In the message itself, state the measurement and compare it with their figure: how far off the trim is, that it exceeds 0.125 inch, how many copies in the order are affected, and that other copies from the same order are correct. That last point matters, because it rules out your file.

If support says the file is the cause

This reply is common, and sometimes it is right. Check it honestly before you push back.

• Open the Print Previewer and look at the same pages. If the previewer shows the art reaching the page edge and the text inside the margins, your file passed KDP's own check.
• Confirm the page size of your PDF. With bleed, it is your trim size plus 0.125 inch in width and 0.25 inch in height. An 8.5 x 11 book with bleed uses pages of 8.625 x 11.25.
• Point to the good copies. A file cannot print correctly in some copies and incorrectly in others.

If all three hold, reply with the photos again and say plainly that correct and incorrect copies came from the same file in the same order.

Lay out pages so normal shift never shows

Even a perfect print run can move the cut by up to an eighth of an inch. A layout that depends on exact edges will look wrong some of the time. A few habits make the variance invisible.

• Extend every background and edge-to-edge picture past the trim. That is what bleed is for. The art continues 0.125 inch beyond the trim line, so the blade always lands on ink.
• Keep anything that must line up well inside the page. Frames, borders, puzzle grids and page numbers look off center when the cut moves. With bleed on, KDP's minimum outside margin is 0.375 inch, measured from the edge of the PDF page, which is 0.25 inch inside the trim. More is better for anything with a visible frame.
• Avoid thin borders near the edge. A border that sits 0.25 inch from the trim on all sides will look uneven after a small shift, because the eye compares the four gaps. Either remove the border or move it far enough in that a small difference is not noticeable.

The free KDP margin calculator gives the page size, bleed and margins for your trim size and page count. If white strips appear in the same place on every copy, see our post on a white line at the edge of a printed KDP book.

Before the next large order

Order a small number first. Author copies are printed on demand at the same printing cost per copy whatever the quantity, with shipping on top. Checking two or three copies before a large order for an event costs little and catches both file problems and a bad run. Our guide to KDP author copies covers ordering, cost and timing.

If the interior needs rebuilding so that it holds up to normal trim shift, see manuscript formatting.

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