Answers.Body: <p>The <a href="https://kdp.amazon.com/help?topicId=A2J0TRG6OPX0VM" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Kindle Direct Publishing guidelines</a> for ebook creation states that:</p>
  
  <ol>
  <li>Cover image should ideally have 8:5 aspect ratio (height/width).</li>
  <li>Minimum 625px for short side and 1000 for long. Ideally 2500px for long.</li>
  <li>Cover size cannot exceed 50 MB.</li>
  <li>It is recommended to turn off compression.</li>
  <li>DPI for image should be 72.</li>
  <li>Color mode of image should be RGB.</li>
  </ol>
  
  <p>There are more details in the link above, but those 6 points sum it up pretty well.</p>
  
  <p>To be more specific on your questions:</p>
  
  <ol>
  <li>Yes, you should upload the highest quality image you have, but it is important to adhere to those guidelines above.</li>
  <li>The cover in mobi will never be modified by amazon unless it is absent. Device itself will scale it down or up.</li>
  <li>I'm not sure about that one.</li>
  </ol>
  
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 4.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2015-05-23T20:33:32.500Z
Answers.LastActivityDate: 2019-07-03T17:12:52.523Z
Answers.LastEditDate: 2019-07-03T17:12:52.523Z
Answers.UserDisplayName: Glorifind
Answers.Body: <p>Re 3: "... the size of your cover image won’t affect the size of the delivered ebook…usually.</p>
  
  <p>In some cases (usually due to an incorrectly formatted interior file), KDP will fail to correctly identify the cover, and will instead add a duplicate cover image. This is costly, as you’re padding the ebook with an unnecessary and unoptimized copy of your cover."</p>
  
  <p>More here: <a href="https://selfpublishingadvice.org/are-you-losing-money-on-kdp-delivery-fees/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://selfpublishingadvice.org/are-you-losing-money-on-kdp-delivery-fees/</a></p>
  
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 4.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2019-07-27T01:04:25.127Z
Answers.LastActivityDate: 2019-07-27T01:04:25.127Z
Answers.UserDisplayName: Kwilk
Body: <p>I was wondering about the book cover image used for KDP. Amazon documentation only mentions the minimum required resolution of the pictures. So, I assume:</p>
  
  <ol>
  <li>I should upload the best quality picture that I have available</li>
  <li>Amazon themselves will handle downsampling depending on the device requesting a download</li>
  <li>The cover image size is NOT included in the book size used to determine delivery fees</li>
  </ol>
  
  <p>Can anyone confirm whether my understanding is correct?</p>
  
Tags: <kindle>
Title: Kindle cover image
UserDisplayName: Gwen Ives
ThreadText: # Kindle cover image
  
  (Asked by: username_0 on 2015-05-23)
  
  I was wondering about the book cover image used for KDP. Amazon documentation only mentions the minimum required resolution of the pictures. So, I assume:
  
  1. I should upload the best quality picture that I have available
  2. Amazon themselves will handle downsampling depending on the device requesting a download
  3. The cover image size is NOT included in the book size used to determine delivery fees
  
  Can anyone confirm whether my understanding is correct?
  
  **Tags:** kindle
  
  
  ---
  
  ## 2 answers
  
  ### Answer by username_1 on 2015-05-23. Score: 2
  
  The [Kindle Direct Publishing guidelines](https://kdp.amazon.com/help?topicId=A2J0TRG6OPX0VM) for ebook creation states that:
  
  1. Cover image should ideally have 8:5 aspect ratio (height/width).
  2. Minimum 625px for short side and 1000 for long. Ideally 2500px for long.
  3. Cover size cannot exceed 50 MB.
  4. It is recommended to turn off compression.
  5. DPI for image should be 72.
  6. Color mode of image should be RGB.
  
  There are more details in the link above, but those 6 points sum it up pretty well.
  
  To be more specific on your questions:
  
  1. Yes, you should upload the highest quality image you have, but it is important to adhere to those guidelines above.
  2. The cover in mobi will never be modified by amazon unless it is absent. Device itself will scale it down or up.
  3. I'm not sure about that one.
  
  
  ---
  
  ### Answer by username_2 on 2019-07-27. Score: 0
  
  Re 3: "... the size of your cover image won’t affect the size of the delivered ebook…usually.
  
  In some cases (usually due to an incorrectly formatted interior file), KDP will fail to correctly identify the cover, and will instead add a duplicate cover image. This is costly, as you’re padding the ebook with an unnecessary and unoptimized copy of your cover."
  
  More here: <https://selfpublishingadvice.org/are-you-losing-money-on-kdp-delivery-fees/>
  
  
  ---
  
  