PDF Export in Deckle

Export a professionally typeset, print-ready PDF sized to real self-publishing trim standards (KDP, IngramSpark/BoD, and A5) directly from your project, with margins and typography set automatically to match.

What You Can Do

• Export a print-ready PDF in one of six real trim sizes: 5"×8", 5.5"×8.5", 6"×9", KDP's own 6.14"×9.21", BoD Pocket (135×215mm), and A5 (148×210mm).
• Get body size, heading size, line height, and margins set automatically the instant you pick a trim size, not generic defaults.
• Calculate your paperback's exact spine width for cover design, straight from your page count.
• Get warned if your inner (gutter) margin is too tight for KDP's or BoD's binding requirements.

How to Export a PDF from Deckle

1. Set your trim size in Styles first. Compile's Active Style summary shows your current trim size with an "Edit in Styles" shortcut, but the size itself isn't chosen from the export dialog.
2. Open Compile from your project.
3. On the Format tab, select PDF.
4. Optionally, enter your manuscript's page count in the Spine Width Calculator to get your paperback's exact spine width for cover design.
5. Click Export PDF, choose where to save, and Deckle compiles it.

Trim Sizes and Their Margins

• 5"×8", 5.5"×8.5", 6"×9": the standard US trade paperback sizes; 6"×9" is the most common choice for novels.
• KDP 6.14"×9.21": Amazon KDP's own slightly larger in-house trim size.
• BoD Pocket (135×215mm) and A5 (148×210mm): metric sizes for European self-publishing through Books on Demand/IngramSpark-style printers.

Every size comes with its own margins already matched to real KDP/IngramSpark-style publishing guidelines. The inner (gutter) margin is set larger than the outer margin to account for binding, rather than using one generic margin for every size. See the Print settings reference for every override available beyond these defaults.

A Couple of Things Worth Knowing

💡 Trim size lives in Styles, not the Compile dialog. If you don't see the size you expected when exporting, check Styles first: Compile only shows and uses whatever trim size is already set there.

💡 The spine width calculator uses a fixed formula: page count × 0.002252", the standard thickness-per-page figure for KDP's 60# cream paper stock. If your printer uses a different paper stock, treat the result as a KDP-oriented estimate rather than a universal number.

💡 The margin warning in Styles checks against a fixed 300-page assumption, not your manuscript's actual length. It's a general sanity check on your chosen margin, not a live check against your specific book's page count.