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Amazon KDP PDF Technical Guide: Fonts, Images & Formatting

If your KDP book was rejected, failed processing, or shows technical warnings (fonts, images, layout), this page helps you identify what actually went wrong.

This is the entry point for diagnosing PDF-related rejection causes before you attempt to fix or resubmit your file.

Quick classification

Start here depending on your current situation:

  • Your file was rejected during upload or processing -> continue below (likely technical issue)
  • Your issue is layout, trim size, or margin mismatch -> go to Geometry & Layout Guide
  • Your issue is cover or spine mismatch -> go to Cover & Binding Guide
  • Your issue is account status or publishing state -> go to Account & Status Guide

If you are not sure what caused the rejection, continue below to check common PDF technical failures.

Before applying fixes, you need to determine whether the failure is caused by:

  • font embedding issues
  • image quality or resolution problems
  • layout and formatting inconsistencies
  • or PDF standard / export settings

The sections below help you identify the exact technical failure point.

1. Font Embedding & Subsets

Every font used in your manuscript and cover must be 100% embedded in the PDF. - Font Not Embedded: If fonts are missing, KDP's system will attempt to substitute them, which leads to character corruption, text reflow, and overlapping lines. - Verification: Use Adobe Acrobat Pro's "File > Properties > Fonts" tab to ensure every font listed says "(Embedded Subset)."

2. Image Quality & Resolution

  • Low Resolution Images: All images must be at least 300 DPI. KDP will flag images below 200 DPI as "Critical" and images between 200-300 DPI as "Warnings."
  • Color Profiles: KDP recommends removing all ICC profiles from your images and using sRGB or CMYK (Grayscale for Black & White interiors).

3. Interior Formatting & Layout

  • Interior Formatting Precheck: Common issues include inconsistent page numbers, orphaned lines at the top of pages, or failing to use "Mirrored Margins" for double-sided printing.
  • Table of Contents: Ensure your TOC page numbers exactly match the physical pages in the PDF. KDP audits the first 10 entries for accuracy.

4. PDF Standards & Flattening

  • Transparency Flattening: Like other POD printers, KDP prefers PDF/X-1a or PDF/X-3 formats. High-transparency layers can cause "white boxes" or missing text in the final print.
  • File Size: Keep your PDF below 650MB. Larger files may fail during the "Processing" stage.

Practical Verification Workflow

Use this workflow to move from symptom-level fixes to durable, review-ready controls for Amazon KDP PDF Technical Guide: Fonts, Images & Formatting.

  1. Confirm the exact failure state and reproduce it in a clean environment. Capture build/version, account context, and timestamped evidence so the issue can be audited later.
  2. Isolate the triggering condition by testing one variable at a time (metadata, policy text, runtime behavior, permissions, document quality, or file geometry).
  3. Compare intended behavior with platform-observed behavior. If they diverge, document the first point of mismatch and assign a single owner for resolution.
  4. Implement the smallest safe fix first, then rerun the validation path that previously failed. Avoid shipping unrelated changes in the same submission cycle.
  5. Build a short evidence packet with before/after artifacts: screenshots, logs, payload samples, policy text, and checklist completion notes.

Remediation Checklist

  • Root cause is stated in one sentence and mapped to one specific control change.
  • Reviewer-facing notes explain exactly what changed and how to verify it quickly.
  • All linked metadata (store listing, privacy text, billing descriptors, account docs, or print specs) is synchronized with the shipped behavior.
  • Monitoring is defined for the next release cycle so regressions can be detected early.

If You Are Still Unsure

Most KDP rejections are not caused by a single issue — they are a combination of file, layout, and validation problems.

Use these pages to narrow down your situation:

This page is designed to help you identify the root technical issue before you attempt a resubmission.

Back to: KDP Print Hub