How to make a KDP paperback interior PDF in your browser

Short answer: Create a facing-pages document at your KDP trim size (6 × 9 in is a built-in size), set the inside margin from KDP's page-count table, put page numbers and running headers on the master pages, flow your text through threaded frames with paragraph styles, and export a CMYK PDF without crop marks. PodoLay embeds your fonts and checks image resolution for you. This guide covers interiors without bleed — the layout used by most novels, nonfiction and poetry.

Before you start: what KDP requires

These are Amazon KDP's paperback interior requirements, summarized from KDP Help (October 2026):

KDP's margins are minimums. Most books look better with 0.6–0.8 in outside margins and a slightly larger inside margin than the minimum.

What you need in PodoLay

Print-ready PDF export starts with the Starter plan. The Free plan (up to 16 pages) is enough to design and test your template — KDP's minimum is 24 pages. See pricing for current terms.

Step 1 — Create the document

1. On the dashboard click New Document.
2. Page Size: choose 6 × 9 in (also available: 5.5 × 8.5 in and 5 × 8 in; 8.5 × 11 in is Letter).
3. Page Mode: Facing Pages, First Page: Right (book) — as a printed book opens.
4. Margins (mm): click the link button to set them separately. For a 151–300 page book, for example: inside 19 mm (0.75 in, above KDP's 0.5 in minimum), outside 16 mm, top 16 mm, bottom 19 mm. (1 in = 25.4 mm.)
5. Turn on Primary text frame: every page gets a text frame inside the margins, threaded from page to page, and pages are added automatically as your text grows.
6. Click Create. You can fine-tune the margins later in the editor in inches.

See Dashboard › Creating a new document and Pages › Margins.

Step 2 — Master pages, page numbers and running headers

1. Open the master spread from the Pages tab.
2. Add a text frame in the footer area and insert Marker › Current page number — every page that uses the master is now numbered.
3. For a running header with the chapter title, insert Text variable › Running header and pick your chapter heading's paragraph style.
4. Use Numbering & Section Options to number front matter in roman numerals (i, ii, iii) and start chapter one at 1.

See Page numbers and text variables.

Step 3 — Text and styles

1. Create paragraph styles for body text, chapter titles and the first paragraph of a chapter (no indent), and character styles for italics or emphasis.
2. Paste or type your text into the primary text frame on the first page; it flows through the threaded frames and adds pages as needed. (Without a primary text frame, draw frames and thread them yourself.)
3. Body text usually reads best justified with hyphenation on. PodoLay's paragraph composer evens out spacing across the whole paragraph, like InDesign's.
4. For a contents page, use a right tab with dot leaders for the page numbers.

See Text and Styles.

Step 4 — Images

• Use images that are 300 DPI or more at the size they appear on the page. PodoLay's preflight warns about anything lower.
• For a black-and-white interior, use grayscale artwork and black (K-only) text.
• Keep images and graphics inside the margins (no bleed — see the limitation below).
• Avoid opacity, shadows and other transparency effects in the interior: KDP asks for flattened transparency, and PodoLay's PDF/X-4 output keeps transparency live.

Step 5 — PDF settings for KDP

In Document settings › Print:

• Color mode: CMYK.
• Bleed: 0 (this guide is for interiors without bleed).
• Crop marks: off. KDP rejects files with crop marks.
• Don't use spot color swatches; KDP prints with process inks only.

Step 6 — Export and check

1. Click Save as PDF and export all pages.
2. Read the preflight results: no missing fonts, no low-resolution images, no overset text.
3. Check that the PDF's page size equals your trim size (6 × 9 in).
4. Upload the PDF to KDP and review it page by page in KDP's Print Previewer before publishing.

See PDF export and preflight.

Limitations to know

• Full-bleed interiors: KDP's bleed page size adds bleed only on the outside edges (6.125 × 9.25 in for a 6 × 9 book). PodoLay currently adds bleed on all four sides, so for now make interiors without bleed for KDP.
• No ebook export: PodoLay makes the print PDF. For the Kindle ebook, upload your manuscript to KDP separately.
• No automatic contents, footnotes or index: build the contents page by hand with dot-leader tabs.
• Cover: design the cover as a separate one-page document using the size from KDP's cover calculator.

FAQ

Can I make a KDP paperback interior without InDesign?

Yes. PodoLay runs in the browser and exports a print-ready PDF with embedded fonts, at your trim size and without crop marks, which is what KDP asks for. Exporting the PDF needs the Starter plan or higher.

What page size should my KDP interior PDF be?

Without bleed, exactly your trim size — for example 6 × 9 in. Every page in the PDF must be the same size.

What margins does KDP require?

The inside (gutter) margin depends on page count: 0.375 in for 24–150 pages, 0.5 in for 151–300, 0.625 in for 301–500, 0.75 in for 501–700 and 0.875 in for 701–828. Outside, top and bottom margins must be at least 0.25 in without bleed.

Does PodoLay embed fonts in the PDF?

Yes. Fonts are embedded (subset) automatically, and preflight reports any font that could not be embedded.

How long a book can I make in PodoLay?

Up to 120 pages per document on the Starter plan and up to 600 pages on the Pro plan.

Related

• PodoLay vs Adobe InDesign
• PodoLay pricing

Sources

• KDP Help — Paperback manuscript size, trim, bleed and margins (checked October 8, 2026)
• KDP Help — Create a print-ready PDF (checked October 8, 2026)
• PodoLay user guide: Pages, Text, PDF export

Amazon and Kindle Direct Publishing are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc. PodoLay is not affiliated with Amazon.

Updated October 8, 2026