Authors arriving from KDP expect a margin table. IngramSpark replaces the table with a floor: 0.5″ on every side, on every page, regardless of page count. That sounds simpler, and for thin books it is stricter than KDP — a 120-page KDP book passes with a 0.375″ gutter, and the identical file fails IngramSpark. For thick books the contest flips, which is why “my KDP file passed” proves almost nothing here.
The two rule sets, side by side
| KDP | IngramSpark | |
|---|---|---|
| Inside (gutter), 24–150 pages | 0.375″ | 0.5″ minimum — every margin, every page count |
| Inside (gutter), 151–300 pages | 0.5″ | |
| Inside (gutter), 301–500 pages | 0.625″ | |
| Inside (gutter), 501–700 pages | 0.75″ | |
| Inside (gutter), 701–828 pages | 0.875″ | |
| Outside / top / bottom | ≥ 0.25″ (≥ 0.375″ with bleed) | 0.5″ |
Building one file for both platforms? Take the larger number on every side: Ingram's 0.5″ floor for outside/top/bottom and for gutters up to 300 pages, KDP's tiered gutter above 300 pages. Our KDP margin guide explains why the gutter grows — the curve of a thick book into its binding is the same physics at Ingram; Ingram just prices it as a flat floor instead of tiers.
What counts as a violation
- Any text or important element inside 0.5″ of any trim edge — body text, page numbers, running heads, footnotes, table edges, image details you can't afford to lose.
- The gutter on the wrong side. Margins must mirror on facing pages: the 0.5″+ inside margin belongs at the binding edge — left on right-hand pages, right on left-hand pages. Uniform margins put the wide margin at the fore-edge on half the book.
- The final page's folio. A page number inside the margin zone is still a margin problem — and on the last page it's also the blank-page violation (see final page must be blank).
Check it yourself
- Measure from each trim edge to the nearest text on a left-hand page and a right-hand page — the gutter side flips.
- Check the sneaky spots: page numbers in the footer (footer distance eats margin), headers, chapter-opening pages, wide tables and images.
- If the book also lives on KDP and runs over 300 pages, look up KDP's gutter tier for your count — your shared file needs that larger inside margin.
Margins are one of seven IngramSpark checks our free check runs on every file — along with the blank final page, embedded fonts, spine-by-PPI, and the barcode zone — reported in plain English within 48 hours. Get the free check →
How to fix it
Margins are a source-document fix, in every tool: Word — Layout > Margins > Custom, with Multiple pages set to Mirror margins, Inside at 0.5″ or better; Pages — Facing Pages on, inside margin 0.5″+; InDesign — facing-pages document, Margins and Columns on the parent pages; Canva — no mirrored margins exist, so short books only, margins policed by hand. Add a cushion: 0.6″ costs a few lines per chapter and buys insurance against rounding.
The honest limit
Widening margins reflows the book — page count changes, the gutter tier can change with it, and the cover spine must be rebuilt from the new count (PPI math). A finished PDF can't be reflowed into compliance; anyone who offers to “just move the text in the PDF” is offering a book that looks wrong. Fix the source, recount, rebuild the cover — in that order.
Or send us the files — the check is free
Email your interior and cover PDFs and we'll tell you exactly what's wrong — in plain English, free, within 48 hours. If it does need fixing, the by-hand fix is $19 and we redo it free if IngramSpark rejects it for a formatting issue we were hired to fix. We rebuild files to be compliant with the platform's published spec — that's the promise we can keep.
Prefer the whole library in one file? The KDP Rejection Field Guide (free PDF) collects every guide, table, and the 13-point checklist.
More from the Help Library
- The KDP & IngramSpark Help Library — all guides & tools
- KDP margin error — the gutter table by page count
- IngramSpark: your final page must be blank
- IngramSpark: your final page must be blank
- KDP vs IngramSpark — fees, reach, ISBN rules, using both
- Spine width calculator — KDP and IngramSpark math
- ISBN & barcode rules for KDP and IngramSpark
- The free rejection check — all 13 checks at once