Submitting a print-ready PDF to Pumbo: interior and cover requirements step by step

For the interior of your book, Pumbo, a book printer active in the Netherlands, asks for a CMYK PDF with 3 mm (0.12 in) bleed, crop marks, embedded fonts and a total ink coverage of at most 300%. The preferred color profile is Coated FOGRA 39 for coated paper or Uncoated FOGRA 29 for uncoated paper. You deliver the cover as a separate PDF, with spine, back and front side by side and 3 mm of bleed all around.

Below, for each requirement, you will find what Pumbo says, what you do about it yourself and what PDFengine can do for you. The requirements were taken on October 9, 2026 from Pumbo's own pages, which are in Dutch. Those pages can change, so always check the source again when you deliver. This article only covers what is stated on those Dutch-language pages; we have not checked whether the same requirements apply to other Pumbo sites or other countries.

Key Takeaways

• Interior and cover are two separate PDFs.

• Interior: 3 mm (0.12 in) bleed that actually runs through the image, crop marks required, at least 5 mm (0.20 in) margin, CMYK, fonts embedded, at most 300% ink, at least 300 dpi.

• On the page we checked, Pumbo names no PDF/X variant and no PDF version.

• The cover must be one PDF with spine, back and front, and the spine width depends on the page count and the paper.

• PDFengine's print-ready check shows color space, fonts and PDF/X status, but does not measure total ink coverage.

Printing presses print in CMYK, which is why RGB files shift in color.

What does Pumbo ask of the interior?

The Dutch-language page with delivery specifications for designers says the following about the interior.

Two things are missing: a PDF/X variant and a PDF version. If you want to play it safe, you can still make a file that is PDF/X, but Pumbo does not ask for it on this page.

Why does bleed matter so much?

Paper is trimmed to size after printing, and trimming is never accurate to a tenth of a millimeter. If your image or background color does not run through to 3 mm outside the trim line, a thin white edge can be left. Pumbo says it explicitly: the bleed must be really filled, an empty strip does not count.

What is special about the first and last page of a paperback?

If the first or last page of a paperback is printed edge to edge, Pumbo wants a white border of 5 mm (0.20 in) on the inside. The cover glue needs to be able to bond there.

What does Pumbo ask of the cover?

The page about laying out a book cover (also in Dutch) describes the cover as one PDF in which the back, spine and front sit side by side, with 3 mm of bleed all around. The spine width depends on the number of pages and the paper type, and you calculate it with Pumbo's cover tool. Only finalize the cover once the interior is done, because the spine changes with the page count.

On that page, Pumbo calls Word and Paint unsuitable for a print-ready cover and recommends InDesign, Affinity Publisher or Canva. The company checks uploads for free on dimensions, spine thickness, bleed, barcode and resolution.

What the cover page does not say is whether crop marks are needed, which color profile applies and which ink coverage is allowed. For that, the page refers to the specifications for designers. If that is not clear enough for you, ask Pumbo before you upload.

What can you do with PDFengine?

To be honest, PDFengine is not a layout program. The Print-ready PDF tool makes an existing PDF more suitable for the printer, but it does not create a book and does not calculate spine width.

The quickest route for the interior: in Print-ready PDF, choose Pumbo under "Destination". PDFengine then sets PDF/X-4, the ISO Coated v2 300% profile, 3 mm bleed and crop marks in one go. That follows Pumbo's requirements as we read them on Pumbo's own page on October 11, 2026. What this does not cover: we do not have Uncoated FOGRA 29 for uncoated paper, and we do not measure the 300% ink limit. If you change one of those fields afterwards yourself, the destination switches to "Set it myself".

The tool is not externally certified. If you want certainty about the result, run it through Pumbo's free check.

Frequently asked questions

Does my Pumbo PDF have to be PDF/X?

On the page with specifications for designers that we checked, Pumbo names no PDF/X variant. You do not have to look for one to meet that page. Do use your design program with the right color profile and CMYK. The Pumbo destination in Print-ready PDF does produce the file as PDF/X-4. That is not a Pumbo requirement: it is simply the route by which the profile ends up in the file.

Are crop marks required at Pumbo?

For the interior, yes: the page with specifications for designers calls them required. That is unusual, because many other printers ask for no crop marks at all. So check this per printer, and do not assume that what works for one works for another.

Which color profile do I choose for a book on coated paper?

Pumbo prefers Coated FOGRA 39. That is the same as ISO Coated v2. If you want the 300% ink limit built into the profile, choose the 300% variant. Read more in which colour profile your printer wants.

My cover is in Word. Can I use that?

Pumbo calls Word unsuitable for a print-ready cover on the cover page. For the interior, the specifications page names no program, only the requirements above. Also read our complete guide to a print-ready PDF.

Where to go from here

Start with the free print-ready check. After that, you can add bleed and crop marks with Print-ready PDF, and choose the color profile with Convert to PDF/X-4. PDFengine is not affiliated with Pumbo and Pumbo has not approved these tools; this is about the requirements Pumbo publishes itself.

Sources and verification

Checked on October 9, 2026 on Pumbo's own pages (both in Dutch):

• Delivery specifications for designers (page in Dutch; no date shown on the page)

• Laying out a book cover and calculating spine thickness (page in Dutch; no date shown on the page)

The Pumbo destination in Print-ready PDF was checked on October 11, 2026 against the page with delivery specifications for designers (the first of the two above).