Don't Press Your Luck.

I do business with a publisher that does a great deal of business with Lightning Source (the print-on-demand division of Ingram Content Group, the very large book distributor). I don't compain about Lightning Source (much), mostly because, by now, I'm well-versed in what they're capable of, and I try to play to their strengths by avoiding their weaknesses.

I understand that Lightning Source works in volume (not so much quantities of books, as quantities of titles), and that they want everything to fall within a narrow set of worry-free parameters so it can all be processed with a minimum of effort. I try to work within those parameters, but there are times I think they get a bit too nit-pickety.

As an example: I've just had a cover rejected because an element was 0.025 inches outside of the designated safe area on either side. (That's the area in pink, set against the blue backgound. The shaded areas are guides that can be turned off and on, and won't appear on the printed cover.) That's 1/40th of an inch — 1/40th of an inch! — on either side.