See exactly how your text will look on white and cream paper. Adjust the font, size, and preview text to compare both paper types side by side.
Interactive Paper Preview
Genre Recommendations
Fiction / Novels
Easier on the eyes for long reading sessions
Non-Fiction
Sharper contrast for charts, tables, and images
Memoir
Warm, intimate feel suits personal narratives
Poetry
Classic, literary appearance
Children's Books
Best colour reproduction for illustrations
Textbooks
Maximum readability for dense content
Romance
Traditional mass-market feel
Photography / Art
Essential for accurate colour reproduction
Detailed Comparison
| Feature | White Paper | Cream Paper |
|---|---|---|
| Colour | Bright white (#FFFFFF) | Warm off-white (#FFF8EC) |
| Page Thickness | 0.002252" per page | 0.0025" per page (thicker) |
| Spine Width (300 pages) | 0.676" (17.2mm) | 0.750" (19.1mm) |
| Eye Comfort | Good for short reading | Better for extended reading |
| Image Quality | Best colour accuracy | Slight warm tint on images |
| Printing Cost | Slightly cheaper | ~$0.004/page more |
| Perceived Quality | Modern, clean | Premium, literary feel |
| Ink Types Available | Black & white, Standard colour, Premium colour | Black & white only |
| Best For | Non-fiction, textbooks, photo books | Fiction, memoir, poetry, literary |
Cost Comparison Calculator
Estimated printing cost difference based on KDP's per-page rates. Actual costs may vary by marketplace.
How paper choice changes the reader experience
White and cream paper produce very different reading experiences, and the difference matters more than most first-time self-publishers expect. Cream paper has a slightly creamy off-white tone that softens contrast and reduces eye strain during long reading sessions.
White paper is brighter and sharper, which makes black-and-white photographs, line drawings, and dense tables look noticeably crisper. For genres where reading endurance matters more than image clarity, cream tends to win.
How paper choice affects your costs
KDP charges a small per-page premium for cream paper — currently about $0.004 per page over the white-paper rate. On a 300-page paperback that works out to roughly $1.20 extra in printing cost per copy.
The royalty impact is small but real:
- Per copy: about $1.20 less royalty on a 300-page cream-paper book.
- Per 100 copies sold: about $120 less in your pocket.
- Per 1,000 copies sold: about $1,200 less.
For a fiction author with a long-tail book, the cream-paper premium is usually a worthwhile trade-off for the perceived quality lift. For a textbook author selling lower volumes at higher list prices, the calculus tilts back toward white.
How paper choice affects your spine
Cream paper is fractionally thicker than white. The spine impact is straightforward:
| Page count | White paper spine | Cream paper spine |
|---|---|---|
| 100 pages | 0.225" (5.7mm) | 0.250" (6.4mm) |
| 200 pages | 0.450" (11.4mm) | 0.500" (12.7mm) |
| 300 pages | 0.676" (17.2mm) | 0.750" (19.1mm) |
| 500 pages | 1.126" (28.6mm) | 1.250" (31.8mm) |
If you switch paper type after the cover designer has finished, the spine width changes and the cover artwork needs adjusting. Pick your paper type before commissioning the cover.
What we recommend by genre
The advice below is a starting point, not a rule. Plenty of fiction works look great on white, and plenty of non-fiction works fine on cream:
- Literary fiction — cream, almost without exception.
- Commercial fiction (thriller, romance, fantasy) — cream is the trade-paperback default.
- Memoir and biography — cream, for the warm, intimate feel.
- Poetry — cream, for the classical book look.
- Children's books with full-colour illustrations — white, for accurate reproduction.
- Cookbooks with photography — white, for true colour.
- Business and self-help non-fiction — white usually, but cream is fine if the book is mostly prose.
- Textbooks and reference — white, for table and diagram clarity.
Can you change paper type after publishing?
Technically yes, but the change is more involved than people expect. You have to unpublish the title, update the interior file if it relied on specific page-count parity, update the cover for the new spine width, and re-upload as a new submission.
Most authors who try a paper swap end up keeping the original until the next edition. Choose carefully before you click Publish the first time.
Let us choose the right paper for your book
[Our formatting service](/order/) includes paper type recommendations based on your genre — from £69.
Format my book →You might also need
- Spine Width Calculator
- Royalty Calculator
- Margin Calculator
- KDP Trim Size Guide
- KDP Formatting Checklist
Further reading from official sources
- KDP — Paperback printing options — Amazon's paper-stock spec sheet.
