KDP Paper Types Explained: White vs Cream vs Groundwood (2026)

Paper is the part of a printed book readers notice without thinking about it. They feel it, see how much print shows through, and decide whether a book feels cheap, comfortable, or premium. That feeling is set by one choice in Kindle Direct Publishing, made before upload, and it is easy to get wrong because the options look similar on screen.

Paper changes more than colour: how readable a novel feels at night, how crisp a photograph looks, how thick a spine becomes, and how much a printed copy costs. A novel on the wrong paper can glare under a lamp; a picture book can lose the contrast its images need. The choice is small in the setup screens and large in the finished book.

This guide explains every paper option KDP offers, when premium colour and standard colour change the rules, which combinations are not available, and how to choose for fiction, nonfiction, and colour books. It also explains changing paper after publication and checking your choice with a printed proof.

What KDP Paper Types Actually Are

KDP paper types are the ink-and-paper combinations you select in the Print Options section of a paperback or hardcover setup. KDP does not offer paper as a free choice on its own. Paper is tied to ink. Black-ink books can be printed on cream, white, or groundwood paper. Books with colour ink are printed on white paper, because white gives images and graphics higher contrast. That single rule explains most of the confusion authors face, because a colour book cannot be put on cream paper no matter how much the author prefers the look.

For black ink, cream and white paper are 50 to 61 pound (74 to 90 GSM). Groundwood is lighter, at 45 pound (60 GSM), for paperbacks only. Premium colour uses heavier white paper, at 60 to 71 pound (88 to 105 GSM); standard colour uses 50 to 61 pound white paper, for paperbacks only. KDP notes that weight can vary by printing location, so a proof is a better test than a specification number.

Heavier is not automatically better. A heavier sheet can reduce show-through, where print from the reverse side faintly appears, while a lighter sheet makes a long book easier to hold and cheaper to post. A different paper can also change the spine width enough that a cover built for one paper no longer fits another, so choose paper early, while the cover and interior are still being finalised. See our guide to KDP trim sizes for how trim size interacts with page count and spine, and our guide to book margins and gutter for the gutter space that keeps text clear of the binding.

Cream Paper: The Classic Choice for Long Reading

Cream paper is the traditional choice for novels and long-form nonfiction, and it remains the safest default for most black-ink books. Its warm, slightly yellow tone is gentler on the eyes during long reading sessions, and it carries a familiar trade-paperback feel that many readers associate with fiction. If your book is mostly words, with few or no images, cream paper usually gives the most comfortable reading experience.

Cream paper works best for novels, memoirs, literary fiction, history, biography, and other books where the reader will spend hours with continuous prose. It softens contrast a little compared with bright white paper, which can reduce glare under strong light. That softer contrast is a strength for text and a weakness for images, which is one reason KDP does not offer cream paper for colour books. A photograph or chart printed on cream can look muted, and fine detail can lose definition.

Cream paper is available for both paperbacks and hardcovers with black ink, at 50 to 61 pound or 74 to 90 GSM. Order a proof and read several pages under the light readers will use, including a lamp at night. If the type feels comfortable and the reverse side does not distract, the paper is doing its job.

White Paper: Brighter Pages for Black Ink and All Colour Books

White paper is the brighter, higher-contrast option, and it is the only paper for colour books. For black-ink books, white paper gives text a crisper, more modern look, with sharper contrast between black type and the page. Some authors prefer it for business books, workbooks, textbooks, and books with tables, checklists, and diagrams, where clarity matters more than a soft, traditional feel. It is also the natural choice when a book will move between print and a bright screen, because the printed page will look closer to the clean white background readers see digitally.

For colour books, white paper is a requirement, not a preference: KDP states that books with colour ink are printed on white paper, which shows higher contrast for images and graphics. Premium colour uses 60 to 71 pound white paper for paperbacks and hardcovers; standard colour uses 50 to 61 pound white paper for paperbacks only. If colour photographs or illustrations must print in colour, choose a colour ink option and accept white paper as part of that decision.

White paper also suits black-ink books with many images, line drawings, or diagrams, because fine lines stay distinct on the brighter background. The trade-off is glare: under a bright lamp, white paper reflects more light than cream, which can tire readers during long sittings. That matters little for a workbook readers dip into, and more for a 400-page novel.

Groundwood Paper: The Lower-Cost Paperback Option

Groundwood paper is the budget option among KDP paper types, and it comes with clear limits. It is available only for paperbacks, only with black ink, and at a lighter weight of 45 pound or 60 GSM. KDP says printing costs for groundwood paper are approximately 5 percent lower per page compared with cream and white paper. That saving is real, but it is modest, and it should not be the only reason to choose groundwood for a book you want readers to treasure.

Groundwood paper has a slightly rougher, more newsprint-like feel than cream or white paper. It suits a long, text-heavy paperback where keeping the price down matters, but not a gift edition or keepsake memoir, where the feel of the page is part of the product. Groundwood books are slightly thinner and lighter, which can help postage, but show-through is more likely, so hold a proof page up to a lamp and check whether reverse-side text distracts before choosing it.

Premium Colour Versus Standard Colour: What Changes on White Paper

Colour books need a second decision on top of paper, because KDP offers two colour ink options, and they differ in paper weight, availability, and cost. Premium colour ink is printed on heavier 60 to 71 pound white paper and is available for both paperbacks and hardcovers. Standard colour ink is printed on 50 to 61 pound white paper and is available for paperbacks only. Both use white paper, but the heavier premium sheet gives images more body and reduces show-through, which matters when a page carries a full-colour photograph or a large illustration.

Premium colour is the right choice for most illustrated books where images carry the book: children’s picture books, photography books, art books, cookbooks with colour food photography, and travel books where the photographs are the reason to buy the print edition. The heavier paper helps colour stay rich and keeps the reverse side from ghosting through a dark image. The cost is higher, and KDP warns that the cost for books printed in colour is higher generally, so the retail price and royalty calculation must be checked before committing to premium colour for a long book.

Standard colour suits paperbacks where colour is present but not the main event: a few colour charts, colour headings, or occasional diagrams. It is not available for hardcovers, so a hardcover with any colour content must use premium colour. If any image is supposed to print in colour, choose a colour ink option; a black-ink setup will not reproduce colour images. For help preparing the file, see our guide to what a print-ready PDF is and our guide to setting up print bleed.

How to Choose KDP Paper Types for Your Book

Start with the book, not the paper. If it contains colour that must print in colour, the decision is made: white paper, premium colour for image-led books, standard colour for paperbacks where colour is occasional. If it is black ink only, ask whether it is a hardcover or paperback, since groundwood is paperback-only, and how it will be read: in long sittings, short reference dips, or as a gift object.

For a black-ink novel, memoir, or narrative nonfiction book, cream paper is the default to beat. For a black-ink business book, workbook, textbook, or reference book with tables and diagrams, white paper is often the better fit. For a black-ink paperback where price matters most and a proof has confirmed the feel is acceptable, groundwood is a legitimate option. For any colour book, white paper with the right colour ink option is the only path, and the choice is between premium and standard colour rather than between paper colours.

Paper choice also affects the cover: a change of paper can change the spine width, so KDP advises reviewing the cover in the Print Previewer before switching paper types and uploading a new cover file if needed. Build the cover only after the paper decision is settled. Set trim size, margins, and paper together, then proof the complete book. See our paperback versus hardcover guide for how those choices differ beyond paper. Ink type is locked after publication, as explained next, so getting paper and ink right first time saves far more work than fixing them afterwards.

• Confirm whether any image must print in colour, because colour books use white paper only.
• Match black-ink books to cream for long reading, white for clarity, groundwood only for low-cost paperbacks.
• Choose premium colour for image-led books, standard colour only for paperbacks with occasional colour.
• Set trim size, margins, and paper together, then check the cover in the Print Previewer.
• Order a proof and check show-through, glare, and image contrast before publishing.
• Check printing cost and royalty for your page count, trim size, paper, and ink before pricing.

Changing Paper After Publication and Checking Your Proof

Paper is not entirely fixed after publication, but it is far from freely changeable. For black-and-white paperbacks, KDP allows switching between cream, white, and groundwood, in either direction. Before switching, review the cover in the Print Previewer, as you may need a new cover file, and updates typically take up to 72 hours. Switching is not available for colour titles.

The ink-type lock is stricter. After publication, you cannot change ink type between standard colour, premium colour, and black-and-white, because the ink and paper type are locked due to ISBN requirements. A colour version of a published black-ink book needs a separate Bookshelf setup, with its own cover and proof. Decide colour versus black ink with a proof in hand, before the first publication.

The proof is the most reliable check, and KDP recommends ordering one before publication to make sure the ink and paper fit your needs. Read it as a reader: sit with a chapter, notice where your eyes tire, check image pages, and look at spine and cover alignment. Colour printing costs more, premium colour more than standard colour, and groundwood saves approximately 5 percent per page. Check the printing cost, set a price that works, and choose the paper that serves the reader best within that price.

Conclusion: Choose the Paper Your Reader Will Hold

Decide from the book, not the setup screen. Colour books belong on white paper: premium colour for image-led books, standard colour for paperbacks where colour is occasional. Black-ink novels belong, by default, on cream; reference and workbook titles often belong on white, where clarity matters most. Groundwood belongs only where a lower-cost black-ink paperback is the deliberate goal and a proof has confirmed it.

Order a proof, read it like a reader, and check the cover, spine, and cost together. Choose the paper that makes your book easiest to read and most faithful to its images.