Background color for entire document

[Jeff Root]

I have nearly finished the design for the cover of a paperback book.
It consists of a single "page" divided into (from left-to-right), back
cover, spine, and front cover. It will be printed as a single page.

The entire cover wants to have a single background color. When I
try to use the Open Office Writer background color function, it only
colors the areas where text is located, not the blank areas between
areas of text. How do I color the whole thing?

Also, the palette of colors does not include the color I want.
How can I use an arbitrary RGB value?

-- Jeff, in Minneapolis

[robleyd]

How can I use an arbitrary RGB value

Go to Tools | Options | Colours and add the colour you want.

The entire cover wants to have a single background color. When I try to use the Open Office Writer background color function, it only colors the areas where text is located, not the blank areas between areas of text. How do I color the whole thing?

Try Format | Page | Background You have possibly applied the background to something other than the page (paragraph?), which would give the effect you describe.

[Zizi64]

When I try to use the Open Office Writer background color function, it only
colors the areas where text is located, not the blank areas between
areas of text. How do I color the whole thing?

Use (create and apply) a user defined page style with 0 margin values. In this case the area - inside the margins - will be equal with the entire page.
Note: most of printers can not print on the entire page. They use a small phisycal "white margins". In this case you need buy colorized papers.

Also, the palette of colors does not include the color I want.
How can I use an arbitrary RGB value?

Try the LibreOffice. This function is much more enhanced in the LO:

[John_Ha]

See [Solved] Dyslexia friendly default setup for covering the entire page.

Be very careful about using RGB values for anything which will be printed because printing uses CMYK and not RGB.

See [Solved] What does the CMYK option do? How is it used? which explains why you should use CMYK gamut equivalents.

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[Jeff Root]

Thanks for your replies.

John_Ha wrote:

> Be very careful about using RGB values for anything which will be printed
> because printing uses CMYK and not RGB.

In this case, the printer specifies that the images must be RGB, not CMYK.

robleyd wrote:

> Go to Tools | Options | Colours and add the colour you want.

That worked. I did have to discover that one first changes the values, then
hits the button to save or modify the setting, not the other way around.
That only took a few seconds of trial and error.

> Try Format | Page | Background You have possibly applied the background to
> something other than the page (paragraph?),

I think that must be what I did. Still, the Page Format only colors inside the
margins. I need to color the entire page, and beyond. The printer specifies
that any printing intended to "bleed" off the edge of the page must extend
at least 3/16" beyond the edge of the page.

If I set the margins to zero, to make the color extend to the edge of the page,
then I have to position everything separately. I guess I could do that.

I can't use colored paper because the cover includes a full-color photograph
which must be printed on white.

I haven't yet tried everything at the link provided by Zizi64, but it looks like
those suggestions might not be an improvement over the above.

It is possible that the printer will be able to handle this problem, in which
case all I have to do is tell them what color I want them to use. I hope.

-- Jeff, in Minneapolis

[RoryOF]

I can't use colored paper because the cover includes a full-color photograph
which must be printed on white.

Consider separating the cover page into its own file, printing it separately on white - perhaps a heavy, very good quality paper or light card - and then the body of the book as a separate file printing on a suitable coloured paper. Then collate the cover to the text when printing is finished.

[Jeff Root]

Rory,

Yes, the cover is already a separate file. It will be printed separately
from the interior of the book. That is a standing rule for all print jobs
at this printer. Interior pages are required to be individual pages, while
the cover is required to be a spread of back-spine-front. Two PDF files
in total.

I suppose that the background for the cover in this case -- with regard
to the question I'm asking -- could be considered to be the same as one
huge image, with most of that image just a solid color.

-- Jeff, in Minneapolis

[Bill]

I believe that you have to set the page size larger in Writer so the margins can be set 3/16" outside the final page size. That will allow the printer to print the pages on larger paper, then trim to the final page size after printing.

BLEED GUIDELINES - What bleed is and how to use it properly

[John_Ha]

John_Ha wrote:

> Be very careful about using RGB values for anything which will be printed
> because printing uses CMYK and not RGB.

In this case, the printer specifies that the images must be RGB, not CMYK.

Be sure to do a proof printing because if you use RGB colours outside the yellow line in my diagram above they will print as a different colour.