How to Handle Images in a KDP Nonfiction Book

Give every image a job

Decorative images can support tone, but they still affect rights, cost, accessibility, and page flow. Remove visuals that do not improve understanding or the intended experience.

• Show a process or physical action
• Clarify spatial or technical relationships
• Compare states or examples
• Document evidence or source material
• Provide a reference readers will revisit
• Create orientation within a complex activity

Create an image ledger

• Stable filename and manuscript location
• Creator, source, license, and permission record
• Required attribution
• Caption and figure number
• Alternative text or decorative status
• Color, grayscale, and final-size requirements
• AI-generated or AI-assisted classification and review

For the broader publishing workflow, continue with How to Format Tables in an Amazon KDP Paperback.

Prepare images for print

KDP currently recommends inserting print images at a minimum 300 DPI at their intended size and flattening them appropriately. Pixel dimensions—not a changed DPI metadata field—determine whether an image contains enough detail.

Choose black ink or color based on instructional need and economics. Test charts, screenshots, and photographs in the selected paper and ink treatment, and ensure fine labels remain readable.

Prepare a separate Kindle treatment

Reflowable eBooks adapt to different screens and font settings. KDP advises making pictorial images large enough to inspect, keeping text in HTML when it can be separated from the art, and supplying alt attributes.

Avoid embedding long captions or paragraphs inside an image. Use surrounding text and semantic structure so information remains searchable, scalable, and available to assistive technology.

For the closely related decision, read What Trim Size Should You Choose for a KDP Book?.

Control placement and references

1. Anchor the figure

   Keep the image near the passage that introduces it.

2. Write the caption

   Explain what the reader should notice rather than repeating the surrounding paragraph.

3. Reference consistently

   Use stable figure numbers or descriptive references that survive layout.

4. Check page turns

   Do not place instructions and required images where the reader cannot see them together.

Before moving to the next stage, use Can You Use AI-Generated Images in a KDP Book? as a practical follow-through.

Run visual, factual, and rights QA

Inspect crops, labels, units, legends, orientation, compression, contrast, and consistency at final size. Verify diagrams and screenshots against current interfaces or authoritative sources.

Order a proof for print and test Kindle output on several simulated device sizes. Generated images require KDP disclosure under its current rules and the same rights and quality review as other assets.