Our look is the result of reader comments, our own experimentation, and feedback from distribution channels. Distinctive covers complement our distinctive approach to technical topics, breathing personality and life into potentially dry subjects. The animal on the cover of Perl Graphics Programming is a red colubus monkey (Procolobus badius). This equatorial African species has a blackish back, long dark tail, tan belly, and a red crown on its head. Males (20 pounds) are larger than females (13 pounds) and have more bushy hair. They usually live in troops of 30-80 individuals, with a hierarchy based on dominant males. These monkeys rest for long periods of time, a trait sometimes attributed to their unique diet and digestive system. The red colubus eats only leaves, and digests tough plant cells in the same way that many hoofed animals do: it has a four-chambered stomach in which bacterial fermentation breaks down cellulose and releases nutrients.

While leopards and chimpanzees prey on red colubus monkeys, humans pose the largest threat. These monkeys do not fear hunters, and their bright color, loud alarm calls, and dormant nature make them an easy target. The most critically endangered among the approximately 18 species and subspecies in Africa today are the Iana River red colubus (Kenya) and the Bouvier's red colubus (Republic of Congo). In the year 2000, the Miss Waldron's subspecies (Ghana, Ivory Coast) was declared extinct, making it the first primate species eradicated in the twentieth century. Emily Quill was the production editor and copyeditor for Perl Graphics Programming. Linley Dolby and Jane Ellin provided quality control. Ellen Troutman wrote the index.

Ellie Volckhausen designed the cover of this book, based on a series design by Edie Freedman. The cover image is a 19th-century engraving from the Royal Natural History. Emma Colby produced the cover layout with QuarkXPress 4.1 using Adobe's ITC Garamond font.

David Futato designed the interior layout. This book was converted to FrameMaker 5.5.6 by Joe Wizda witha format conversion tool created by Erik Ray, Jason McIntosh, Neil Walls, and Mike Sierra that uses Perl and XML technologies. The text font is Linotype Birka; the heading font is Adobe Myriad Condensed; and the code font is LucasFont's TheSans Mono Condensed. The illustrations that appear in the book were produced by Robert Romano and Jessamyn Read using Macromedia FreeHand 9 and Adobe Photoshop 6. The tip and warning icons were drawn by Christopher Bing. This colophon was written by Philip Dangler.