Book printing
While it might seem that book printing requires a large order, current technology makes it possible to print even a single copy at an affordable price.
Although in common language we distinguish between books and catalogues, from the point of view of printing technology it is exactly the same product. So if you want to print a catalogue, all the information about book printing will be useful for you to better plan your order.
Opportunities
Book printing technology
The right choice of technology makes it possible to realise any order.
Printing a book is possible in two technologies.
Digital printing
It allows even a single copy of the book to be printed, with a turnaround time of as little as one day.
Offset printing
The optimum price for this technology we achieve with a print run of several hundred, depending on the format of the book.
Ask for price
4 things you need to know when outsourcing book printing
Outlay
We have already mentioned that we can print even a single copy. However, the unit price of the book decreases with the print run. Ask when placing your order what the optimum number of copies is for your production. You may find that you get more copies for almost the same price.
For example, one copy of an A5 book with 320 pages and a softcover we can print for around £200. Exactly the same price you will pay for 10 copies of the same book. This is not a hidden trick on the part of the printers. It’s the result of a pricing process in which not every change in print run involves a change in price.
Remember to always ask the printer about the optimum print run close to your needs.
Print files
Preparing the correct files from which to print a book is not a simple matter. If the result is to be the best possible, it is worth preparing well for printing the book. Here are some of our tips:
- proper file format – PDF/X-1a or PDF/X-3-2002 without embedded colour profiles,
- separate files for the cover, separate for the content of the book,
- photographs at a minimum resolution of 300 dpi, optimally 400 dpi and monochrome sketches at 1200 dpi, optimally 1600 dpi,
- the correct colour space is CMYK, and for texts only black,
- bleed of 3 mm and additional 5 mm for hardcover (according to the drawing),
- lines and texts in the correct minimum size.
When preparing your production, we process the files to make sure that the end result is the best possible… And to avoid any mistakes. However, this does not change the fact that the better you prepare your files, the more efficiently and quickly we complete your order.
How long does it take to print books?
We assume here that we have already received the correct files for printing. It is at this stage that most delays occur, and we have little influence over this stage of the order.
In express mode and with a print run not exceeding 100, we print in 1-3 days. It always depends on its parameters. In standard mode, it will be 7 to 10 days.
Large editions will take 14-30 days to produce, as this is already a technologically more complicated and multi-stage process. As you already know, it will pay off with a lower unit price for the book.
When planning your order, it is advisable to consult with the printing company each time. This will allow you to confirm the turnaround time at any given time. As with many industries, there are also so-called hot periods in printing. There are a lot of orders at these times, and the turnaround time can be noticeably longer. It is therefore advisable to plan production in advance together with the printing company to avoid surprises.
Logistics related to the transport of books
The transport of books is not significantly different from the transport of other goods. The delivery time in Europe does not exceed a few days and is not a major problem. However, when designing a book, it is worth considering its possible packaging. If the book is to be transported in cardboard boxes and its size does not fit into standard packaging sizes, it is worth ordering them well in advance or ordering suitable fill-in-the-blank packaging.
If expensive items, such as a custom hardcover, are in production, it is worth protecting the books additionally, for example with a wrapper.
It is also worth anticipating issues related to shipping individual copies to end customers. If we ship the book this way, its weight should be within postal tariffs. The worst situation is if the weight of the book, including the packaging, exceeds the tariff threshold by a minimum. This is a mistake at the book design stage that will generate additional logistical costs.
When sending only in packages of many pieces, this problem is mostly not present. But it is always worth recalculating the weight and sizes and comparing them with the distribution model.
Which book format to choose?
The format of a book, or in practice its size, can be anything. However, there are some nuances in favour of choosing a particular size.
The most popular book formats.
The most common book formats are related to DIN standards, specifically DIN 476 now called ISO 216. Created as early as 1922, the standard defines the sizes of sheets of paper, for example the most well-known, A4.
The most popular book formats are A5 (148×210 mm), B5 (176×250 mm / 165×235 mm) and 120×190 mm. These are the most popular and technically optimal sizes.
How do you choose the format of a book?
The size of the book depends on several factors. On the purely commercial side, it is worth considering how we want to use the book. Is it a large book to look beautiful on a shelf or a book that should fit into a handbag. It is also important to bear in mind that some publications have imposed formats, for example some scientific publications.
Budget is also an important factor. If you have a limited budget, it is advisable to use standard book formats. They are easy to print and follow the right process. The proper arrangement of the paper fibres allows for the proper stability of the book pages.
Some formats generate trouble.
As we have already mentioned, choosing the right book format can speed up and reduce the price of printing. Some, even seemingly popular formats, can generate problems.
For example, A4 format and landscape orientation significantly increases the price, especially if the book is to appear in hardcover. In the case of hardcover, for technological reasons, the choice of some formats will not be possible.
It is worthwhile, before finalising the book design process, to consult the printer to confirm all parameters.
Types of book spines and their function
The spine and binding of a book is not only an aesthetic issue, but above all a technical one. Choices in this aspect affect the appearance as well as the durability of the product.
Booklet binding, i.e. no spine.
For booklets with a limited number of pages, it is possible to use the simplest binding method, i.e. notebook binding. Two staples are usual here.
Joining by means of a spiral.
When it comes to spirals, there are two technologies to choose from: the clip-on spiral (wire-o) and the more expensive variant: the screw-in spiral (coil). This type also lacks a spine. The unquestionable technical advantage of spirals is the possibility of placing any sheet of paper in any position, which is not always possible with other joining technologies.
Soft binding, glued.
The most popular of the bindings for book printing, with a spine of at least 3mm. Usually with hot melt or the more durable and flexible PUR (polyurethane reactive adhesive).
Soft binding, sewn and glued.
This type of bonding gives very high durability. However, that bonding with PUR glue already leads to very good results, so the use of this type of bonding should be clearly justified. Otherwise, it can only represent an unnecessary expense.
Hardcover book printing.
By far the most expensive type of binding, but also the most impressive. The cover is usually 2-3 mm of solid cardboard. To this must be added the veneer, which is a printed material (paper, fibre or leather) that is glued to the hard parts of the cover and spine. In some cases, the veneer itself may be the spine.
A wrapper, i.e. a paper or plastic protective cover with folded edges (wings) going inside under the cover, can also become an additional element – particularly often used with expensive bindings to protect them from mechanical damage.
When printing a hardcover book, the folds are usually sewn with thread, then glued into a block and hung on the covers – except in small print runs, where sometimes only gluing is used without sewing.
The 7 most common mistakes made when printing books
The technological process of printing a book is not the most complicated, but it is easy to make a number of mistakes that will negatively affect many aspects of production.
It is impossible to print a nice book from low-quality elements.
If the book contains photographs or sketches, it is important that these elements are in appropriate quality. Compressed photos should be in JPEG format at maximum resolution or ZIP. Optimal formats for sketches are those that are lossless – LZW, ZIP, CCIT G4.
Printing fine black text defined in CMYK.
Black is not the same as black, especially in the CMYK colour palette. Paradoxically, the nicest, deepest black is obtained not from pure black (the K component of the CMYK palette), but from a combination of all 4 colours.
The situation becomes a little more complicated when printing small text. The combination of colours is obtained by superimposing one colour over another. With small elements, there is a risk that one of the colours will shift, making the text look blurred. The risk is not great, but if the problem occurs, it is virtually impossible to rectify the error without reprinting. The better the printing machine, the lower the risk, which does not at all mean that it can be eliminated to zero.
To avoid problems, small black letters (font size no larger than 7pt) should only be printed in pure black (C-0%,M-0%, Y-0%, K-100%).
Book printing project without safety margins.
Placing important parts (or indeed any parts) close to the edge can produce very unexpected results. Cutting a large number of sheets, together with the technologically acceptable inaccuracy of the machine, can result in elements placed too close to the edge being cut most simply. This is especially the case for booklets with a staple binding, where the centre folds are noticeably narrower than the outer ones.
With any printing, not just book printing, safety margins must be maintained in addition to bleeds so that the process does not affect the quality of the final product.
Book printing vs. minimum and maximum oiling.
Printing is nothing more than the precise soaking of paper with ink, where the right proportions are important. Both too much and too little ink can cause problems.
We mentioned above that the prettiest black can be achieved by combining all CMYK components – theoretically, a super effect should be given by setting each component to 100%, but in practice, such an amount of ink will not be absorbed by any paper – the ink will start to seep and smear. A safe limit for inking is about 280% (sum of CMYK components).
The situation is similar with small amounts of ink. In order for the print to be visible and correct, the minimum CMYK component values should not be less than 5-10%, depending on the paper chosen. A raster that is too thin will simply disappear from the image altogether.
It is the type of paper that plays an important role in determining maximum and minimum ink coverage. It is therefore important that the design does not remain detached from the substrate on which we want our book printed.
Unusual or ill-fitting paper.
The printing market gives you the choice between thousands of different papers, and it is no different for book printing – many manufacturers and many products with different characteristics. If you choose a non-standard paper, you usually have to reckon with a higher price and an extended waiting time, because you will have to download it from the manufacturer.
You may also be surprised by the properties of the paper itself – how precisely it moves in the machine and how it accepts ink.
Unless a particular paper is based on a real need, when printing books it is worth choosing one of the standard and tested papers, exactly as most book buyers do.
The wrong format can increase the price of printing a book.
It is important to remember that industrial printing, however, has little in common with home printers. Printing a book does not involve printing each page separately and gluing them together.
The pages of a book are printed on large sheets (many pages on one) in a special layout, then cut, joined and bound accordingly to create the final product. The format of the book defines how many pages will fit on one sheet. The more precisely the sheet is used, without leaving too much blank space, the fewer sheets will need to be printed and the lower the price for printing the book. Sometimes a very minor size adjustment, which does not significantly affect the appearance of the final product, can reduce the price of printing noticeably. Equally, carelessness in the choice of format will result in an unnecessarily higher price.
When it comes to book printing, less does not always mean cheaper.
The number of pages of a book can negatively affect the price of printing. This is not as simple a relationship as it might seem. For purely technological reasons, it may be more expensive to print a book with 156 pages than one with 160 pages.
We mentioned earlier that the pages are laid out on sheets and these are processed in the book printing process. An unfavourable page spread on one of the sheets can adversely affect the process and force additional measures that increase the cost. It is not uncommon to add a few pages to solve the problem and normalise the price.
With popular formats, the number of pages should be a multiple of 8 or 16 – rarely 12. Certainly, the number of pages of a print book must never be odd – in such a case, a blank page will be added anyway. For sewn bindings, on the other hand, it must be a multiple of 4.
If in doubt, a consultation with the printer will help to adjust the parameters, including the number of pages in the design, to optimise the printing of the book.
Book printing – difficult and easy at the same time.
As you can see, the process of preparing a book for print is a set of many rules. One might jokingly say that it is harder to print a book than to write it. Fortunately, it is not that bad. However, it is worth entrusting the process to someone with experience or relying directly on a printer. Preparing a book for printing yourself without a lot of experience is not always a good idea – it can raise costs and increase the time until you receive the final product.