
19
Other Design Information
Here is just a quick run through of some other pieces of information you
may want to be aware of to ensure everything is a-okay. You’ll find most of
this over in our sample book too.
Page Layout
First of all, ensure you set the
document up at the correct page size
from the beginning; it saves a lot of
time and money doing this.
• Always supply as single pages,
never double page spreads
• Your inside pages should be sent
in the form of one complete
document, not a series of
documents
• If you are including page numbers,
ensure they are not placed on the
binding edge
Bleed
So we’ve hinted at it enough, but what
is it? The bleed is the area at the edge
of a document which gives the printer
an amount of space to allow a cleaner
finish for trimming.
We require 5mm bleed on all edges for
jobs with any images, backgrounds or
colours that extend to the edge of the
page.
For example, an A5 book’s dimensions
are 210mm x 148mm; with a 5mm
bleed it will be 220mm x 158mm.
The extra 5mm bleed will be cut off, so
any important text or images should not
appear in or near this area.
Margins
Margins are the ‘blank’ spaces on the
page before the content, such as the
text or images. Unless, of course, you
want your words or picture to be right
up at the edge of the page.
For A5 and A4 books we recommend
that you set top and bottom margins to
10-15mm, set inside margins (binding
edge) to at least 18mm, and outside
margins to 15mm. For anything more
specific, just let us know and we can
advise.
For coiled books however, the main
design criteria to take into account
is the impact of the coil binding. The
holes that the coil threads into will
encroach on your page by 7mm, so
any text should be kept at least 10mm
away from the bind edge of the book.
Pages and Sheets
To work out how many pages you
have in your book, each printable side
of paper is classed as one page. One
sheet of paper equates to two printable
pages. If a page is purposefully left
blank, it is still counted as a page.
When you generate a quote online you
need only count inside pages but the
quote includes a full colour front and
back cover.