Book Printing UK - Complete Guide

BOOK

PRINTING

THE BPUK GUIDE TO

Introduction

Hi there, and thank you for downloading our free guide

all about book printing. Or maybe you’ve gone and

printed this off? Either way, pretty exciting stuff.

In this guide, we’ll cover everything you could possibly

want to know about book printing; helping you get your

head around paper types, sizes, covers, all the weird

words, phrases, and each step taken to ensure your

idea becomes a reality – a wordy, readable, tangible,

paper-based reality.

The main purpose of this guide is to give you a clear

understanding on whether your book is ready or not

to be printed, and if it isn’t, how to get it there. It’s also

so you can go over to our website and use our online

calculator confidently, with the knowledge that you are

entering all your information correctly.

Sample Book

If you like how we sound and want to see an example

of our work so you can get a good idea of our print

quality, get in touch with us or visit our website and

request a sample book. They’re free and are just

waiting to be shipped!

One of our babies in action. They grow up so fast.

Have a question? Want to discuss something? Need an

extra person for your 5-a-side?

Remus House

Coltsfoot Drive

Woodston

Peterborough

PE2 9BF

Email: [email protected]

Telephone: 01733 898102

www.bookprintinguk.com

BookPrinting BookPrintingUK

Introduction

Products/Binding ......................................................................... 5

Hardback ............................................................................ 6

Paperback ........................................................................... 7

Coiled ................................................................................... 8

Book Sizes ............................................................................... 9

Portrait vs. Landscape ....................................................... 10

Colour vs. Black and White .............................................. 11

Paper ......................................................................................... 12

Types of Paper .................................................................. 12

Paper Stock ........................................................................ 13

Cover ......................................................................................... 14

Hardback ........................................................................... 14

Cover Stock ........................................................................ 14

Cover Finish ....................................................................... 14

Dust Jacket.......................................................................... 14

Paperback/Coiled ........................................................... 14

Cover Stock ........................................................................ 14

Acetate ................................................................................ 14

Gloss vs. Matte Finish ...................................................... 15

Design .................................................................................. 16

Other Design Information ................................................ 19

Page Layout ....................................................................... 19

Bleed .................................................................................... 19

Margins ............................................................................... 19

Pages and Sheets ............................................................. 19

Font Type ............................................................................ 20

Font Size .............................................................................. 21

Images ................................................................................. 22

Supplying Files ...................................................................... 23

Saving a PDF from Word ................................................ 23

Checklist .................................................................................. 25

FAQs .......................................................................................... 26

Contents

The first thing you need to be aware of is that there are various types of books –

they’re first defined by their binding in our industry. In this guide, we’ll be looking

at the three main types: hardback, paperback and coiled. We also print booklets,

but they’re not touched upon in this guide. We’re producing a booklet guide soon,

so watch this space!

We do all of our printing and binding in-house. Having complete control of the

binding process means that we guarantee a professionally bound book every time.

For binding, we use Planamelt. This is a new hot-melt technology, developed for

the requirements of the graphic arts industry – and the first choice for adhesive

bindings and side gluing of any print products. But all you really need to know is it

means that your books aren’t going to fall apart any time soon.

There are quite specific reasons for choosing each binding type. Over the page are

the types and their benefits to help you decide which style will best suit your book.

Products/Binding

Hardback

Why choose hardback?

• Prestige final product

• Durable, long lasting binding

• Perfect for special editions and gifts

Hardback books are more durable,

more impressive, and really stand out

on a bookshelf.

In short: A perfect bound book

is cased into a board casing with

strong glue.

Everyone loves hardback books. They’re

just that little bit more special, which

means that they should be reserved for

special occasions and special books.

The first stage of hardback binding is

identical to paperback binding, except

rather than using a cover to hold all of

the pages together, a heavy paper is

used. This is then attached to the hard

casing, made out of board which has

either had a cover printed on or a cloth

cover added. Hardback binding is a

longer process than paperback binding

and much of the process has to be done

by hand.

Whilst costing a little bit more than

paperback the benefits of printing

in hardback are significant: the final

product is incredible and they last a

really long time, which is why they are

perfect for yearbooks, limited editions or

biographies.

We have in-house case binding

machinery, which means that we are

able to print short-run hardback books.

Perfect for:

• Wedding guest books

• Special edition autobiographies

• Photo books

Sizes

We produce hardback books in A5, A4,

royal or a custom size of your choice.

Different types of books work best in

different sizes. For example, a yearbook

works best in A4, whereas a novel would

be best in A5 or royal. A couple

of pages later on in this guide, on

page 9, we’ll go into more information

about sizes, so don’t sweat it yet.

Pages

Hardback books need to have a

minimum of 50 pages and a maximum

of 600 pages in order for the binding

process to be effective. For books of

less than 50 pages we suggest you go

paperback.

What material is used for the

hardback case?

The hardback case is made using a

cloth material or we can print onto

the cover. A wrap-around cover/dust

jacket can be added to the cased

book. The dust jacket has oversized

flaps that are folded and tucked in to

the cased book.

Paperback

Why choose paperback?

• Paperback books are the most

popular books in book stores

• Provides a professional finish and is

the standard for most novels

• A more cost effective method of

binding than hardback

Paperback books need no introduction.

They are the most popular book

type and the ones we are asked to

print most often. Sometimes they

are referred to as perfect bound or

softback.

In short: With paperback books,

the cover and pages are held

together using a strong adhesive.

To create a paperback book we ‘mill’

the spine edge of the unbound book.

This creates a rough surface allowing

the glue to bond more successfully.

The book is passed over a very hot glue

tank, where a revolving wheel applies

the glue. The cover is then clamped to

the book and the glue is allowed to set.

Once cooled the books are trimmed to

the desired size. Impressive, right?

Perfect for:

• Novels

• Poetry collections

• Children’s books

Sizes

We can print paperback books in a

range of sizes A6, A5, A4, royal or a

custom size of your choice.

The size you choose will depend largely

on what your book is. Most novels are

printed A5, but workbooks, reference

guides and training manuals are often

better in A4.

Pages

Perfect bound books need to have a

minimum of 26 pages and a maximum

of 600 in order for the binding process

to be effective. If the book has too few

pages the glue might not take properly,

and if it has too many the insides

might become too heavy and break up

the glue. If you stick to the 26-600 page

rule, you can’t go far wrong.

If you do need to print fewer than 26

pages, we recommend our booklet

printing service. This uses stitch

binding and as such there are no

minimum page quantity restrictions.

Coiled

Sometimes referred to as spiral bound, coil binding is a popular binding method

for functional books - books that you plan on using regularly, and opening and

closing frequently. The main advantage of coil binding is that the books can be

opened 360 degrees and lay flat on a surface.

In short: A plastic coil is wound through both covers and every page to bind

the book together.

When producing a coil bound book

the inside book pages are sandwiched

between two sheets of card (a front and

back cover). Holes are then punched in

to the spine edge of the book, before

a plastic coil is threaded and twisted

through the holes to form the binding.

Recipe books, annual reports, training

manuals, reference books, and diaries

all work brilliantly with coil binding.

Why choose coiled?

• Books can be opened 360 degrees

and be placed flat on a surface

• Coils are incredibly durable, making

them perfect for books that will be

used frequently

• Works brilliantly for books of

all sizes

Perfect for:

• Staff handbooks and training

manuals

• Recipe and cookery books

• Staff and student diaries

Sizes

We can print coil bound books in a

range of sizes such as A6, A5, and A4.

The size you choose will depend on

what your book is. A workbook or

cookery book is likely to be printed A4,

whereas a diary or reference book will

probably be A5.

Pages

There is no minimum page count for

coil bound books and they can feature

up to 600 pages.

We’ve had people ask us before, “What size is a book?”, so maybe this

section will help. How long is a piece of string? It always varies, and we

can print in a variety of sizes, even to a custom specification – but it’s

good to get your head around the basics.

Colour/

Black & White

Size We Reccomend

Colour 297 x 210mm

Ideal for workbooks, reference

guides and training manuals.

Black & White 287 x 205mm

Royal

Colour 234 x 156mm

An ideal size for a

novel of significance.

Black & White 234 x 156mm

Colour 210 x 148mm

Common for novels, poetry

books and autobiographies.

Black & White 202 x 143mm

Slim

Volume

Colour 180 x 120mm

Good for pocket guides and

small, novelty books.

Black & White 180 x 120mm

Colour 148 x 105mm

Works great for a

‘little book of poems’

or illustration books.

Black & White 143 x 100mm

Book Sizes

Just to clear this up, if you have an A4 piece of paper and the height is

longer than the width, it’s portrait. If you turn the paper on its side, and

the width is longer than its height, that’s landscape. Simple, right?

So next to discuss is which format you want your book printed in. Hopefully you

already have some sort of idea, but as rule of thumb, here is a list of types of

books and their more common format. Notice that the majority of books are

printed portrait.

Portrait:

• Novels/short story compilations

• Autobiographies/biographies

• Poetry books

• Guides, handbooks and manuals

• Yearbooks and annuals

• Diaries

• Recipe and cookery books

These are the book types most

commonly printed portrait. You

probably already have an idea which

format you want to print in, if not

this might help point you in the right

direction.

Landscape:

• Children’s books

• Photo/art books

• Lookbooks

Not many books are printed

landscape, so if you are going to go

against the grain, you need to be

able to justify why and be sure that

it is suitable.

Portrait Landscape

Portrait vs. Landscape

One of the most frequent questions we are asked is “should I print my

book in colour, or in black and white?” – buddy, we don’t know! But we

can certainly offer some advice.

There are a number of factors that would contribute to the decision. If your book is

plain text, then the decision is simple: black and white, all the way. But if your book

features images, you have a decision to make.

Black and white printing is less expensive than colour; our online calculator can

demonstrate the cost difference for you. But sometimes the look of the book

is more important than saving a few pounds. If your book relies on images or

colourful illustrations, or if you’ve written a children’s book, they often look much

better in colour.

It is worth remembering that there is a third option: colour inserts. If your book

contains a small number of images or annotations that you would like to be

printed in colour, then black or white printing with colour inserts will most likely

be the best choice. Think back to a footballer’s autobiography – in the middle of

the book there’s a photo section. This gives you the benefits of cheaper black and

white printing, whilst keeping colour where it is needed.

We can print in full colour, black and white, or black and white with colour inserts.

But the decision is ultimately yours.

Colour vs. Black and White

Paperback

100 Pages

50 Copies

Black & White

100gsm

£109.36

(£2.19 per book)

Paperback

100 Pages

50 Copies

Full Colour

100gsm

£196.56

(£3.93 per book)

Paperback

100 Pages

50 Copies

90 Black & White Pages

With 10 Colour Inserts

100gsm

£123.88

(£2.48 per book)

(Price difference between three same specifications apart from Black and White / Colour)

Paper

Paper types can often be neglected or not even thought of until it’s too late.

So let’s break it down. There are three main types that we use: uncoated,

silk and gloss. You will need to decide what paper type you are going to use

for your book, so let’s take a look, shall we?

Types of Paper

Paper types refers to the finish of the

paper, this affects the look of the pages

rather than the feel or the weight.

Here, we can help you understand the

differences between each type, but if

you want advice on which to use for

your book specifically, you are best off

getting in touch.

Uncoated

This produces a matte finish. The

majority of books that you read have

an uncoated finish.

Perfect for:

• Novels

• Poetry books

• Anthologies

• Short stories

• Biographies

Silk

Paper with a silk finish has a low sheen

coating. This improves colours and

sharpens images. Silk is somewhere

between uncoated and gloss, it

provides a high quality look in a more

subtle way than gloss.

Perfect for:

• Photo books

• Posters

• Leaflets

• Brochures

Gloss

The paper has a higher sheen coating

which further enhances colours and

sharpness.

Perfect for:

• Children’s books

• Colour inserts

• Photo books

• Recipe books

Paper Stock

The paper stock is the weighting of the paper. As a general rule, a higher stock

paper is a little more expensive to print on, but higher stock is also perceived as

being higher quality. Don’t let that fact alone be the decider – certain stocks suit

specific types of books more than others.

There is a common mistake you need to avoid here. Many people either go for the

thinnest paper to save money, or the most expensive assuming it will result in a

better quality book. Whilst that can sometimes be true, it’s often not the case.

What is GSM? Sounds sciencey...

GSM is an acronym standing for ‘Grams per Square Metre’. Quite simply,

it allows print buyers and print suppliers to know the quality of paper

that is being ordered. The higher the GSM number, the heavier the paper.

70gsm - Uncoated

70gsm is suitable for black and white

printing, and used to lower the weight of a

book. It can help cut costs on international

postage, you know, if that’s your thing.

80gsm - Uncoated

Our standard paper for black and

white books, and is perfect for novels,

biographies and poetry books.

80gsm - Uncoated (Off-White)

As above, but the colour of the paper is

off-white, rather than a more distinctive

white. Maybe opt for this if you want more

of a traditional or vintage look.

100gsm - Uncoated

Our standard paper for colour books.

Also works well as a heavier alternative

for black and white books, particularly

A4 books. Perfect for autobiographies,

anthologies, history books.

115gsm - Gloss or Silk

Slightly heavier than 100gsm, but with a

gloss or silk finish. It works best in books

and booklets with a lot of colour.

120gsm - Uncoated

120gsm provides an outstanding finish for

colour pages, and work perfectly as colour

inserts in black and white books. It’s best

suited for brochures, presentations and

colour inserts in biographies.

135gsm - Gloss or Silk

A high quality, thick paper stock that can

make colour pages look more vibrant and

sharp. Perfect for leaflets and flyers.

170gsm - Gloss or Silk

This is our heaviest paper; it’s very strong,

durable and provides a beautiful, vibrant

finish. It works brilliantly for postcards,

menus, and posters.

Cover

No. We’re not doing it. We’re not lowering ourselves to quote that idiom.

Instead, we’ll tell you about the stuff that matters – you need to know

what stock you want, its finish and well, how it’s going to look. Judge that.

Hardback

Brace yourself, when you print hardback,

you have a plethora of options for your

cover. You need to know what your finish

will be and whether you would like a dust

jacket or not.

Cover Stock

One size fits all when it comes to hardback.

It’s a stock we call board and is 2mm thick.

Glued on top of the board is a laminate in

gloss or matte, or a cloth finish.

Cover Finish

There are three finishes you can have on

top of your stock: gloss, matte and cloth.

There is an endpaper glued on the inside,

to keep it all in place – these are 160gsm

cream stock.

Cloth

The type of cloth used to cover the board

stock is called Wibalin, and it in glued on top.

It’s available in: black, blue, red, and green.

Be aware that if you opt for the cloth

option, it will be plain – you cannot print a

design on top of the cloth. (You can add a

dust jacket however.)

Dust Jacket

The dust jacket is not exclusive to a cloth

finish; you can also place one on top of

a gloss or matte finish. The jacket itself is

always 170gsm, with a gloss or matte finish.

Paperback/Coiled

Cover Stock

Like with paper stock, cover stock deals

with the thickness of a cover (when you

are going down the paperback route).

There are two options available for you:

250gsm

Our standard card for covers, we

recommend it for most of the books we

print. Perfect for novels, anthologies,

biographies, children’s books, poetry

collections, and more.

300gsm

A slightly heavier cover stock, and a

little more expensive than 250gsm, but

not significantly. It works brilliantly on

recipe books, manuals, workbooks and

children’s books.

Cover Finish

The finish can be in either gloss or

matte.

Acetate

If you are printing a coiled book, you

have one final option available to

you – and that’s acetate. It is a clear,

thin screen-like sheet that acts as a

protector. You’ll see this commonly with

training manuals, school diaries and

some cook books.

Cover

And the winner is...

We feel novels are most commonly and best suited with a matte cover, and if

you’re a non-fiction writer, stick to gloss for now.

Ordering proof copies of your book in both gloss and matte can give you the

ability to compare and contrast finishes. You will need to request those sample

proofs separately – so our printers know what to print. There is a little extra fee

to pay, but just think about that peace of mind assurance that comes with it.

Gloss vs. Matte

Here we go, another fight on our hands. Never underestimate a good cover

lamination, or as it’s more commonly known, its finish. We produce 250gsm and

300gsm in matte and gloss for soft covers, and it’s a feature that requires your

attention. After all, it houses your entire work.

The main difference is the ‘shine’ of the paper under light – gloss is shinier and

more vibrant in colour than matte, which is considered understated. They both

feel different to the touch, and despite having more coating than matte, gloss is a

little bit thinner.

Gloss Matte

Gloss is the more visually attractive of

the two, and the more common – its

colours are of a higher contrast and

the images are cleaner and crisper.

It works better for darker colours.

There is a shine to the card, as it has a

reflective finish.

A gloss finish gives off the impression

of a richer product, and has

durable qualities: it repels dirt, dust,

fingerprints and can be wiped clean.

The downside however, is that

scratches, scuffs, creases and dents

are more visible.

Matte finish offers an understated,

natural and soft look – it’s not as

reflective and can take more of a

beating than gloss. It’s considered

more professional and is the more

fashionable option.

A benefit is that as it is not as

common as gloss, it automatically

draws attention. However, the finish

does lessen the intensity of the colour

on the cover, producing a washed-out

look, and the finish can be more likely

to show stains and spills.

Cover Design

There are two things you need to now

consider (maybe even before you

choose what stock you want to use for

your cover):

• Size

• Design

Without either, you really don’t have a

cover. So in order to design your cover,

you need to know what the correct

dimensions are.

You can only know this once the

insides of your book are finished.

There’s not a ready-made template

as each book is of a different size,

depending on page count and the

stock chosen. However, you can

roughly work out your overall size:

See our Book Sizes section (page 9).

Take the width and double it.

This is the tricky bit. You need to

know the width of the spine (the

bit that goes in between the front

and back cover). Thankfully, we’ve

got you covered with our easy-

to-use spine calculator.

Just head on over to www.bookprintinguk.com/tools/spine-calculator,

choose your paper type and the number of pages your book will include and

our easy to use spine calculator will work out the size your spine needs to be.

Example: If you were printing an A5 black and white portrait paperback, on

80gsm paper (your classic novel), and it had 250 pages, your measurements

would look a little something like this:

Page size:

202 x 143mm

Spine width:

13mm

Cover size:

202 x 299mm

202mm

143mm + 13mm + 143mm

Note: These are measurements without the bleed included. The next section on

Page Layout will go into detail about the bleed and how to apply it.

Cover Design

Remember, that was just a rough example. The measurements may not always

be as we set out – so you’re better off speaking to us directly to be sure (that way

we can go over the bleed bit too).

Is the size going to be different for a dust jacket cover?

You’re looking at adding an additional 5mm to your cover width, and also

76mm for the wrap around/inside panel if you’re designing a dust jacket

cover. So if your book (like above) is an A5 black white portrait paperback,

on 80gsm paper, with 250 pages, the width would be roughly:

76mm + 148mm + 13mm + 148mm + 76mm.

202mm

76mm + 143mm + 13mm + 143mm + 76mm

Note: Covers should be supplied as separate files – not as part of the print-ready

PDF which contains the body of the work. If not supplied separately, it may affect

the running order of your book.

Put the artwork for the cover of the book, the rear and the spine all in a single file

and in the form of one single unbroken image with 5mm bleed and crop marks if

you can.

More on bleeds and supplying files in just a bit.

Cover Designs II

We can do this bit in-house – and we’re pretty good at it! Your cover has got to

sell the book, and grab attention, so make sure it looks good.

The printing of a full colour cover is included in the quoted price. If you haven’t

created a cover yet, our book cover design service might be for you? We can

create you a bespoke cover design for just £50.

So if you’re stuck at this part, just give us a call – we’ll make sure this is sorted for

you and you’re ready to have your book printed.

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.

How many words do I get per page?

A5 pages will carry an estimated 52 characters per line, including spaces

etc., 32 lines per page; so an estimated 350 words per page at 11 point size.

Font Type

Typesetting is when you arrange the text inside your pages in a legible way – the

font, size and style suits that of your book’s genre and context, and is overall

pleasing.

Get these things wrong however and they’ll stand out like a sore thumb.

Styles

Serif

Serif fonts have little ‘feet’ or lines attached to the ends of their

letters. They’re generally thought to look more serious or traditional.

Sans serif

Sans serif literally means ‘without serif’ – these fonts don’t have the

extra lines on the ends of letters. For that reason, they’re generally

thought to look more modern and streamlined.

Script

Scripts are what we might think of as cursive or handwriting style

fonts. They generally have connecting letters. You’ll find that script

fonts come in many different styles, from elegant, to fun and casual,

to hand-drawn.

Decorative

When you hear a font categorised as decorative, display, or

novelty, it all means the same thing – that font is meant to get your

attention. They’re often more unusual than practical and should

only be used in small doses.

Fonts

Weights

Emphasis

Case

Font Sizes

Choosing your font size is a very important factor in the typesetting process. It

can be tricky to get right to suit the style of your book. Consider the following two

things when selection a font size:

• The length of your book

• The target readership

Here are some recommendations we can suggest:

Novel: We recommend a body text size of 11pt.

Children’s book: We recommend a body text size of 14pt.

Biography: We recommend for a biography a body text size of 10-12pt.

Fonts

Light Regular Bold Heavy

Aa Aa AA Aa

Italics Bold italics Small caps Underline

Example of text Example Of Text

Sentence case Title case

If supplying separate images, please ensure they are a minimum of 300dpi, this

will ensure the best printing quality, lower resolution may result in pixelated

images. Anything lower and it will look fine on any computer, but will look

terrible in print. We accept JPEG, TIFF, PSD, AI or PDF files.

If you unable to digitally supply your image, post them to us and we scan them in

to your book.

It is very important for you be aware that when putting any pictures into your

book, you and you alone, must own the rights to them or have been granted

permission by their owner to use them, or you have the legal rights to.

Colour

We print in CMYK, please ensure all images are supplied in this format to

guarantee a faithful colour reproduction.

Images supplied in RGB may result in a variation of colour and is highly

recommended that you do not do this.

Images

Inset: Same image at

50dpi with 200% zoom

Inset: Same image at

300dpi with 200% zoom

Okay, so what do I need to make sure I know about my book? We put

together this list for you to tick off, one-by-one, to ensure you understand

each step going into having your work ready to print, and of course,

making sure you’ve done the work required!

I’ve written my book (like, fully)

I high-fived the person nearest to me

My book will be hardback/paperback/coiled

The size of my book will be .........................................................................................................

My book will be portrait/landscape

The cover stock will be ..................................................................................................................

The finish of my cover will be gloss/matte/cloth

My cover will have a dust jacket/acetate (if applicable)

I have the cover of my book designed, and at the correct size

I thought about giving up, but remembered that winners don’t quit

My book will be printed in colour/black and white/with colour inserts

The paper in my book will be uncoated/silk/gloss

I know what font types and font sizes will be inside my book

Images? Yeah, got them all sorted - 300dpi and everything

The inside pages of my book are designed correctly for print

My book is in a PDF file, and ready-to-print

I want .................................copies of my book printed (once I’ve seen my proof)

I’ve drank my well-earned cup of tea/coffee/hot chocolate/green tea

Checklist

FAQs

Q. Do you supply ISBNs for my book to be sold?

Unfortunately not, they can only be purchased through Nielsen Book, or through

our publishing partner, Spiderwize.

Q. How much does it cost to print a book?

There are a number of factors that go into calculating the cost of print. The

number of pages, the size of the book, the type of paper and binding, the list

goes on.

As we are a digital book and booklet printer it is more economical for us to set

up and print between 25 and 500 copies. Setting up fewer than 25 copies is very

time consuming and uses a lot of our resources. As a result it might seem like

ordering a smaller number of books is less cost effective.

The best way to find out how much it will cost to print your book is to get a

free quote online using our calculator. This guide was designed to cover every

question you will encounter whilst you use the calculator to create your quote.

Q. Does my quoted price include delivery?

Yes. Delivery to one UK address is included in our base price. Additional

deliveries will be charged at £6 per box.

Q. Does my quoted price include VAT?

No, it doesn’t. This is because you may not have to pay VAT on your order. If

you are printing a ‘complete book’, such as a novel or a biography, it will not

be subject to VAT. Take a look at our VAT guide over on our website for more

information.

Q. Does my quote include a cover?

Yes, the printing of a full colour cover is included in the quoted price. If you

haven’t created a cover yet, our book cover design service might be for you?

We can create you a bespoke cover design for just £50. Go check out the Cover

Design section on page 19 of this guide for a flavour.

FAQs

Q. How long will it take to get my books?

All of our turnaround times are estimated.

Paperback:

• PDF Proof from PDF print-ready files = 1 working day

• PDF Proof from other file format = 3-4 working days

• Printed bound proof from PDF print-ready files = 3-5 working days

• Full order black and white printing = 7-10 working days

(after proof is signed off)

• Full order colour printing = 7-10 working days (after proof is signed off)

Hardback:

• PDF Proof from PDF print-ready files = 1 working day

• PDF Proof from other file format = 3-4 working days

• Printed bound proof = 4-8 working days

• Full order black and white printing = 15 working days

(after proof is signed off)

• Full order colour printing = 15 working days (after proof is signed off)

At present, we do not offer a fast track service, and books are delivered the next

working day to a mainland UK address through UPS couriers.

Deliveries to Scotland and Northern Ireland take 3-4 working days.

Deliveries further abroad may take longer.

Q. Why do hardbacks take so much longer than

paperbacks?

Hardbacks take longer because each cover has to be handmade. They are worth

the wait though, the final product is stunning.

Q. How do I order re-prints?

Re-prints can be ordered through your online account. Your account will save

your past orders so it is very quick and easy to re-order. If you would like to make

changes to your order before re-ordering you would either need to upload a new

file or get in touch with a member of the team.

Q. What type of paper do you use?

We use FSC-certified paper. FSC do incredible work in protecting forests around the

world. All of their paper is sourced responsibly, and they work closely with the WWF

to protect animals and people who call forests ‘home’.

Q. Can I get help with marketing and publishing

my book?

Yes, through our assisted self-publishing arm Spiderwize. You can find out more

about them by visiting www.spiderwize.com

Q. Who would win out of a fight between Godzilla,

a scorpion with a rocket launcher for a tail, and

‘Macho Man’ Randy Savage?

Macho Man, ooh yeah.

FAQs

Remus House, Coltsfoot Drive, Woodston, Peterborough, PE2 9BF

Tel: 01733 898 102 Email: [email protected]

www.bookprintinguk.com

BookPrintingUK.com Copyright

2017

Now when you want to see a sample of our work, you will receive one of our

new sample books, filled with a wide selection of paper stock and examples

of the finished product in an A5 gloss softback, hardback, coiled or booklet.

Just let us know which one you want. Did we mention it’s free?

Request yours today at www.bookprintinguk.com

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