Use mirror margins with unequal inner and outer margins, if your document will be bound e. Unlike other online book printers, we offer case bound binding, perfect bound binding, wire bound binding, and saddle stapled booklets. A gutter is the section of the page that leads into the binding of perfect bound books and hard cover books. This will save you time and ensure that everything is done right the first time. If you are producing a perfect bound book or a hard cover book, you. Please note that artwork supplied as microsoft word, powerpoint, excel, publisher. I suggest you save your word document as well be adding formatting features, and itll be useful. You will need a template for the inside pages of the book, and a template for the outside cover of your book. Now that you understand what the gutter margin is, you can take the proper steps to prevent this potential issue.
Although magcloud uses the same pdf for saddle stitch and perfect bound publications, if you plan to choose perfect binding there are a few things that are good to keep in mind while you are designing your pdf. Our printing and binding process requires minimum margin settings of. The page edges are glued together, then placed in the covers. Also remember to select mirror margins, when setting up your custom page size in microsoft word. The thicker the book, the larger the gutter, so your words dont end up running into the inside crease gutter between the pages. For example printing notes in the margin area is often used with text books. If you intend to selfpublish print books i can recommend the experience as a positive one, then having a few tips and insights about the process before you begin will be helpful because theres a lot to cover, this topic is going to require several articles. Fortunately, all versions of word allow you to easily set mirrored margins. Basic book designmargins wikibooks, open books for an.
How to format a microsoft word document for binding. If you are using indesign, you can set margins under the layout margins menu. Some books cannot have printing on the spine of the book because they are not thick enough and the type will be too small to read. Home forums general indesign topics questions about a perfect bound book this topic contains 6 replies, has 3 voices, and was last updated by romanuv 8 years, 6 months ago. Many book printers limit you on paper options and some cant even print on shiny coated paper.
Self publishing made easy by offering short run for soft cover perfect bound books. Set your document size to the book size you plan on publishing, then include a top and bottom margin of. Setting margins for binding documents wordperfect office. If you are producing a perfect bound book or a hard cover book, you also want to make sure that the inner margins are not too narrow at the gutter. This article is the first in a series to address formatting for print books. We suggest allowing at least a 12 margin on the binding edge of each page of your book and at least a 14 margin at the top, bottom, and outside edges of each page.
Regarding your second question, i do suggest leaving at least a 0. Home rare books book collecting guide abebooks glossary of book terms. Used in paperback books, trade paperbacks and magazines that have too many pages to be stapled. Same day printing advises you to use a 12mm margin on the outer edges bottom, top, and outside edge of your page.
There are a few intracacies that need attention when you are preparing artwork for a perfect bound book. This could cause issues further on, as the gutter margin is the amount of space between the content of your book and the fold where the pages of the book will be bound together. Perfect sometimes called doublefan binding does not require signatures, but rather creates a text block for the book from single, unfolded pages. Order your perfect bound book printing service online. If you choose book fold, mirror margins are enabled automatically. After you upload your pdf to magcloud, if it is over 24 pages you will have the option to select perfect binding for your print version. Perfect bound books add a certain style and sophistication to the look and feel of your books which just cant be matched by spiral and comb binding. Design for gutter margin, foldouts, and spine width. Its a budget job, so im using an online service with littleno communications with the printer and no opportunity for a proof. As a printer of perfect bound books, i field a lot of questions regarding page count, perfect binding, and the relationship between the two. Inside margin is in big way affected by the way the publication is bound and by the thickness of the publication. List of book sizes standard sizes for all different self. Give us a call at 3144345500 or 8663676221 to discuss your upcoming book.
You can use the default page margins or specify your own. Free book template microsoft word book templates diggypod. In the margins group, youre able to set the margins of the page. Perfect bound book setup perfect bound soft cover book no matter whether this is your first time printing a book or you have done it numerous times before, it is important to read through same day printings guide to publishing a book. You can also set margins using exact measurements or the ruler. Well walk you through the steps to format your word document for printing a book that is a 5. Luckily for you we have a handy book spine calculator to use. Perfect binding is the standard for all forms of paperbacks, and is widely used all over the world. Setting a gutter margin getting your book published. Perfect binding set up guide get a quote for printing your book at ex why zed. On the dropdown menu, click custom margins at the bottom of the menu. That said, go ahead and give the gutter a 1 margin, so the content of your book doesnt get lost in the fold. Lightning press does it all, and they are all super strong. The stack is then bound together along one edge by either sewing with thread through the folds or by a layer of flexible adhesive.
Guidelines are vertical or horizontal dotted lines that are displayed on pages. In this video ill show you how to set page size, margins and gutter as well as the right sizes for novels and nonfiction books. Perfect binding is an economical method for creating softcover books. Perfect binding is a widely used softcover book binding. When creating a document in microsoft word for print binding, you must allow for. Choose the margin settings in the relevant fields see below. Indesign basics create a book in indesign indesign skills. For a stitch bound hardback, you may need a little extra added to the inside margin. I have tried to decrease the margins by changing gutter but this decreases inside margin thereby shortening binding space. If you understand traditional book design dont follow this rule. Wordperfect lets you set margins using various methods. An 18mm margin should be used on the inside binding edge of the page.
If you specify a gutter measurement in the page setup dialog, this amount will be applied to the margin on the selected edge. Indesign shows your margins as pink lines on your page. How to prepare artwork for your perfect bound softback books. Learn about printing your next perfect bound book project. The thicker the book, the bigger the spine copy can be. But on choosing book form option and auto for sheets per page, print out becomes too narrow consuming extra pages scanned copy of print out sample attached for your ready reference. Here we show you how to configure margins on your pages and how to allow for a3 pages and other outsized pages that you may have such as maps or large data tables setting the margins for printing for single sided printing the left hand margins are required to be 3cm or greater to allow for the binding process. In this tutorial will go over the design of a perfect bound book cover that bleeds. Understanding book layouts and page margins the book designer. To ensure that you get the best results, an internal margin on the binding side needs an additional 10mm more than the external margins.
If youd like to expand your outside margin to match this, thats more of a design choice theres really no right or wrong option as long as your content is within the safe zone. Microsoft word comes with prebuilt page settings for creating books. On books intended for offset it depends on the number of pages longer books need more gutter margins and kind of binding perfect binding creates tighter spines than notch. I am worried that you might be confusing perfect binding with another type of binding. Well be happy to explain all your options as well as share some moneysaving ideas with you. Which means that any images that stretch to the edge of the page on the inside margin will be cut into. We explain two easy methods to estimate your books page count. You can set a margin for binding singlesided documents at the top, bottom, or along a side. Calculate book page count using word count for book design.
Jacketed case laminate pages glued to hardcover at ends with the option to design what prints on the cover. What factors should guide my decision on adding extra inside margins when preparing a book for perfect binding. Understanding book layouts and page margins describes typical margins for a standard 6 inch by 9 inch trade paperback, including createspace book layout specifications. So yes, you have a half inch margin on the left and the right, to have white space to keep your book easy to read. Perfect binding is suitable for books with over 48 internal pages. Learn how to prepare print ready artwork for a perfect bound book. Basic book designmargins wikibooks, open books for an open. Whether you need perfect bound books, coil bound books or saddle stitched books, formax can help produce your book.
Bookbinding is the process of physically assembling a book of codex format from an ordered stack of paper sheets that are folded together into sections or sometimes left as a stack of individual sheets. Choose from various trim sizes, paper options, color options, and flexible proofing options. How do i set pages in the right order for a perfect bound. Perfect bound pages and paperback cover glued together at spine saddle stitch pages and paperback cover stapled together along spine, one inside the other 48 pages max and premium color only. You can find perfect bound books paperbacks in newsstands and libraries everywhere.
Preparing your document for printing and binding is easy. For a professional interior book layout, we recommend that you keep any elements you dont want trimmed off, at least a. Most book spines will have the title and authors name on the spine of the book. Go to page layout, select margins and set them to mirrored. This page provides an illustrated stepbystep guide. Ingramspark print book options customize your self. Calculate book page count using the word count from your word document. Dont forget your margins a graphic designers primer on. Short tutorial on how to create a booklet or book in microsoft word 2016. Any word document more complex than a letter is likely to need to be bound in some way, whether it is a report bound into a report folder or a bound book. How to set up your file for printing a perfect bound book. The gutter of a bound document such as a book is the area where the page disappears into the binding.
For a glue bound perfect bound hardback, whatever the page size, allow an extra 5 mm on the inside margin. All perfect bound paperback books and hardcover books have a spine. At diggypod, we offer free book templates for the author wanting to publish a book. Shrinking your margins is a crude way to jam more words on a page. Whether its choosing to a flat laying binding style, such as saddle stitch booklets, wireo booklets, or spiral bound booklet, or including the gutter margin when you start designing your perfect bound book or hard cover book. I prefer equal margins, to maximize use of the page and reduce page count. If you are using microsoft word, or any other word processing program, it can be very difficult to set up bleeds correctly and have everything line up evenly throughout the interior of the book. You want some extra margin width at the gutter to help push. For bound books 6x 9 15cm x 23cm or smaller, use 0. Dont forget your margins a graphic designers primer on binding machine use. The gutter is the amount of the book that you lose to the binding process.
Perfect bound book printing is a great choice for books with illustrations and heavy design elements. It is a process for applying glue to the binding edges of loose pages to join them with glue only. Learn what elements to account for when designing for a perfect bound book. Top 23 mm, bottom 25 mm, inside 25 mm, outside 20 mm. This tutorial uses settings and options from the latest version of microsoft word, for mac or a pc. Our online paper sizes are based on industry standards.
If, for some reason, you are not able to use the provided templates or style files, please observe the following margins and font settings strictly. Book spine calculator book thickness calculator what. For a book design with running heads and folios that are centered at the bottom of the page on a 6. The settings you choose determine how much margin space is allowed for. The gutter is the channel formed by the inner margins of two facing pages when the book is opened.
By colin dunbar with our page size set, we continue with the global settings, and in this post we cover page layout and margins. How to set page size, margins and gutter book formatting. Before sending your book to print, you will need to layout the book. Add margins for binding a gutter margin adds extra space to the side margin, top margin, or inside margins of a document that you plan to bind to help ensure that text isnt obscured by binding. Same day printing advises you to use a 12mm margin on the outer edges. Answers to the most common questions about setting up perfect bound books. The margins are different because the margin closest to the binding of the book the inner margins must to be larger than the outer so that the text doesnt get cut off from being too close to the binding. Perfect bound gutter margins and inner cover spreads perfect bound gutter margins if you are setting up a book which will be perfect bound, remember the spine gutter margins should be at least 7mm wider than the foredge margins to compensate for them being nipped together during the binding process. To make it easier for the reader to read the text you should prevent the type from hiding in the gutter. For example, if you are printing a book, you would specify doublesided pages. Not adhering to appropriate margins andor font settings may result in removal of the paper from the. Heres another look at the books spine, to show what is happening. Book manuscript format templates interior book design. Setting up your perfect bound book same day printing.
Follow these steps to set up your document as a booklet. Perfect binding gives you a professional quality soft cover style book and is the only binding option that allows you to print on the spine. Questions about a perfect bound book indesignsecrets. How to design for gutter margins printivity insights. The coil cuts into the book by 7mm on the binding edge. Lightning press book printing services custom book. Below you will find our free microsoft word book templates for the inside pages. Click the page layout tab on the menu bar, then click and open margins. The relationship between page count and perfect binding.
Okay, so we know the gutter or inside margin on bound books has to be. You can set either single or doublesided pages for a document. Follow the guide to the t and we can all dance off into the sunset with not a care in the world. The margins of a book refer to the blank spaces that surround the. How to format your word document for book printing on mac. This is one of the hardest items to design as you need to know what the width of the spine is to accurately design the cover. As noted above with font choice, using equal margins is a rule to keep novices out of trouble.