Book Printing Layout: How to Save Money

Tag : Web Offset Printing
If you're trying to publish your own book and save money on bookprinting services, you'll definitely want to pay attention to howyour book is laid out. Minor adjustments in the layout can resultin a reduction in page count that reap large savings on print cost.

A 32-page signature is standard among most offset printing presses.Printers can easily print full signatures, half signatures, andeven quarter signatures. So if the press you are using has 32-pagesignatures, you'll want to have your page count divisible by 8 (aquarter signature). Anything other than that will just end upcosting you more money as it will result in wasted paper.

So what are some of the tricks to adjust the number of pages? Firstof all, see if you can adjust your margins slightly. Slight changesprobably are not noticeable to most readers, but the pricedifference will definitely be noticeable to you.

A minor increase or decrease in the leading (line spacing) can havea major effect on the page count. I've had books where I've had todrop a couple pages to save cost, and just adjusting the leading bya small amount - maybe only 0.2 pt. - can get me those two pages.

Note: There are a couple exceptions to the 32-page signature rule.Digital printers don't print with signatures, so page counts onlyneed to be divisible by 2. Also, every once in a while you'll runinto a sheetfed printer that uses 12-page signatures. Be sure toalways ask your printer if there is a more economical page countthat might save you money.

One last area that can save money on the print run is by rethinkingthe trim size of the book. Too many times I've seen customersinsist on a specific print size when adjusting it by 1/4" or 1/2"would save them quite a bit of money. Why is that? Becausedifferent trim sizes are set up differently on different presses. Atrim size that works well on one press might generate a lot ofpaper waste on another press. And guess who pays for that extrapaper waste - you!

Don't assume that the trim size you are using for your book willwork just fine. Ask your printer's sales rep for recommendationsfor your trim size. Maybe they will recommend that you drop yoursize by just 1/8" or 1/4". Wouldn't it be worth it to do that tosave money on the print run? Almost certainly!