Save Money With Your Book Design & Layout
“The way I lay out my book can have an impact on my final printing cost?” In a one-word answer: Yes!
Printers print pages in blocks, called signatures. A 32-page signature is most common, so if your page count is divisible by 32, that’s the most economical option possible. However, the general rule of thumb is to try to not print less than a quarter signature of 8 pages. So if your book is 266 pages, see if you can drop a couple pages to get it down to 264. You’ll definitely notice the cost savings for the print run.
So what are some of the tricks to adjust the number of pages? First of all, see if you can adjust your margins slightly. Slight changes probably are not noticeable to most readers, but the price difference will definitely be noticeable to you.
Another easy change to make is to adjust the line spacing or leading. Here, too, a small adjustment can have a major impact on the page count. Don’t go overboard – if you look at your adjustment and it looks too squished, it might not be worth it. Get a second or third opinion to make sure your book remains readable.
Note: There are a couple exceptions to the 32-page signature rule. Digital printers don’t print with signatures, so page counts only need to be divisible by 2. Also, every once in a while you’ll run into a sheetfed printer that uses 12-page signatures. Be sure to always ask your printer if there is a more economical page count that might save you money.
One last area that can save money on the print run is by rethinking the trim size of the book. Too many times I’ve seen customers insist 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? Because different trim sizes are set up differently on different presses. A trim size that works well on one press might generate a lot of paper waste on another press. And guess who pays for that extra paper waste – you!
Don’t assume that the trim size you are using for your book will work just fine. Ask your printer’s sales rep for recommendations for your trim size. Maybe they will recommend that you drop your size by just 1/8″ or 1/4″. Wouldn’t it be worth it to do that to save money on the print run? Almost certainly!
Filed under: Writing & Speaking