Books & Brochures

Sizes & Page Numbers

We can print books and brochures at any size from A7 (74mm x 105mm) right up to A3 (297mm x 420mm). Our ethos is not to restrict your creativity to set sizes, so choose whatever dimensions work for you within this range.

The minimum and maximum number of pages you can have very much depends on the binding type you choose (see below). The most common question we get asked is what is the minimum and maximum for Casebound (hardback) and PUR bound (softback) books. For these the minimum is 20 pages plus the cover and as for the maximum, it’s as many pages as you can get into 5cm (2 inches) of spine. To give you an idea we have bound over 400 pages although it is preferable to section sew these numbers of pages if the run length is also suitable.

Specialist Papers

Specialist Papers can be used for covers to enhance the impact and finish of your books and brochures. These can include a huge range of coloured card, and patterned card to give a textured finish in the hand. And, whilst all our papers are FSC certified if you want to go one step further we can offer you 100% recycled, tree-free papers or upcycled papers. Take a look at just some of the range we can offer in our specialist papers portfolio.

Ink Options

Our top of the range HP Indigo press not only offers the traditional CMYK printing options with unparalleled results with images and graphics, but we can also offer you white ink for printing directly onto coloured card and also Pantone Cool Grey 10. Take a look at our white ink examples.

Black text on a white page is often considered too harsh a contrast to look really good, especially when there are also coloured images on the page. For most places, the alternative is to use grey text made up from CMYK – the trouble is when using CMYK to make grey it is impossible to avoid the text looking fuzzy (technically speaking it’s called dot gain) as the dots of coloured ink try to combine to make the grey. This is especially true with many of today’s thinner fonts. Step forward, Pantone Cool Grey 10…by using a single colour of grey in our press we can offer perfect, crisp thin text every time. It’s a dark grey, prevents the harsh contrast problem and looks fabulous every time.

Run Length

Many of the features and options we can offer you are only commercially viable on longer run lengths. This is typically due to their relatively high setup cost and relatively low running costs – which mean they become more and more cost efficient the longer the run of books or brochures being printed. Other options are more closely balanced in setup and running costs and these are therefore more effective with shorter run lengths.

Section Sewn

Gathering groups of pages together and sewing them into sections is a great way of making a book lay flatter when in use, and therefore making it easier to use. Sections are typically either 16 or 32 pages each and then are bound together, with each section acting independently hence making it easier for the book to lay flat in the hand or on the desk. View examples of section sewing.

Case Bound or Hardback Books

Case Binding or Hardback binding is one of the most common binding types we do for obvious reasons. Where run lengths and budget allows it can be combined with section sewn text sections to help the books lay flatter, and with any of the finishing cover options outlined in the section below. Some cover types such as cloth covers work best on casebound books. You can see casebound books in our work examples.

PUR Bound or Softback Books

The variation in softcovers we offer is hugely varied – from Colorplan coloured card covers through to Kraft covers and into all sorts of other specialist papers. If you have an idea for your books and are not sure if it can be done, ask us. We often duplex softcovers to thicken them and make them a half way house between soft and hard covers. Take a look at softcover books in our work examples.

Saddle Stitched (Stapled)

Most commonly used for brochures but saddle stitching is also used for books with fewer pages – really 44 pages including the cover is about the limit before the spine starts to bulge too much to look good. Can be combined with specialist papers to enhance the impression given and/or with any of the cover options below.

Wiro Bound Books

Available in hardback and softback options, and very popular with the journals, diaries, planners and notebooks market because the wire allows the book to lay completely flat – handy when you need to write in it! Various wire colours are available, along with ribbon markers and any of the cover options listed below.

Lay Flat Books

As the name suggests both the spine of the book and the pages are designed to lay flat when in use. Typically need to be longer run lengths to make lay flat economically effective per copy (200 copies plus). Very effective for highly visual, large picture books.

Screw Bound Books

Screw bound books look different, are very flexible in terms of how they work with their content and work very well as presentation books – because they can be dis-assembled and the content updated without losing the covers – which are often the expensive parts. Available in both hardback and softcover. Take a look at the work examples in our portfolio

OTA Bound Books

OTA binding is for softcover books and is designed to help the book open flatter as a casebound book would do. It works by hinging the cover on the text section as shown in the photo above. Ideally suited to work in combination with section sewing so is more ideally suited to longer run lengths of a minimum of 200 copies.

Swiss Bound

With Swiss Bound the cover (which can be either hard or soft) hinges on just one side. The result leaves the spine open to view as in the image above, or it is often wrapped in cloth. As it is usually combined with section sewing it is generally accepted this binding method is for longer runs of at least 300-400 copies to make it commercially viable.

Naked Bound

Leaving the threads of the spine visible is called naked binding, and can be combined with section sewing to great visual effect especially with different coloured threads. It can be used essentially without covers making a feature of the groups of pages, or add covers in the Swiss binding style. As with any section sewing it is generally accepted this binding method is for longer runs of at least 200-400 copies to make it commercially viable.

Large Format Bound

Our large format books are available in either hardback or softcover up to 440mm square for massively impressive large books. The books can be either PUR bound or section sewn within the cover giving plenty of options for different budgets.

Foiled

There are lots of different types of foil effect and the way they look is very different so it is useful to know what is what. For an in depth explanation please visit our foiling page.

Hot Foil is the traditional foiling method that “stamps” a foil layer onto the card. In our opinion this is the highest quality and best looking result, however it does need a longer run to be commercially viable.

Digital foils sleek a foil onto the surface of the card getting it to stick to a layer of ink underneath – it can be a bit hit and miss over a run and is better suited to a background pattern than to fine text details, but it has the advantage of being lower cost on a shorter run.

The last mainstream foil option is a plastic polymer, built up and raised on the surface of the card and is best when combined with a soft touch laminate as the laminate gives the liquid something to adhere to. This can look good in the right place such as on product packaging.

Embossed / Debossed

Embossing (raised above the surface) and debossing (sunk into the surface) are often confused but we will help you out if you are unsure. Can be combined with foil or “blind” to create the design simply through indentation on the paper. In the white example above, the little logo is embossed and the rectangle around it was debossed. Typically requires a longer run to be commercially viable – at least 100 copies. You can see examples of embossing and debossing here.

Spot UV Gloss

Often used on logos or other design features to help them stand out from the rest of the design. Spot UV works best when it is combined with a laminate underneath to help it grip and stand up on the surface, and is also most noticeable when used on something chunky (like a logo) rather than thin text. Is now available at reasonable costs on shorter runs than historically possible.

Die Cut Covers

More often used with brochures than books but we have also run diecut book covers – as you can see above. Depending on your run length and required shape, laser cutting may be better – but we will advise you.