Preparing a book for print is a step that shouldn’t be rushed. Even the best content can lose its impact if the file is poorly laid out, the cover doesn’t align with the spine, the graphics are of poor quality, or the text is too close to the edge of the page. A well-prepared design speeds up the quoting process, reduces the risk of revisions, and allows for a smoother transition to production.
This guide is for authors, companies, institutions, and publishers who want to have a book printed and avoid the most common technical issues. You don’t need to know every detail of the printing process, but it’s worth knowing what to check before sending your files to the printer.
Start by determining the basic parameters of the book
Before you send a file for a quote, be sure to specify the basic details of the publication. The printing company needs to know exactly what is to be printed, as this information determines the price, production technology, binding, and turnaround time.
The most important parameters are:
- book format, such as A5 or B5,
- number of pages in the middle,
- planned print run,
- the color scheme of the interior, i.e., black-and-white or color printing,
- type of fixture,
- paper inside,
- the cover's design and color scheme,
- any lamination or other finishing treatments,
- the date that's important to you.
Not all decisions have to be made right away. If you’re not sure which paper or binding to choose, you can describe the nature of the publication. A novel is prepared differently than a photo album, which is prepared differently than a business guide, and a technical book or training material is prepared differently still.
The PDF file for printing should be the final version of the book
It’s best to send the final PDF file to the printer—one that’s prepared in the correct format and checked before export. A text file from a word processor, a presentation, a JPG image, or a working document may not be sufficient for production. A PDF preserves the page layout, fonts, images, and format of the publication exactly as the book is to be printed.
Before exporting, check the book for typos, blank pages, misaligned images, outdated page numbers, or errors in the table of contents. Once the file has been sent to print, any corrections may delay production and may sometimes require the cover or the entire publication to be reprinted.
It's a good habit to read a book after exporting it to PDF, rather than just in the program in which it was typeset. This PDF file will serve as the basis for production.
The page format must match the selected book format
If the book is to be printed in A5 format, the layout file should be prepared in A5. If you choose B5, the design should be in B5. It sounds simple, but this is one of the most common problems with files prepared by the author.
It’s not worth preparing a book on A4 paper on the assumption that “the printer will scale it down.” Changing the format can affect the text size, margins, photo layout, page numbering, and overall readability. A book that looks good on A4 may become too cramped or difficult to read when scaled down to A5.
It's safest to work in the target format from the start. This lets you see right away what the publication will look like as a finished book.
Margins, bleeds, and safe distance from the edge
When typesetting a book, it’s important to keep margins in mind. Text, page numbers, footnotes, and important graphic elements should not be placed too close to the edges. After the book is trimmed, they may look unsightly, and in extreme cases, they may be partially cut off.
The inner margin - that is, the one on the spine side - is particularly important. In a perfect-bound book, part of the page appears to “extend” into the binding, so a margin that is too narrow can make reading difficult. This is even more important to consider with thicker publications.
Bleeds are necessary when an illustration, background, photo, or color is intended to extend all the way to the edge of the page. Without bleeds, white stripes may appear after trimming. If a book contains full-page illustrations or colored elements near the edges, the bleeds should be properly set up in the file itself.
Photos and graphics must be of sufficient quality
Graphics that look good on screen don’t always look good in print. This is a common problem with photo albums, guidebooks, corporate publications, educational materials, and technical documents. Photos downloaded from the internet, small files, or heavily compressed graphics may appear blurry when printed.
Before sending a book to the printer, it’s a good idea to check, Do the photos have the appropriate resolution and whether they have been accidentally enlarged beyond their intended size. If the publication contains charts, technical drawings, tables, or illustrations, they should be legible when printed in the book’s final format.
For books with a large number of photos, it’s also a good idea to pay attention to color consistency. Photos from different sources may look inconsistent if they aren’t prepared and adjusted beforehand.
Fonts, page numbering, and table of contents
Before printing, you must check whether all fonts are properly embedded in the PDF file. If they are not, the text may appear differently on another computer or during prepress. This is especially important for less common typefaces, special characters, academic publications, and books with many footnotes.
Page numbering should be logical and consistent with the table of contents. It’s a good idea to check whether the title pages, section headings, chapters, and main numbering are arranged as they should appear in the finished book. For corporate, academic, and technical publications, it’s also a good idea to verify the captions under tables, charts, and illustrations.
These are small details, but they’re often what make or break a book’s professional appearance.
The cover requires separate preparation
A book cover isn’t just the front. With a perfect-bound book, you also need to prepare the back and spine. The width of the spine depends on the number of pages and the type of paper, so it’s not a good idea to design it “by eye.” If the spine is calculated incorrectly, text or graphic elements may shift after the book is bound.
The cover should be prepared as a complete design that includes the front cover, spine, and back cover. You must also account for bleed and safe margins for text, logos, barcodes, ISBN numbers, or other elements. If the book is to have flaps, the design must also take their dimensions into account.
When looking at the cover, it's worth checking out:
- the accuracy of the title and the author's last name,
- the description on the back cover,
- space for an ISBN or barcode,
- text placement on the spine,
- graphics quality,
- discounts and safety margins,
- the design's compatibility with the selected book format.
Color scheme and print version
A design created for the web isn’t always immediately suitable for print. In print, the color space, file quality, and how black is handled are all important. If a book contains color pages, photos, illustrations, or an elaborate cover, it’s worth checking whether the file was exported with print production in mind.
With simple text-based books, there are usually fewer issues, but when it comes to a cover, a photo book, a corporate publication, or a premium book, color can make a big difference. It’s worth remembering that a screen emits light, while paper reflects it, so colors in print may look different than they do on a monitor.
That doesn't mean you have to know all the technical settings. However, it's a good idea not to send a random draft file and to make sure the design has been prepared as print-ready material, not just for preview.
What should I send to the print shop to get a quote faster?
The more detailed the information you provide at the outset, the easier it will be to prepare a quote and avoid additional questions. This doesn't mean complicated documentation, but rather the basic information needed to evaluate the project.
It's a good idea to include the following with your inquiry:
- PDF file of the book's interior,
- a cover design or a note stating that the cover will be prepared later,
- book format,
- the number of pages,
- planned print run,
- information on whether the image is black-and-white or in color,
- preferred paper,
- type of fixture,
- information about lamination or finishing,
- expected completion date,
- Shipping address, if you're ordering with shipping.
If you don't have a finished file yet, you can send us a description of the publication. That's all we need to have a preliminary discussion about the options, print run, and specifications.
The Most Common Mistakes When Preparing a Book for Print
Many pre-press issues stem from rushing the process or working with files that weren’t prepared with production in mind. The most common errors include incorrect page layout, missing bleeds, low-quality graphics, margins that are too narrow, unembedded fonts, an outdated table of contents, an incorrectly calculated spine, and submitting a file that isn’t the final version of the book. It also often happens that the author revises the content after the cover has already been designed. If the number of pages changes, the spine thickness may change, and then the cover needs to be readjusted. That’s why it’s best to finalize the interior layout first and only then prepare the final cover.
Before sending the files, it’s a good idea to do a quick check: open the PDF, go through the book page by page, and check the chapter openings, page numbers, illustrations, table of contents, and cover. This check takes less time than making corrections once production has begun.
Preparing a Book for Printing at DANPOL
At the DANPOL printing house, you can order online book printing - from single copies to larger print runs. We handle the printing, binding, and finishing of books in Zabrze, and we also ship the finished publications to customers throughout Poland. This allows authors, companies, or publishers to complete the entire process remotely: from submitting files and receiving a quote to the delivery of the finished print run.
Before printing, it’s a good idea to prepare the final PDF file, specify the book’s basic parameters, and check whether the design is ready for production. If you’re not sure which option to choose, a good approach is to describe the publication and submit it for a quote. Based on this, you can select the format, print run, paper, binding, and finish that best suit the book’s specific purpose.
A well-prepared book means fewer revisions, a smoother production process, and greater confidence that the finished copy will look the way it should.