Have you ever wondered why some books gather all of their photos and other images together into a few pages in the middle? These groups of pages are called special signature inserts. We’ll explain why this is practical in traditional printing on paper, and why there are also reasons to do it even with print-on-demand. Plus we’ll show you how to set up your own book this way.
Practical reasons for special signature inserts
Cost
Artwork reproductions and historical images need to be clear and crisp. The main reason to use a multipage special signature insert is to print these images in color or on better paper than the rest of the book. In traditionally-printed books, the pages are produced in groups of 4, 8, 16, 24, 32, or even 48 (these groups are called signatures). So the text of the book can use standard paper while a special signature insert can use higher quality paper. (We explained more about signatures and book binding in a previous article, Book binding basics.)
Also, if the images are your only elements of color, sprinkling them throughout the book (and paying for color printing throughout) would be an expensive way to go about it. Grouping them all together to print separately might be smarter.
No matter how many pages the signatures are in the rest of the book, the special signature inserts can have a smaller number. Eight pages is common.
A special signature can decrease the overall cost of printing while also enhancing the quality of the images. Discuss the possibilities with your printer before you commit to the best approach.
Layout
Another reason to use a special signature insert would be to help with the layout process. If you’re not certain whether you’ll get permission to use some of your images, you’ll have trouble laying out the pages. (Should you leave space for those images on the relevant pages, or not?) In a book with a lot of uncertainty about the image permissions, you could reserve a certain number of pages, leave them blank for now, and fill them later once you find out which photos and artwork you’ll be working with.
Obtaining permission to use images
Wondering how to get permission to use images in your book? There are lots of articles online, but you could start with this good introduction from Stanford University in the US, or this one from Authors Alliance.
How to set up your book for a special signature insert
If you’re planning to print your book on an offset or digital (non-POD) press, talk to your printer first about your ideas for the insert. They will advise you about paper choices and how many pages you can work with.
Your insert signature will be slipped in between other regular signatures when it’s time to bind the book, so figure out with your printer ahead of time exactly where it will be placed.
Two examples of insert signatures. Top: Guns, Germs, and Steel by Jared Diamond. Bottom: 1421 by Gavin Menzies.
Most books do not use page numbers on these pages. So for instance, your text might stop on page 224, then your insert would appear, and the next text page after the insert would be 225. Because the insert will be printed on noticeably different paper, the reader should have no trouble locating the next text page. Do your best not to end page 224 in the middle of a sentence or even a paragraph.
On the insert pages, keep your normal margins but omit the running heads or feet, and as we mentioned above, don’t bother to number the pages. See the examples to the right.
When grouping images together on pages, use all the space! Or, if you’re displaying one image per page or spread, leave enough white space around each piece to make it look special. Alternatively, you could simply bleed images off the page if you have permission to do that. Always include captions to remind readers what they’re looking at.
A fake special insert in a POD book
Perhaps you simply like the idea of the special signature insert even though you plan to print with POD. That’s perfectly fine. You can place your “insert” anywhere you like and use any number of pages that works for you. If you want, you can even skip page numbers (see above) the way you would in a traditionally printed book. The only difference is that all of your book pages will be printed on the same paper, with no increase in print quality for your images. Depending on your readership, it’s possible that almost no one will notice.
We encourage you to at least consider creating a special insert signature for your book, if it’s appropriate. The result can be effective and possibly also save you money. After all, people like to look at the pictures first, so placing them all together in an easy-to-find location will satisfy everyone.
Read more: POD book publishing » explains the pros and cons of print-on-demand
And more: Converting multiple images to CMYK in Photoshop » to speed up your prep work
Book Design Made Simple. You can do it yourself.
[Top photo by Tom Hermans on Unsplash.]
Loved reading about this! I’d be intrigued to read another article about how to insert different page sizes (like foldout/accordion pages in the middle of a magazine, or smaller pages) and how that relates to the printer you’re working with (if you’re interested in covering that topic).
Thanks always for all your wonderful insight! I love this blog.