Learn how to make a simple book signature (group of pages) by hand and have some fun at the same time. Once you try this, you’ll understand how book signatures are put together. And you’ll quickly see how a stack of signatures can become a complete book. [Read more…]
Book edge treatments
Fore edge painting: JoyfullyTessaStudios
Book edge treatments include anything that is applied to the edges of a book’s pages. This includes paint or gilding, or even patterns cut into the paper. Some treatments are done during a book’s production at the printer or bindery, and others are applied manually after a book is printed and bound.
We’ve compiled some ideas to inspire you about creative and fun ways to jazz up your books. [Read more…]
Creative book cover treatments
Does your printed masterpiece deserve a special creative book cover treatment? Maybe some silver or gold, or the book title sticking up? How about the title pressed below the surface of the cover? Or some parts of the cover design being shinier than other parts?
We’ll explain how the printer produces all of these creative book cover treatments, and more, for hard (casebound) covers, book jackets, and paperbacks. We’ll also mention how you could actually fake some of these effects yourself. [Read more…]
Crop marks and other printer’s marks
Crop marks and other printer’s marks appear in the PDFs you send to the printer. In Book Design Made Simple, we mention crop marks exactly once and never define what they are, so we think it’s about time that we did so.
Simply put, crop marks are chop marks—they indicate where the printer will chop around the edges of the stack of printed pages to make them the correct size, and a nice, neat package for binding. [Read more…]
Book endpapers: A gallery of ideas
Book endpapers (also called endsheets) are probably the least noticed part of a hardcover book. But the endpapers are literally what hold the pages and the cover together. And they can add value to your book if you use them well.
If you’re publishing a paperback, take a look at the examples in this article for ideas anyway; you’ll find that the same principles can apply. [Read more…]
Amazon updates for book authors
Trying to keep up with Amazon updates? So are we! There’ve been a few changes lately, so we’re discussing them here to keep you up to date. The main Amazon updates for book authors are: 1) EPUBs are replacing MOBIs for reflowable Kindle ebooks, 2) hardcover binding is now an option, and 3) A+ Content is available for your book’s product page on Amazon. Let’s break it down for you.
Book binding basics
Like everything else, the ancient art of book binding is automated these days, and the array of available binding machines is amazing. This article aims to quickly explain the basics of book binding methods so you’ll be able to choose a book printer wisely.
Book binderies can be separate entities but are usually integrated with a book printing company. And in some instances, printing and binding are done right inside the same machine. [Read more…]
