Books
FAQs concerning the structure, design, printing of books.
How is the main structure of a book;
The four main parts of the book are defined as follows:
1. The headlines or preliminaries
2. The main part of the book
3. The auxiliaries
4. The external ones
You can find detailed instructions in the file below HOW IS THE MAIN STRUCTURE OF A BOOK;
What are the common sizes of a book;
The common sizes of a book are 14x21cm, 17x24 cm, 21x29 cm
Tips for a correct pagination of a book.
In general there are many pagination programs that work on either pc or mac environment.
There are professional pagination programs, the most common being in design or quark xpress.
But many also use word, which offers several possibilities.
The most important detail when you start to paginate a book eg in word is to make a document
with exactly the right dimensions as your printed book eg: an A5 book which automatically appears
in word as 14.8 x 21 cm should be made as 14x21 cm in a new document.
In this document you will define its margins, recommended margins are top bottom right left 2 cm
and start writing your text there. It's a good idea when you first start printing a page on your
home printer so you can check if you're happy with the font, (a common size is 11 moments but the
font always matters too) the size of the letters you've chosen, don't make your whole book and then
change it again because, for example, the letters seem small to you.
You can use the same margins for the other sizes of books. If your book also contains photos that
stand out you must provide us with the file with crop points and the photos have an extra 5mm of
subject matter outside of the crop points.
Also blank pages should not be numbered.
You should be careful letters should always be made of 100% black and not of four colors.
In summary consider the following information:
The inside of your book should be a high resolution pdf and the pages should be one-by-one.
In case of an open file, you may also need to send us the font you are using if it is not in our font gallery.
It is correct that the size is defined from the beginning of the creation of your document,
e.g. 14x21cm and not 14.85x21 which is shown as the default format mainly by the Word program.
You can change it by going to Menu – File – Configuration or Page Layout by giving the size and
margins that you want.
We usually leave more margin on the left, where you consider the spine of the book, especially when
your book consists of a large number of pages (200 or more).
The same goes for sizess 17x24cm, A4.
How do I design a book cover;
The cover design is done in a separate file from the inside of the book.
We create a document with our cover development, i.e. front cover, back cover, spine and flaps if
any (for 14x21cm and 17x24cm books the cover flaps should be no smaller than 9cm each).
The spine is calculated according to the final number of pages in the book and the type of paper you choose.
In your cover file don't forget to add the cut points as well as extra 5mm margins all around for
trimming. The cover file must be in CMYK format, high resolution and not in RGB.
Anything you don't want to be cut, whether it's letters or photos, should be at least 7mm inside
the book's cut borders.
In summary consider the following information:
The cover file should be in left-to-right development (ie back cover + spine + front cover).
The same applies if you want the cover to have flaps which are calculated in the development as
follows: flap + back cover + spine + front cover + flap.
The recommended dimension for the "flap" is 9 cm for each flap (for book sizes 14x21, 17x24).
The spine is calculated as follows:
White matte paper or cream 80gr 0,8mm/16 pages. eg 100pages: 16=6,25x0,80=5mm spine
White matte paper or cream 100gr 1mm/16 pages. eg 100pages: 16=6,25x0,100=0,625mm spine
White matte paper or cream 120gr 1,2mm/16pages. eg 100pages: 16=6,25x0,120=0,75mm spine
Velvet 100gr 0,7mm/16 pages. eg 100pages: 16=6,25x0,100 and from the result we subtract 30% and we have the spine.
We always round the result up, e.g. if a 5.4 mm spine comes out, we make it 6 mm.
How do I save a pdf book file;
The way is simple.
Once you have completed the final file of your book, choose the way to save it: save as pdf from word
or export layout as pdf (from options choose include black pages to include the white pages that we
may have left) from quark and the pdf will be created automatically file of your book.
The pdf file must be in high resolution.
What do I need to do to get an ISBN for my book;
You apply online to the national library to be allocated an ISBN number for the book and an ISSN
number for the journal. Once published you must send 4 copies of your book free of charge to the national library.
For more information please visit : www.nlg.gr
You can find detailed instructions in the file below: Register ISBN New Publisher
What print color capability is involved in digital book printing;
Digital book printing is done in black or four-color.
The cover of this can be single-color or four-color and laminated if desired by the customer.
What kind of paper can a book be digitally printed on;
For the cover of a book as well as for other brochures and cards there are both simple
(Velvet, Illustration) and special papers for monochrome or four-color printing such as
Acquerello Avorio, Acquerello Bianco, Tintorento Guesso, Tintorento Crema and others.
Indicatively, we list some details:
Acquerello : Papers coated with excellent performance in both four-color and background printing - embossed with fine stripes on both sides. Available in two shades:
- Cream (Acquerello Avorio) in 240g
- White (Acquerello Bianco ) in 240g
Tintorento :Paper with subtle hammering on both sides. It is recommended to be used for four-color printing that do not have large backgrounds, so that the texture of the paper can be seen better. Available in two shades, Sugar (Crema) and White (Guesso) in 250 g.
Natural evolution 280 gr : Coated paper. Thanks to the special coating it has, it is ideal for four-color printing with backgrounds, with excellent color performance. Available in two shades white and ivory (very light sugar).
White matte : Specially processed European papers for the inner of books. Most books are printed on white matte paper. For those who want a creamy shade, there are cream papers with equally excellent print quality.
Velvet :Coated paper with a smooth velvet feel and smooth surface on both sides. It has excellent color rendering. It is mainly used in color printing.
Is it possible to produce a sample before printing all the books I want;
Of course you can print a sample for both the inside and the cover of your book as long as
it is printed digitally.
In this case, the cost is 18.00 euros for the black and white inner part of the book
(regardless of the number of pages) and 10.00 euros for the four-color sample of the cover, plus VAT.
Samples are delivered unbound and prepaid. You can send your files with the technical specifications
by requesting a sample print to email:production@printhouse.gr.
How do I request a quote for book printing;
In each book subcategory there is a list of options that must be filled in the correct order.
For additional clarifications, you can use the message space below and request an offer by pressing
the corresponding icon.
Finally, if you have print files, it is a good idea to send them together with the quote request,
using the "upload files" button.