Hardcover Books with Dust Jackets

Design  /  Avoid using fonts smaller than 5 pt or with very thin lines—their printability depends largely on the smoothness of the chosen substrate. For creative papers with different front and back sides, please specify which side the design should be printed on. Gold and silver elements may not show well on very thin lines or small areas. For deep black areas, we recommend using CMYK 60/50/50/100.

Layout  /  The inner page count must be divisible by 4, including any blank pages. The first (odd-numbered) page starts on the right, followed by spreads of even and odd pages. It’s standard and elegant to begin main chapter titles and new chapters on odd-numbered pages. Submit pages as single pages, not spreads. We can produce thread-sewn books up to landscape A3 format in small runs. Find a cover layout guide here.

Durability  /  Lamination significantly enhances the cover’s durability—highly recommended for long-lasting books. However, if you’ve chosen a creative paper for the cover, avoid plastic lamination to preserve its tactile quality.

Thread-Sewn Binding  /  Pages are grouped into 8-, 12-, or 16-page signatures based on the paper weight. You don’t need to worry about this—we handle the imposition and signature planning.

Dust Jacket  /  Beyond protecting the book, a dust jacket adds a touch of quality, offering one of the best value-for-money details as a decorative wrap. The front and back flaps traditionally feature information about the author, the book, or the series.

General Setup  /  The most reliable file format is PDF/X-4—it ensures optimal compression and proper embedding of fonts and colors. All images should be in CMYK color mode and 300 dpi resolution at actual size. If using extra (spot) colors, the printable areas must be vector-based. If your design reaches the edge of the print, include a 3 mm bleed. Crop marks should be 3 mm long and placed 3 mm from the edge.