Booklets
Your guide, catalogue or programme, stapled at the spine.
Step 1 of 3
Paper
Bright and reflective, for strong colour.
Size
Pages and cover
About booklets
Materials
Every booklet is text-weight paper, folded, collated and stapled at the spine, and printed in full colour on both sides of every page. Gloss text 80lb and Gloss text 100lb are coated papers with a shine, for pictures that should look bright; Silk text 80lb and Silk text 100lb are coated with a soft, low sheen that is easy to read under lights. The 100 lb papers are thicker and turn more like a magazine. Uncoated text 60lb has no coating and takes a pen, the paper of a programme or a workbook, and Uncoated text 60lb, black ink is the same paper printed in black alone: its pages print in black and greys, and its 14pt cover, if you choose one, in full colour. Any booklet can have its cover on the same paper as its pages (a self cover) or on 14pt card, which holds its shape in the hand.
Sizes
The size is the booklet closed. 5.5 x 8.5 in is half a letter sheet, the size of a programme or a guide that goes in a bag; 8.5 x 11 in is a letter page, for a catalogue or a report. Either stands upright and is bound on its long edge, or turns landscape and is bound on its short edge (8.5 x 5.5 or 11 x 8.5 in), for wide pictures. A booklet has 8 to 64 pages in fours, and the count includes its cover: an 8-page booklet is its front cover, its inside front cover, four pages, its inside back cover and its back cover. Every paper is made at both sizes, both ways up and every page count.
Your file
Design it in the editor and the print file is made for you: one PDF of single pages in order, page 1 the front cover and the last page the back cover, each the page's full size with the extra edge the trim needs, an eighth of an inch, as the printer asks for them. The editor shows every page in order with the cover marked, and on each page marks the spine, the edge it is stapled at. Keep words a quarter of an inch inside every edge. A page you leave empty prints blank, and the review says which. To use your own artwork, upload an image (PNG, JPEG, WebP, GIF or SVG, up to 12 MB) and place it; a PDF is not taken. Before you pay, the print check tells you if a picture is too small to print sharply, or if any words are smaller than the press can hold.
How long it takes
Printing takes 3 to 5 business days on the gloss and silk papers. The 60lb uncoated paper, in full colour or in black ink, takes 4 to 6 business days to print: its chip says so, and before it goes in your cart you agree to that time. Delivery comes after that; the Shipping page has the times.
Made for
Questions
- What is the smallest order?
- 25 booklets. Runs are 25, 50, 100, 250, 500 or 1,000.
- How many pages can a booklet have?
- 8 to 64, in fours: 8, 12, 16 and so on. The count includes the cover, so an 8-page booklet has four pages inside its cover.
- What is a self cover?
- A cover printed on the same paper as the pages. A 14pt cover is printed on card, thicker than the pages, and holds its shape in the hand.
- Can I change the number of pages after I start?
- Yes. Choose more pages and they are added at the end; choose fewer and the pages past the new count are kept aside, not printed, and come back if you choose more again. The editor says which.
- How long does printing take?
- 3 to 5 business days on the gloss and silk papers, and 4 to 6 business days on the 60lb uncoated paper, which you agree to before it goes in your cart. Delivery comes after that; the Shipping page has the times.
- Can I see it before it prints?
- Yes. Before it goes in the cart you see every page as it will print and confirm them, and the editor exports a PDF of your design.