This first post is intended to contain information about book design that may be helpful to newer designers just getting started in complex print media. Building a good base is essential for any designer. For most print designers, vast consideration is given to basic page layout, color scheme and a minimal set of margins. If the project is a folded work involving minor bindery, then extra margins are given to gutters. None of this really changes when you get into an entire book, but the consequences for getting it wrong are amplified when the page count goes up and the bindery process becomes more involved. Why? Basic costs go up, shipping costs per weight go up, paper waste for reprints is costly, redesigning anything takes time and is costly. Cost, cost, cost. That sums it up. It is very important to get the basic set up correct, right out of the gate to avoid costly redesigns, reprints and unhappy clients.
For books, it is also important to do things in the right order. Manuscripts should come to the design desk as complete and edited as possible. Going back and making text edits once the design is completed can change book pagination and increase the time needed to set the pages back to their proper flow. The cover is very nearly the LAST item you'll want to address. The reason is that the spine and trim dimensions needed to be decided long before the cover goes on. Think about the cover as if it were the frosting on the cake. You cannot frost a cake until the cake itself has been baked and finished, right? Right. Also, your text layout and design process will also serve as inspiration for the cover. You need to know the feel of a book before you design the cover. You'll get that feel through the text design process, even if you don't read the book before designing it.
So, here are some things to consider and a few basic setups that may eliminate some guesswork:
Staying in line with the cake imagery, book design is in truth a little like baking a cake. You have to have all of the right ingredients before you can put them together. For this post, we'll start with the first few ingredients- Dimensions, Page Count, and Gutters/Margins.
The list:
Book dimensions:
Is it a 6 x 9" portrait layout or 12 x 13" landscape? I don't care what anyone tells you, there is NO standard for book dimensions. Go to any library and you'll see that there are literally hundreds of different layouts and dimensions. In some cases, the publisher or author will already have the dimensions in mind and will provide them to you. If you get to decide the dimensions, consider that kid's books may be larger and bulkier. Art books and coffee table books may also be large and bulky. General adult reading books tend to be smaller and less bulky. Dimensions are always given in "trim" or "finished" size with one exception- hard covers. Hard case bindings and setups are a little trickier and we'll get into that in a future post. For now, we'll assume that you are working on a soft cover book and that the dimensions are 6" x 9" portrait.
Page count- the rule of 8's and 16's:
This may sound simple, and it is, provided you understand a little about signatures. Understanding the signature(s) is critical! Large, professional book printing/bindery houses worldwide print in what is called a signature. Books are made up of 1 or more signatures. Each signature is generally made up of 16 pages, or 8 pages on each side of a parent size sheet of paper that will run on an offset printing press. Web presses are different consideration. For now, we'll keep it simple and stick with offset printing specs. With this in mind, all books that are NOT print-on-demand, must have page counts that are in at least 8 page increments and preferably 16 page increments, though in a pinch, 4 page increments will work, but may add cost.
For books, it is also important to do things in the right order. Manuscripts should come to the design desk as complete and edited as possible. Going back and making text edits once the design is completed can change book pagination and increase the time needed to set the pages back to their proper flow. The cover is very nearly the LAST item you'll want to address. The reason is that the spine and trim dimensions needed to be decided long before the cover goes on. Think about the cover as if it were the frosting on the cake. You cannot frost a cake until the cake itself has been baked and finished, right? Right. Also, your text layout and design process will also serve as inspiration for the cover. You need to know the feel of a book before you design the cover. You'll get that feel through the text design process, even if you don't read the book before designing it.
So, here are some things to consider and a few basic setups that may eliminate some guesswork:
Staying in line with the cake imagery, book design is in truth a little like baking a cake. You have to have all of the right ingredients before you can put them together. For this post, we'll start with the first few ingredients- Dimensions, Page Count, and Gutters/Margins.
The list:
Book dimensions:
Is it a 6 x 9" portrait layout or 12 x 13" landscape? I don't care what anyone tells you, there is NO standard for book dimensions. Go to any library and you'll see that there are literally hundreds of different layouts and dimensions. In some cases, the publisher or author will already have the dimensions in mind and will provide them to you. If you get to decide the dimensions, consider that kid's books may be larger and bulkier. Art books and coffee table books may also be large and bulky. General adult reading books tend to be smaller and less bulky. Dimensions are always given in "trim" or "finished" size with one exception- hard covers. Hard case bindings and setups are a little trickier and we'll get into that in a future post. For now, we'll assume that you are working on a soft cover book and that the dimensions are 6" x 9" portrait.
Page count- the rule of 8's and 16's:
This may sound simple, and it is, provided you understand a little about signatures. Understanding the signature(s) is critical! Large, professional book printing/bindery houses worldwide print in what is called a signature. Books are made up of 1 or more signatures. Each signature is generally made up of 16 pages, or 8 pages on each side of a parent size sheet of paper that will run on an offset printing press. Web presses are different consideration. For now, we'll keep it simple and stick with offset printing specs. With this in mind, all books that are NOT print-on-demand, must have page counts that are in at least 8 page increments and preferably 16 page increments, though in a pinch, 4 page increments will work, but may add cost.
Print-on-demand refers to Xerox, Canon, or other high-speed copier/printers and are not true presses and usually use toner and not ink. For practical purposes, the 16-page signature is the standard. Books may be divisible by only 8 and use a half signature, but breaking the signature by more than half will result in higher costs. Obviously, odd numbered books are simply not possible. Blank pages count as a page so even if the last numbered page of the book is say 199, the book will still be considered a 200 page document and the blank page at the end (the back side of page 199) should be included in the design. All text design needs to include any blank pages throughout the book. Thinking about the signature count up front will make it easier to set the file up. You'll already know that the book will have a minimum of 16 pages and that all additional pages throughout the process will be added on to the end of the document in 8 page increments. When setting up your initial document give yourself enough pages in 16 page increments to accommodate the entire manuscript. In other words, if you have a long manuscript, set the document up with plenty of pages.
For example:
Visualize that for a raw manuscript (unformatted text) of roughly 400,000 words or about 500, 8.5" x 11" sheets of paper printed on one side, with a finish (trim) size of 6" x 9", that the rough page count in the finished and designed document will be somewhere in the neighborhood of 432 pages or 27, 16 page signatures. Without getting too caught up in the signature, we'll move on. If you're using InDesign, set your document up with at least 432 facing pages. You can remove or add pages as needed.
Gutters/Margins:
What are they and how do you set them up? The gutter is the space closest to the spine where you may potentially lose information due to the pinch of the binding process. When you open a book, your eye may see text as centered within the page, but if you take the book apart (yes, destroy it carefully and take it apart) you will see that the margin closest to the spine also referred to as the inside margin is quite a bit wider than the trimmed edge or outside margin. While you won't know the exact page count initially due to the fact that most manuscripts are presented in MS Word as 8.5 x 11" pages (much different than the designed and finished product), you will have some idea. If you receive a 500 page manuscript that is single spaced in 12 point Times New Roman font, you can plan on having roughly a 432 page (27, 16-page signatures) finished book if it is designed at about 6 x 9" portrait.
Plan your document set up using something about like that. Again, you can add or remove pages later. A good formula for books of about that page count is:
Inside Margins: No less than 1"
Outside Margins: No less than .625" (though I prefer using .75")
Top & Bottom Margins: No less than .75" (More is okay, but less may make the page feel cramped).
These margins will give the book plenty of "white space" which will ultimately make it more readable if you use a nice readable font. Use wider margins if the book is significantly longer than 432 pages, but don't use a smaller margin if it is less. White space is a good thing for books and helps prevent eye-strain. Don't be afraid of it.
Gutters/Margins:
What are they and how do you set them up? The gutter is the space closest to the spine where you may potentially lose information due to the pinch of the binding process. When you open a book, your eye may see text as centered within the page, but if you take the book apart (yes, destroy it carefully and take it apart) you will see that the margin closest to the spine also referred to as the inside margin is quite a bit wider than the trimmed edge or outside margin. While you won't know the exact page count initially due to the fact that most manuscripts are presented in MS Word as 8.5 x 11" pages (much different than the designed and finished product), you will have some idea. If you receive a 500 page manuscript that is single spaced in 12 point Times New Roman font, you can plan on having roughly a 432 page (27, 16-page signatures) finished book if it is designed at about 6 x 9" portrait.
Plan your document set up using something about like that. Again, you can add or remove pages later. A good formula for books of about that page count is:
Inside Margins: No less than 1"
Outside Margins: No less than .625" (though I prefer using .75")
Top & Bottom Margins: No less than .75" (More is okay, but less may make the page feel cramped).
These margins will give the book plenty of "white space" which will ultimately make it more readable if you use a nice readable font. Use wider margins if the book is significantly longer than 432 pages, but don't use a smaller margin if it is less. White space is a good thing for books and helps prevent eye-strain. Don't be afraid of it.
I will get into more detail about how to use the gutters and margins with graphics, illustrations or photographs in a later post. For this first post, I just wanted to cover the basics. Next time, I'll go into more detail about Page headers, Text alignment and Copyright pages. Let me know if you have a specific question and I'll get back with you shortly.
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