every time is It is more common for writers to launch themselves by their own means to publish their book. There are those who use the platforms 100% to publish the book in physical form and in ebook, and others opt for print books in a printer to distribute them.
But, when doing so, you have to take into account several important aspects that can give a better finish to your book. Do you know what those are? We explain them below.
What do you have to check when printing books
If you have made the decision to print your book, congratulations. The process is not easy, especially the first few times you do it, since you need to know a series of important points to choose the best options for your book.
Specifically, we talk about the following.
cap type
By type of cover we are referring to the types of binding that are used to print books. And in this case we must highlight two:
- Soft cover. It is known as a rustic cover, characterized by having a flexible cover. Normally it consists of a flexible cardboard, or coated cardboard of different weights, which is placed as a cover and back cover in the book, fixing everything, either with a sewn rustic binding (you will see that it has groups of pages together that form the book ) or milled (it is as if all the sheets were glued to the spine of the cover).
- Hard cover. In this case, the cover is rigid and is not glued directly to the book, but is attached to it by other elements (endpapers or tarlatana).
In color or black and white
The next aspect to consider when printing books is whether you are going to print it in color or in black and white. You will see, the front and back covers, including the spine, will always be in color (unless you choose one that is black and white, of course).
However the inside of the book can be in color or black and white. In some printers they even allow you a budget based on the color pages and the black and white pages. For example, that you have a book with 100 pages and only two of them are in color. If they priced you a 100-page color book, it would be much more expensive than if they priced you a 98-page black and white book and only two in color.
The difference is big, first because you are giving color to the book on the inside and visually it will attract more attention; but also in the type of paper used for the book (something we're talking about right now).
Kind of paper
The paper you use for your book is an important point, especially since you need the reader, when turning the page, not to think that it is going to break with a sudden movement, or that it touches texture and is more pleasant.
In the market you can find lots of paper types and manufacturers. But we could divide them into three large groups:
- coated. It is known as coated or coated paper. It is a paper that has a layer of minerals that prevents the ink from expanding. It is ideal for printing books with illustrations or images.
- Not coated. Also called (and as it is known in Spain), offset. It is a paper that does not have the previous coating, so the grain of the paper can be touched. It is the one that is commonly used to print textbooks, novels, poetry... Now, you should know that there are two types: white (for books in general), and boneless (also for books, but it gives it a cream touch. It has the advantage that it does not damage the sight as much as the white, nor does it tire it).
- Special. They are those with a thickness or texture different from the previous ones. For example, for die-cut stories, those with textures...
Cover design
Cover design is very important when printing books yourself. Especially since it's going to be the "first printing" of your book. And if it's not right then it will ruin all the effort you've put into it or in choosing everything else.
When printing, the cover is not what you see in a book. That's all: cover, spine and back cover. And you have to send it in full PDF so they can print it. But, in addition, you must control that do not cut anything that is important: the name, the title, the image of the cover or back cover... For this you must follow a template that you either make yourself or download from the Internet (Amazon, for example, has cover templates for various types of books) , or ask a designer to make the cover for you.
Remember that this has to be of the best possible quality so that, when printing it, it does not look pixelated, blurry...
cover type
Related to the above, when you already have the cover design, the printer itself can offer you options to improve it, in terms of if you want it glossy or matte, laminated or not, or use special materials that give it a unique look.
For example, that the book has a peach skin touch, that it comes with texture or relief... All this will make the budget more expensive, yes, but depending on which cases it could be interesting to apply it.
You already have all aspects of the book thought out, what now?
Once you've chosen all aspects of the book, it's time to think inside. That is, you will have to layout it to be able to deliver it to the printer so that it can be produced in the best possible state.
In this case, you must control aspects such as:
- book size, if you are going to do it in a standard size (15×21 cm) or if you prefer a different size.
- The typography of the book. Here you will have several: the title of the chapter, the chapter itself, if you want some flourish to separate, or images, etc.
- Choose the layout of the chapters (As for starting on any page or only on the odd page (which will make the book a bit longer).
- Put header and footer.
- Add images, illustrations or just internal details in addition to the text.
The last step you would have left is to go to a local printer or an online printer to do the work for you. In fact, you should request a quote from several and see what they offer you when printing books with them to make the final decision. Or, if you need the job urgently, you can count on a 24-hour online printing company. It is more expensive, but your books will be in record time.