How To Set Up A Perfect Bound Book In Indesign

Perfect Bounden
Fix Guide

Prepare to first your impress journey?

e'er here to help

Prepare print ready artwork for a perfect jump volume

Ex Why Zed has built a reputation for providing our customers with a level of customer service that is 2d to none. We care nearly your printing and have a keen interest in your chore from the offset – whether you require a one off volume for your concluding major projection, a catalogue to promote the stop of year show or a brochure to assist spread the word nationally about your new business.

Why supply files correctly?
Yous have a tight deadline and supplying files correctly outset fourth dimension round means your job can go directly on the printing and be delivered on fourth dimension. If the artwork isn't print ready then valuable fourth dimension can be lost and your deadline missed.

Lets go you started

For perfect bound books we need ii files: A cover file and a text page file.

1. A hires pdf file for the cover and inner comprehend.
You will need to add a spine on this embrace file. The width of the spine depends on how many pages your book has – information technology'due south simple simply the more pages, the thicker the spine needs to be to wrap round them all.

2. A file for the text pages supplied as single pages rather than spreads and in correct reading lodge with crop marks and 3mm bleed on each edge.

Please ask us for the spine size once your spec is confirmed or check the list here to run into if your number of pages is shown. Best not to ask earlier you take finished your artwork because if the number of pages changes the spine will get bigger or smaller.

Preparing your cover artwork

Set your text page artwork

Create a new file
File > New > Document

Intent
Print

Number of Pages
For our quick, easy method of setting up a cover file choose 'ii' here.

Facing Pages
Leave unticked

Primary Text Frame
Leave unticked

Folio Size
This is easy to work out…The acme number is the top of your Zine. The width is the width of the back comprehend + the spine size through the centre + the width of the front end cover. So for an A4 book with a 5mm spine the top volition be 297mm and the width 210+5+210=425mm. For an A5 book with a 3mm spine the height will be 210mm and the width 148+3+148=299mm.

View paper size dimensions.

Orientation
If your acme and width numbers are right so this will correct itself to the correct pick and so you lot dont have to worry about picking an option hither.

Columns
Type '2' hither.

Gutter
This is a clever piddling cheat that will salvage y'all loads of time and makes it like shooting fish in a barrel to see where your spine is. Enquire Ex Why Zed what size your spine needs to exist and then input that number here. In that location are a selection of the most mutual spine sizes here. When the file opens you'll come across two guides through the centre to show you the spine – astonishing hey!?

Margins
If you like, and then you tin add a margin gide effectually the folio border to make sure none of your content gets too near the edge. For case you lot tin ready the four margins to 5mm which will help you avoid placing important data inside 5mm of the cover'southward edge. InDesign shows your margins equally pink lines on your page. On the image (right) the 3mm bleed is the outer line, and then the black page edge and then the pink 5mm margin indicator.

Drain and Slug
Adding '3mm' in the top, bottom, left and right boxes here will add a red border on your InDesign artwork 3mm exterior of the blank page edge to show where the bleed needs to extend to. For further info see the Drain set up section to a higher place.

Click 'OK' and your new file will open up.
You will now meet a page identical to the ane on the correct. Brilliantly you can at present meet your back encompass on the left, your spine through the centre and your forepart embrace on the correct. Like shooting fish in a barrel!

Folio 2 of your new encompass file is shown to the correct. This is the reverse of the outer embrace- your inside embrace is on the left, spine through the middle (this volition exist glued so don't put any data within 8mm of the spine) and inside back comprehend on the right.

Our example here is for a encompass of an A5 Portrait Zine with threescore inside pages onto 120gsm Uncoated.

Margins & Bleed

Your new encompass file set up

Number of Pages

This is the number of INSIDE pages you have. Page 1 of your text file is the beginning right mitt page of your zine when you open the embrace. Remember this has to be a multiple of two (a sheet of paper has a front AND a back) and y'all need an absolute minimum of 36 inside pages to be thick plenty to gum and perfect bind.

Facing Pages

If you find information technology easier to pattern every bit double page spreads and then leave this choice ticked. If you are comfortable working in unmarried pages and so untick this box. Maybe try both ways earlier starting to see which you adopt.

Master Text Frame

Get out unticked

Page Size

Make sure the folio size y'all specify is the same size as you intend your perfect bound Books to be printed. Use the presets on the drib down menu if you're going for a regular folio size.

Click here for paper size dimensions.

Orientation

The left hand icon is portrait and the right hand one is landscape.

Columns

If you leave this on 'i' you volition just be given an artwork page. If you are more comfortable with a column structure then experiment with this pick to give your pages a consistent construction.

Gutter

This relates to this distance between your columns. If you just take one column then at that place is no gutter and y'all can skip this box.

Margins

It tin be useful to add a 5mm border round the folio edge to prevent you lot adding content too near the border.

Drain and Slug

Add '3mm' in the elevation, bottom, left and correct boxes here to add a border on your InDesign artwork 3mm outside the page edge to guide you lot where the bleed needs to extend to. For farther information on bleed see the Bleed fix section.

Click 'OK' and your new file will open.

Your file will exist identical to the one hither on the right. You now accept 60 pages of content to fill - Good luck!

Our case hither on the right is for an A5 Perfect Bound Zine with 60 within pages

We accept listed a few of the common spine sizes below to requite you an idea of your volume's thickness.
If your number of pages or stock isn't listed then drib us an email at hullo@exwhyzed.co.uk and we will be happy to propose on the right size.

Text pages onto 115gsm Uncoated
36pp to 42pp Text = 3mm spine
44pp to 58pp Text = 4mm spine
60pp to 72pp Text = 5mm spine
74pp to 88pp Text = 6mm spine
90pp to 102pp Text = 7mm spine
104pp to 118pp Text = 8mm spine
120pp to 134pp Text = 9mm spine
136pp to 148pp Text = 10mm spine
200pp Text = 14mm spine

Text pages onto 130gsm Silk
36pp to 40pp Text = 2mm spine
44pp to 52pp Text = 3mm spine
54pp to 70pp Text = 4mm spine
72pp to 88pp Text = 5mm spine
90pp to 106pp Text = 6mm spine
108pp to 124pp Text = 7mm spine
126pp to 144pp Text = 8mm spine
146pp to 162pp Text = 9mm spine
200pp Text = 12mm spine

Text pages onto 120gsm Evolution Uncoated
36pp to 38pp Text = 3mm spine
40pp to 50pp Text = 4mm spine
52pp to 64pp Text = 5mm spine
64pp to 76pp Text = 6mm spine
78pp to 90pp Text = 7mm spine
92pp to 104pp Text = 8mm spine
106pp to 116pp Text = 9mm spine
118pp to 130pp Text = 10mm spine
200pp Text = 14mm spine

Embrace Design Tip

Keep your spine text pocket-sized and then it doesn't slide off the spine. If your spine is less than 5mm we recommend not putting whatever text on it to avoid any risk of it sliding circular to the front or back comprehend when your zines are leap.

When your artwork is designed and printed it will expect like the epitome to the right. You can run across the dorsum cover on the left, spine in the centre and front end cover on the right – exactly the same as you designed it!

Text page design tips

Your cover is glued onto the first and last page of your text cake. Therefore whatever content inside 8mm of the spine on the first and last text page will be lost and so proceed of import information (folio numbers, headings etc) out of this area.

If you have an image that crosses over the spine (a spread) around 3-5mm volition be obscured within the spine gutter. You lot can overcompensate for this past sliding a left hand page'due south image a few mm left and a right manus epitome a few mm right and so they appear to friction match up.

Information technology IS NEVER A Practiced IDEA TO HAVE SMALL TEXT Beyond A SPREAD considering some of information technology Volition BE LOST in the spine and your sentences won't brand sense with missing characters and words.

For more than blueprint tips and considerations bank check our perfect binding section hither