The Book Printing Company - Book Printing: Guidelines for Acceptable File Formats and Error-Free Results.

Unique Book and Cover Design

"Looking for book design services? From covers to layouts, our expert team creates stunning, print-ready book designs to bring your vision to life. Get started today!"

How to self help guides

Take your book from manuscript to masterpiece! Explore our self-help articles for authors and get expert advice on writing, publishing, and printing. Start your journey today!

Online Ordering System

Whether you're publishing your first novel, a family memoir, or a professional guide, we've got you covered. Use our Book Printing Calculator to get an instant, no-obligation quote tailored to your project's specifications.

A PDF ensures that your printed or viewed file retains the formatting that you intended. Please ensure that your PDF preference is set for press quality. This will ensure that fonts and images are embedded and that no data loss occurs during the printing process. All files should be sent through at 300dpi (preferred) as a minimum. Maximum 450-600 dpi. For the best results with photos, under 150dpi is not advised. 300dpi is better. If you are using Adobe Indesign to design your book, please ensure that the internal text pages are not sent through as spreads. Covers must be supplied as a single PDF, not as 3 pages such as back cover, spine and front cover. To work out the size of your cover, please use our cover and spine width calulator.

PLEASE READ

To send a PDF for printing, you MUST save the fonts you used in the PDF, so the document looks exactly the same on our machine as it does on your computer. Here’s how to do it:

Mac Word

Word>Preferences>Save>Font embedding check (tick) “Embed fonts in the file" and uncheck “Only embed the characters used in the file”.

The difference is only about 100kB and the possibility of missing one is a risk.

PC Word

File>Options>Save>Preserve fidelity when sharing this document: then check “Embed fonts in the file” and uncheck the following two options ("Embed only the characters used…” and “Do not embed common system fonts”)

We focus on results

I found the site gave me a good guide to the process and also the personal contacts regarding my queries with Donna helped considerably. I was very pleased with the printing result, as was my family when receiving their copy of our family history. I would highly recommend the company to others for an efficient service at a reasonable price.

Dudley Gray

It was my first experience of book publishing.
I ordered 100 perfect bound books and received 10 free, which was great. I have recommended The Book Printing Company to my friends and associates. Self-publishing has been easy thanks to these ladies. The books look great! This company is honest and their customer service is second to none.

Dinah

I cannot say enough wonderful things about The Book Printing Company!!!

Which paper is best for my book?

Choosing the right paper type and thickness is an essential part of creating a professional and appealing book. The paper you select not only impacts the overall look and feel of your book but also affects the technical aspects of its design, such as margins and binding. Understanding the relationship between paper type, thickness, and your book’s genre will help you make informed decisions that enhance both the aesthetics and functionality of your book.

The Importance of Book Margins

Books margins are not a fixed number and will change as you write your book. There are many things that can determine the best margins for a book such as the number of pages in your book and the paper stock that you intend to use in the printing process. The purpose of the margins is to ensure that the text is centered in the middle of the bound page.

Book Fonts - The Book Printing Company's Top Picks for Readability and Aesthetics

One of the most common questions we are asked, is what font should be used in a book, "Sans serif" or "serif". There are two primary styles of type: "sans serif" and " serif". "Serifs" are the tiny tails on the text. Most books use a 11 to 12 pt serif font for the body copy and a bold sans serif fonts for chapter titles and headers. Depending on the age of your target audience the larger type could be more suitable.

Discover the Best Book Binding Options

The Book Printing Company offers a range of binding options to suit every project's needs. Whether you're looking for a sleek and professional hardcover binding or a more cost-effective perfect binding option, we have you covered.

Image quality and Graphics Placement

Images and graphics are vital elements in many books, especially those featuring illustrations, photographs, charts, or other visual content. Proper placement of these elements ensures your book is visually appealing, professional, and easy to read. This chapter will guide you through the steps to place images and graphics in your book using Microsoft Word, focusing on techniques like image wrapping and linking images to text to maintain layout consistency.

How to Create a Book Cover in Word

Here at the Book Printing Company, we understand that many people have limited financial resources, and this is why we have provided this step by step process for creating a cover in word to assist authors in getting their books published.

© 2025 The Book Printing Company