Frequently Asked Questions
What file types do you accept?
Can I use photoshop to lay out my book?
What is your turn around time?
Why can I only order one book at first?
Is the price lower if I order more books?
What is the quality of the printing?
What happens when I use your design services?
How long does the design process take?
What kind of paper are your books printed on?
What is a full bleed? can I use them?
Can I print on both sides? How many pages can I have?
Are custom materials available for my book?
Can you bind my inkjet prints or only do the printing?
What file types do you accept?
• If we are designing your book, we can accept your TIFF images and DOC or TXT for text.
• If we are printing and binding your book, we accept only PRINT READY PDF files: one file that contains the interior pages and one for the cover.
• Please read our Preparing Your Files packet for more details.
Can I use photoshop to lay out my book?
PhotoShop isn’t a layout program, we do NOT recommend using it to design your book. All we want is a Print-Ready PDF, which can be made in PhotoShop; but we do not offer templates or assistance if you choose to layout your book this way.
What is your turn around time?
• Once we Review your files, your first book will usually be ready to pick-up or ship within 2 weeks of the submission of your finalized print ready PDF. If we need to special order your cover materials, this may take longer.
• Additional book orders usually take two weeks.
• Design and/or custom bindings may take longer.
• If you have an impending deadline, please contact us. For an additional fee, we can put a rush order on your books!
Why can I only order one book at first?
Think of your first book as a chance to check and make sure everything is just as you wanted it before you commit to buying more. Nearly everyone makes some kind of change: sometimes you find a typo or decide on a different cover material, sometimes you change the entire layout. Big change or small, we want it to be just right before we produce multiples.
Is the price lower if I order more books?
• Yes, but whether you order one book or twenty, your first book will be full-price. Discounts are applied to the second book and beyond, regardless of when you order them.
• The larger the quantity books you order, the greater the discount. See our Reorders & Volume Discounts page for details.
What is the quality of the printing?
All books are printed at 1200dpi and our Canon Image Press printer does a beautiful job. Working from a high-quality digital image makes all the difference, so please read Preparing Your Files. We suggest doing a few pages of test prints to judge for yourself. We also work closely with local print houses to be able to offer Canon Image Press and Indigo Prints to give the highest print quality.
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What happens when I use your design services?
• We can help at any level from turning your vision into a perfectly formatted digital document to art directing the entire project. As experienced book designers we give your work professional attention. Please contact us for help planning your design and an estimate on your project.
• Our design services are $75/hour.
How long does the design process take?
Books can be designed in as little as a few days, but the process often takes longer depending on what you want, how settled the design is to begin with, what state your content is in and how long you take to respond to our proofs. General turnaround time for a book design proof from one of our talented designers is 1 week.
What kind of paper are your books printed on?
We use acid-free Cougar 100lb silk text for our books as our standard. If you would like to supply a different stock, please call or email for details.
What is a full bleed? can I use them?
• An image that runs to one or more edges of the page, leaving no margin. Bleeding is accomplished by cropping; the page must be designed so that some of the image hangs off the edge on each side.
• Full-bleeds can be printed in any of our books.
Can I print on both sides? How many pages can I have?
• Yes, we assume you will print on both sides. If you only want prints on one side, please include the blank pages.
• We have a minimum of 30 pages (15 sheets) and a maximum of 90 pages (45 sheets). These can be all text, all images or any combination in any order.
• We charge based on the number of image and/or text pages (20 of each are included with the price of the book). Color fill pages count as image pages do to the amount of toner they require.
Are custom materials available for my book?
Yes, many aspects of your book can be customized. Custom cover materials, binders, foil stamping, dustjackets. We love interesting projects and if we do not offer it, chances are we know a binder that we can refer. All custom projects are planned and priced individually, please contact us.
Can you bind my inkjet prints or only do the printing?
Yes, we would be happy to bind your prints!
If you haven’t found the answers to your questions on our site, please contact us!
