How to Set Up for Book Printing

Set up for book printing is an exact science. Your creative decisions should be in place, the covers and manuscripts proofed and edited. Now you want to create a trial run of the actual press operations to see what the book will look like after it has gone to press.

1. Specify the typography. Decide the type face to use in the body copy, Title and review pages. Most designers stay within the familiar with Times Roman or Bookman Medium or sans serif like Ariel medium, these are easy to read and do not distract from the books writing. Unless your book is designed with a very specific graphics presentation and the art director specifically request an unusual type face to be designed. The other nice element is that specifying the type size to each page width is easier with a computer program like design shop and a standardized typeface.


2. Remember your book has not been printed yet, so you only have the computer pagination to tell you the correct galley size and proof. You need to prepare for an editor placing a last minute change to the final edit or proof copy.


3. Analyze your pages or pagination so that your even and odd numbered pages are against each other. The press will print all of one side of the book, all odd pages, then the press flips the book over a prints all even pages. You will print out your manuscript from the computer on 20x24 paper and each page will be placed 1,3,2,4. For your proof copy you will have to glue the pages, this is faster than running through your computer printer twice, if that is easier go ahead, any way you make a book that has the pagination in the physical copy as what your computer editor mode reads. 


4. Edit your book. Now is the time to determine the proper numeric applications and page numbers are correct in the chapter headings, body copy, versus the table of contents. All of your previous edits are accounted for and the proper changes are noted. You will decide the type of blank space between chapters, how chapters are to be numbered, headed and titles presented and that all of these considerations are placed through out the entire book. This preserves continuity and ease of reading for your audience.


5. Finish your final proof so your book is ready to be published. Make sure you have checked and rechecked for errors, changes in typography, type style, table of contents, illustrations along with changes in pagination. When everything is perfect and finalized, your are ready to take the discs to the press.