CHAPTER FIVE
I
n the publishing world, the size of the book layout is really important. It determines two principal things: the cost of the book and the size of the future product.
Book sizes are not just “created”, they are based on existing formats. At home, we print things on standard A4-sized printers and buy A4-sized paper - we don’t just invent page sizes every time we need to print something. It’s the same with books: there are standard and exotic book formats.
The book “Jak Zrobić Książkę” from Oficyna Peryferie
For a more in-depth look, I recommend reading the book “Jak Zrobić Książkę?” from the publisher Oficyna Peryferie. They explain in detail how to make a book with your own two hands.
For our future book, I had a very clear understanding: we need to choose a size that would make the book a very big book. But at the same time a size that wouldn’t cause the cost of the book to skyrocket.
Imagine that you have a standard sheet (or roll) of paper. You can use it all, or you can fold it in half, or cut off 1/3, and so on. The less you cut off and throw away, the more efficient the production of the book will be.
The paper you choose also plays a crucial role. It can be expensive, cheap, white, yellow, thick or thin, in sheets or in rolls.
The printing press is also very important. It has limitations on the size of the print. The process of stitching or gluing is also extremely important – it also has size limitations and affects the cost of production.
Choosing the size shouldn’t be something you do on your own but something done in agreement with your publishing house (or whoever is your publisher).
The screenshot above shows how the printing cost is affected by increasing the book size by 1cm in width. 300x244mm — A versus 300x254mm — B.
I suggest making the book square:
Fantastic Man Magazine, Netherlands
Fantastic Man Magazine, Netherlands
I have been involved in self-publishing for a couple of years now and right from the very beginning of this project we knew where we would print it and which paper we would use.
We decided that: the size of the book will be 300x244mm and the paper would be designer paper — Munken Print White 1.5 g/m2.
From my Instagram
The texture of the paper used in the book (Alex)
A macro shot of a page in the book
A macro shot of a page in the book