Spine Width Calculator - Book Spine Measurement
A book spine is the edge of the book where the cover attaches to the book block. It is usually glued onto the bookblock using a very strong EVA or PUR glue which also holds all the internal pages in place.
The width of the spine is determined by the number of pages in the book and the type of binding, e.g. paperback or hardback.
If the book spine is 3mm or more we will be able to print text, images or a logo onto the spine. If the spine of the book is over 4mm we will be able to add foil blocking to it.
Book Spine Calculator
Spine Width
The type of paper used is entirely your choice (within reason). We stock a variety of paper that is suitable for paperback and hardback printing.
Some examples of our most popular paper;
- 80gsm opaque
- 100gsm opaque
- 80gsm munken bookwove white (offwhite)
- 80gsm munken bookwove cream
- 100gsm recycled
We also offer a range of coated papers and various endpapers that can be inserted into your book.
This depends on what paper you have.
The spine size for a paperback book will need to be over 3mm.
The spine size for a hardback book will need to be over 9mm.
Yes, we can print on the spine of the book. If your books spine is over 3mm we can print text, images and logo on the spine. A book spine which is smaller than this will require a font that may be too small read.
If you want to make the spine of your book bigger you only have two options;
- Add more pages to your book either more content or blank pages.
- Choose a heavier / thicker paper, such as the Munken Bookwove 80gsm.
Our Munken Bookwove 80gsm paper comes in white (off-white) or cream. Although it is 80gsm in weight, the way it is produced makes it our thickest paper and the best way to 'bulk' up your book.
The spine of your book can have pretty much anything on it. The usual elements of a spine will have the books title, subtitle, author name and the publisher name/logo.
If the spine of your book is over 4mm then you will be able to have foil blocking on the spine. Almost all hardback books will be over this width.
Your book spine should be part of a complete wrap-around cover including the front and rear cover of the book with the spine in the middle.
BOOK SPINE DESIGN
Every year more and more people are purchasing books online or they are getting audiobooks and eBooks. Still, there are many millions of books purchased from physical bookstores.
The spine of your book is more than likely one of the first things a potential reader will see when looking for a new book from a bookstore. It is therefore essential that the spine of your book is designed in a way to grab that potential reader's attention.
Have a look below at some book spines found on Instagram to give you some inspiration.
Before sending us your artwork please make sure you have;
Checked the paper size is correct.
Set your colours to CMYK.
Make sure your images are 300 dpi.
Added a 3mm bleed and crop marks.
Embedded your fonts.
Save your artwork as a PDF
Proofread your document.
To find out our full artwork guidelines click here.
Questions and Answers
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
All files should be sent to us as press-ready PDF files. If you are unable to send files in this format then a word file for your manuscript can be sent. We will convert this file into a PDF file and send it back to you for checking. If you are happy then we can proceed to print.
We do not offer print on demand. We are a short-run printing company and produce books from as little as 10 copies. Unlike print on demand, we do not have any high setup cost and ordering copies of your book from 100 copies will get you a very competitive unit cost.
All books that we print come in different shapes and sizes, paper types, cover laminations and have many different options you can add to make your book unique. If you want to find out how much your book will be to print please visit our online quote calculator.
Orders can be placed on our website via our online quote/order form. We can also accept orders by email as long as you know all the specifications of your book. If you are unsure of what specifications you would like for your book, please get in touch with us.
Due to our specialist equipment and the time we have invested in becoming the specialist book printer in the UK we are able to print any size book between A6 (148 x 105mm) and A4 landscape (210 x 297mm). This means you can print your book at standard book sizes or you can have your book in a custom size.
This depends on a variety of factors but in most cases, paperback books are printed and shipped within 5 to 7 working days and hardback books are shipped within 4 weeks depending on the quantity. Please contact us if you have an urgent delivery timeframe.
Yes, we offer bound proofs for paperback books and hardback books. Please note that most of our hardback bound proofs are bound up as paperback books with a sample cover. We do this in order to get the proof copy out to you quickly and keep costs low. We can produce a complete hardback bound proof but the shipping time on this proof will be greater than our usual 1 to 3 days and may include an additional cost.
No, we don't, we print all books in-house in our production facility in Exeter. We don’t sub out any printing work to other printers or to any company abroad. Some extras such as foiling are sent out to a specialist company that we have been working with for several years.
