Printing Services

There are two ways to print a book, and choosing wrongly is expensive in opposite directions.

Print-on-demand manufactures a copy when someone orders one. No inventory, no upfront cost, no garage full of unsold books, and the title stays available indefinitely. The per-copy cost is higher, so the margin is thinner. For most independent authors this is the right default, and it is what our packages include.

Offset printing prints a full run at once. Per-copy cost drops sharply above roughly 750 to 1,000 copies, and it opens up things print-on-demand cannot do specific paper stocks, foil, spot varnish, embossing, French flaps, printed endpapers, unusual trim sizes. It also means paying up front and storing what you print. It makes sense when you have a known destination for the copies: a speaking programme, a corporate order, a launch with committed retail interest.

We set up and manage either. For print-on-demand that means correct file specification, spine calculation, colour profiles and a full proof cycle. For offset we prepare files to your printer's specification, obtain and compare quotes, coordinate proofing and manage the schedule to delivery.

Either way, you get a physical proof copy before approval. Screens lie about paper, and holding the book is the only reliable way to catch a cover that is darker than expected or a text block set slightly too tight.