Files any print-on-demand house can run.

What print preparation actually is

A manuscript is a Word file. A book is a precisely built object. Print preparation is the work between the two — interior layout and a cover wrap, exported to files a printer can run without a single complaint.

This is the invisible craft of publishing. Done right, nobody notices it: the reader just feels they’re holding a real book. Done wrong, everybody notices — the cramped margins, the text drifting toward the spine, the page numbers in the wrong place, the cover that prints a centimetre off. We do the version nobody notices.

Built to your printer’s exact spec

Every printer has a specification: trim size, bleed, margins, spine width calculated from your exact page count and paper, colour profile, export format. Miss any of them and the file gets rejected — or worse, prints wrong and you only find out when the box arrives.

We build to the published specs of KDP and IngramSpark, and to the requirements of local and offset print houses across the region and worldwide. You tell us where you’re printing; we build for that. If you’re not sure yet, we’ll prepare files that work for the most common routes and advise you on the choice.

The point of preparing files this way: you stay free to print wherever gives you the best price and reach. We don’t lock you into our press — we don’t run one for international orders. The file is yours, ready for any house.

What’s included

• Interior layout & typesetting
• Hardcover or softcover setup
• Built to any POD printer’s spec (KDP, IngramSpark, local houses)
• Trim size, paper, bleed & spine to your specification
• Colour management & PDF/X export
• Preflight checks with an issues report
• Two revision rounds included

What you receive

• Print-ready interior PDF/X — The inside of your book, locked and press-safe.
• Print-ready cover wrap — Front, spine and back as one continuous file, spine sized to your page count.
• Preflight / proof report — Confirmation it passed checks, and a record of what was set.

The mistakes we see — and prevent

Most print failures are boringly predictable. We catch all of these before they reach a press:

• Spine width guessed instead of calculated. Spine width depends on page count and paper; guess it and the cover wraps wrong. We calculate it from your actual specs.
• No bleed. Anything that runs to the edge needs to extend past the trim line, or you get thin white slivers along the edges. Beginners forget this constantly.
• RGB images in a print file. Screens are RGB; presses are CMYK. Send RGB and your colours shift — that vivid blue prints dull. We manage colour properly.
• Margins too tight to the spine. Text needs room to curve into the binding, or readers fight the book to read the inner edge. We use the science of the inner margin.
• Low-resolution images. What looks crisp on screen at 72 dpi prints as mush. Print needs 300 dpi. We flag and fix.
• Fonts not embedded. A font the printer doesn’t have gets silently swapped, and your careful typography turns to default. We embed everything.

You could learn all of this. Many authors try, burn a week, order a proof, and find a mistake they didn’t know to look for. This is the part worth handing over.

Hardcover or softcover?

A quick way to decide:

• Softcover (paperback) — the default for most fiction and non-fiction. Cheaper per copy, lighter to ship, what most readers expect. Ideal for POD.
• Hardcover — for gift editions, premium positioning, poetry and art books, or titles you want to feel like an object. Higher per-copy cost, more perceived value.

You can do both — many authors release a paperback for reach and a hardcover for collectors. We can prepare either or both to the same spec. Tell us the goal and we’ll advise.

Print questions, answered

Can you prepare files for both KDP and IngramSpark?

Yes. They have different specs; we build for each so files pass both. Many authors use KDP for Amazon reach and IngramSpark for wider distribution.

Do you handle the actual printing?

For international orders, no — and that’s deliberate. We prepare files any printer can run, so you choose the house with the best price and reach.

What if my printer rejects the file?

Files we prepare are built to pass. In the rare case a printer flags something on a file we made, we work with you to resolve it.

Can you match an existing book in a series?

Yes. Send us the previous title’s specs and we’ll match trim, type and layout so the series looks like a set.

I only have a Word file. Is that enough?

That’s the ideal starting point. A clean Word document is exactly what we need.