We encourage you to contact us before you make decisions that may affect the binding process (margin size, paper type, etc.). We have been doing this for a long time and can give you lots of free advice about completing your project without a hitch. For more information and guidance on self-published micro-editions, please refer to the paragraphs below.

 

We do not print pages.  However, we can put you in touch with a trusted local printer who accepts electronic pdf files.  They can print your pages on the appropriate paper and deliver the pages to us for binding.  For printing from an electronic file, please contact:

Dixon Graphics

105 W. John St., Champaign, IL 61820

(217) 351-6100

e-mail questions and files to:

prepress@dixon-graphics.com

 

If you use Dixon Graphics, you will receive one bill from us for printing and binding (you do not have to pay them separately, although you may if you prefer).

 

If you choose a different printer to print your page PLEASE read the following guidelines and insist on the proper weight and type of paper for your project (don't let them talk you into using whatever paper they have laying around that they want to get rid of).

You are welcome to print your pages yourself and mail them to us.  If you want to print your pages yourself, please follow these guidelines:

 

PAPER 

Size

Since we assemble all of your books from scratch, and cut all of the parts to fit your book, we really don't care what size your pages are. You live in a world of standard paper sizes and will probably print your text on standard 8.5" x 11" paper. However, if you want to make a book that is, for example, 6" x 9", you may format it at that page size and print it out on 8.5" x 11" paper. DO NOT try to trim it to the finished size yourself. As long as you have formatted all the pages identically, we can trim it down to 6" x 9" as part of the binding process. It is much easier for us to trim it for you and it will not add to the cost, as long as the text is printed in the SAME LOCATION on each page throughout the entire text. That way, all of your pages can be trimmed down at once in one large stack.

 

Weight

Heavier paper does NOT make a better book! It just makes a book that is VERY stiff and difficult to open. When the paper that is used is too heavy, you have to hold the book open with two hands because it wants to snap shut. Having to hold a book open in this way puts unnecessary stress on the binding. As a rule, if you are buying paper by the ream, make sure it is NO HEAVIER than 24lb. 20lb. is even better. One local copy shop here keeps telling people they need to use 32lb. paper. DON'T FALL FOR THIS ADVICE!!!! We sometimes refuse to accept orders printed on inappropriate paper.

 

Type of Paper

As a result of digital printing techniques, the composition of paper has changed in recent years. Hard, ultra-white, ultra-smooth laser papers that are very commonly used now were developed to improve the print quality of ink jet and laser printers. These papers are NOT well suited to our binding process. They tend to be too heavy and stiff and their life expectancy is unknown. Such paper may be ph neutral, but that does not mean it is also archival (long-lasting). What does work well for binding is a good 20 or 24lb bond copy paper such as Hammermill Bond. These papers are usually ph neutral and should last you the rest of your life. If you want your books to last 200 years use paper with rag content. 25% cotton paper is strong, ph neutral, archival, and easy to find at office supply stores and many copy shops.

 

Paper Grain

Unless it's handmade, paper has a grain as a result of being manufactured in a paper mill. Having a grain means that the paper is more flexible in one direction than the other. You can often find the grain direction if you hold a stack of paper by the edges and bend each edge towards the middle (hold the top and bottom of a sheet and bend each edge toward the middle, then repeat the process holding onto each side of the page). You will feel the paper bend easier in one direction than the other. The grain should run parallel to the binding edge. Letter size (8.5" x 11") reams of paper are almost always packaged "grain long", meaning the grain runs parallel to the 11" or "long" axis (a sheet this size should bend easier when you hold it by the edges; the 8.5" direction; than it does if you bend it hold the top and the bottom; the 11" direction). Sometimes the paper is even labeled "grain long" or "grain short" on the package. Occasionally we receive text on 8.5" x 11" paper that was created by cutting a sheet of 11" x 17" paper in half. If the original 11" x 17" sheet was "grain long", then the resulting 8.5" x 11" sheets (when cut from the larger sheet) end up being "grain short". The added stiffness of having the grain run against the binding edge can prevent the book from laying open on its own. When a book like this wants to snap shut we call it "mouse-trapping". Books like this must be held open with two hands and the stiffness puts stress on the binding. "Cross grain" books (where the paper grain does not run parallel to the binding edge) that are glued and not sewn often fall apart due to this type of stress on the binding. We don't care what page size you want your book to be, as long as the grain runs parallel to the binding edge.

 

 

PREPARING YOUR TEXT

 

Margins

Sewing single sheets of paper together involves a process which punches through the edge of the page almost 1/4 of an inch into the binding edge. You will lose that 1/4 inch of the binding edge margin. Please allow for this when setting up your margins. For example, if you wish to have a margin of 1 inch on the bound edge of the finished book, you need to give us 1 and 1/4 inches to work with. In fact, we don't care what the margin is, but if you crowd the binding edge, your text may end up deep in gutter of the book which could make it unreadable. 

 

Printing 

The majority of material we see is printed on a photo copier, ink jet printer, or laser printer. We have no preference which process is used, but we do know the advantages and disadvantages of each. Please feel free to contact us if you are unsure of what will work best for your book. If you wish to have it printed in the Champaign-Urbana, Illinois area, please contact Dixon Graphics (information above). 

 

Photos and Other Mounted Material

Photos and cards mounted on pages may require extra attention during binding. Five or fewer mounted items may make no difference in how we bind your book. But if enough items are mounted on the pages, the middle of the book ends up thicker than the edges and the book won't close properly. (Imagine a book that looks overstuffed with paper where cover never really closes.) If your book project involves mounted material, please contact us during the preparation stage so we can help guide you toward the best solution.

 

Photos Printed Directly on the Page

If you will be printing photos on the pages of your book heavyweight photo paper (glossy or matte) is NOT a good choice for binding. "Photo quality" inkjet or laser paper (as apposed to "photo paper") can print well and bind well. This is trickier if you are printing your photos on two sides of a sheet of paper in which case you will generally have more bleed-through problems with inkjet printing than laser or professional digital printing. Although we can sew it together, an entire book of photos printed on heavyweight photo paper would be near-impossible to open and not a good candidate for binding.

 

Books with Enclosed Compact Discs or DVD's

Sometimes we receive texts with CD's (in envelopes or pockets) included. The pockets are not a problem for us and we can mount a pocket inside the back cover for the CD if you let us know that you need one. However, we cannot run your pages through the binding process with the CD itself in it (sometimes CDs are mounted in pockets on a page of the book). Part of the process involves pressing your book under many thousands of pounds of pressure and this would crack a CD. Please DO NOT SEND the CD disc itself with your order. We do not want to damage it and we do not want to have to keep track of everyone's CDs.

 

If You Must Use Heavyweight Paper

If you have to use heavyweight paper (for an art book that needs to have heavy, handmade paper pages, or for a book of photographs where the pages are printed two-sided and you are trying to avoid all bleed-through, etc.), there IS another way to make your book. Your pages can be set up in what are called "signatures" which are folded pages stacked inside each other in groups of 3 or 4 folded sheets. The setup on this type of book is tricky. You really need to contact us to discuss the way you would set up your pages in signatures. PLEASE contact us BEFORE you print you pages out if you must use heavy paper so that we can tell you how to print and sequence your pages to ensure that you end up with a smooth-functioning book.

 

Mailing Your Pages to Us

If you print your pages yourself, or have them printed by an out-of-town printer of your choice, you can mail the pages to us at the address found at the bottom of this page.  Please pack your pages securely so that they CANNOT slide around at all during transit.   Remember, we bind the pages in the order in which we receive them (we do not do proofreading or collating) so please pack them to insure that they arrive looking the way you want them to look.