How to Print a Booklet

What makes a booklet? Booklets range in shape and size but typically are smaller than books. The number of pages range anywhere from 4-80. Booklets tend to have paper covers and a very simple binding style.

They are usually assembled in a stack of 2 or more sheets of paper, folded in half. Page numbers are divisible by 4, such as 4 pages, 8 pages, 12 pages, and so on. Booklet printing services are used for short stories, manuals, recipe books, brochures, catalogs, or CD/DVD inserts.

When printing booklets, creep allowance should be taken into consideration. Creep happens because the trim margins of inner pages of saddle-stitched books are actually narrower than outer pages. So when measuring margins for printing, calculating and compensating accordingly is important. Your publisher can usually assist you with this – check out the Publishing Xpress site.

Bleed is also an extremely important factor in printing booklets. At minimum, 1/8 inch of extra background for trimming and content is required in conjunction with another 1/8 inch in from the edge. The spine of the book needs to be considered as well.

This will vary greatly depending on the dimensions of your booklet. Imposition, or the arrangement of pages in a booklet that makes them come out in the right reading order, is critical. You can request this from your booklet printing services provider so as to make sure everything is correct before committing to the final product.

Another important thing to consider in how to print a booklet is duplex printing (printing on both sides of the paper). Duplex printing requires two separate printing passes: one to print the front side, and another to print the backside.

If you wish to make your booklet as professional as possible, we suggest that have a printing press take on the job. Publishing Xpress offers small booklet printing services, full color booklet printing, glossy booklet printing, and short run booklet printing. Though saddle stitching is most common for booklets, we also offer the option to plastic coil, wire-o or perfect bind as well.

Reading to print a booklet? Check out our online pricing calculators. All you need to do is input your booklet specifications — number of copies, number of pages, paper stock for the inside pages and cover, lamination options, binding style option, and processing time — and you’ll instantly get a price for your booklet printing project. Want to change an option? Just make the change in the calculator and your price will be instantly updated.

New at this and not sure which printing options you should select for your booklet printing project? Order our free sample package. In the printing sample package, we include samples of all our binding styles — perfect bound, saddle stitch, wire-o, and plastic coil. The plastic coil bound book includes samples of all our paper stocks, to help you decide on specific papers for your printing project. We also have samples of our gloss and soft-touch lamination options.

Due to the multiple factors involved in how to print a booklet, extensive preparation is key. For more information about how to print a booklet, check out our booklet printing page. Publishing Xpress offers live chatting to assist you with any potential questions you may have. If you want to print a booklet, work with Publishing Xpress and you’ll see your booklet come together in as beautiful and professional a way as possible!

Take a look at all of our 5-star Google reviews to see why our clients love doing business with us! With our outstanding client service and our 100% satisfaction guarantee, it’s tough to find a better option to print a booklet.