Paperback Books

What is a paperback book?
A paperback book is a softcover book where the inner pages are glued into the spine and trimmed to the finished size. Ideal for novels, memoirs, poetry books, textbooks, dissertations, manuals, catalogues, reports, training books and general reading materials.

What is the difference between a paperback book and a perfect bound book?
Both use a glued spine, but paperback books are usually set up around traditional book sizes and reading formats such as Novel, Demy and Royal. Perfect bound books are often used more broadly for catalogues, magazines, reports and corporate publications.

How many pages can I have?
Paperback books start from 28 pages and can go up to 400 pages including the cover. Pages must be supplied in multiples of 2.

Why do pages need to be supplied in multiples of 2?
Each sheet creates two printed pages, so the final page count must be even. The page count should include the cover.

What sizes are available?
Standard sizes include Novel, Standard, Demy, US Royal, Royal, A5 and A4. Novel and Demy sizes are popular for fiction and self-published books, while A5 and A4 are often used for manuals, dissertations and educational materials.

Can I print in black only?
Yes. Black-only printing is available and is often a good option for novels, manuscripts, manuals and text-heavy books.

Can I print in full colour?
Yes. Full-colour printing is available for covers and inner pages, depending on your selected specification. This is useful for illustrated books, manuals, guides, catalogues and educational content.

What paper stocks can I choose from?
Cover options include silk and uncoated stocks. Silk has a smooth finish with a subtle sheen, while uncoated has a softer, more natural feel. Inner pages are usually printed on uncoated paper, which is practical for reading and text-heavy content.

What cover weight should I choose?
Paperback covers are available in heavier paper weights such as 250gsm, 300gsm and 350gsm. A heavier cover gives the book more structure and durability.

What cover finishes are available?
Covers can be left unlaminated or finished with matt, gloss or soft-touch lamination. Matt gives a smooth understated finish, gloss adds shine and stronger colour impact, and soft-touch gives a more tactile, premium feel.

Can I add Spot UV to the cover?
Yes. Spot UV can be added to selected areas of the cover. It works best on simple details such as titles, author names, logos, patterns or design highlights.

Do I need to allow for a spine?
Yes. Paperback books have a printed spine. The spine width depends on your page count and paper choice. We can confirm the correct spine width once your specification is agreed.

How should I supply the cover artwork?
The cover should be supplied as one complete spread, including the back cover, spine and front cover. The artwork must include bleed and the correct spine width.

How do I avoid losing content near the spine?
Keep important text, page numbers, logos and key image details away from the inner binding edge. This helps prevent content from sitting too close to the glued spine.

Should I supply the inner pages as single pages or spreads?
Please supply inner pages as single pages in reading order, not printer's spreads. This allows the file to be checked and prepared correctly for production.

Can I include full-page images or chapter openers?
Yes. Full-page images and chapter openers are fine, but any artwork that runs to the edge must include bleed. Keep important details away from the trim edge and spine.

What file format should I supply?
Please supply a print-ready PDF. PDF/X-1a is preferred where possible. Fonts should be embedded or converted to outlines.

Do I need bleed and crop marks?
Yes. Please include bleed and crop marks on your artwork. Background colours, images and design elements that run to the edge must extend into the bleed area.

What resolution should my images be?
Images should ideally be 300dpi at the final printed size. Low-resolution images may appear blurry or pixelated when printed.

Can I design my paperback book in Canva?
Yes, but please export the finished artwork as a PDF Print file with crop marks and bleed selected. Canva files are usually RGB, so colours may shift slightly when converted for print.

Will the colours print exactly as they look on screen?
Not always. Screens display RGB colour, while print uses CMYK. Some colour variation is normal, especially with bright colours, Pantones, spot colours or RGB artwork.

Is this product VAT free?
Printed books are usually zero-rated for VAT in the UK when they qualify as readable printed publications. VAT will be applied automatically where required.

Can SM1 check my artwork before print?
Yes. We can check supplied artwork and flag obvious print issues. If your artwork needs correction, layout changes, typesetting or print-ready setup, we can quote for artwork support.