What Does a Printer Need to Know Give Me a Book Printing Price?

I give my book clients PDF files that are ready to send to the printer of their choice. But if you’re a first-time author, approaching a printer to ask for a price for printing your book can be a bit intimidating. What do they need to know in order to give you a price? Printers sometimes talk in their own special language: what is bleed, or CMYK, or perfect biding?

I reached out to Amanda at Priority Printing Ltd. in Edmonton, Canada (the book printer where I worked many moons ago) to ask her to help me to make a list of everything a printer needs to know to provide you with a basic book quote. The information in this post was provided by Priority Printing Ltd., and they’d love if you’d reach out to them for a book printing price.

Here’s what you should tell your printer, to get an accurate book printing estimate:

  • Quantity - How many copies of the book do you need? Usually the printer would like to know the minimum and maximum quantities you would be interested in, and quote about 3 different quantity options. Once the printer has set up your book and is ready to print, it doesn’t cost a lot more to print a few more copies, so the price improves as the quantity increases.

  • Page count - How many pages does your book have? If you don’t know yet, give an estimate, and ask the printer to update the pricing once you have an exact page count.

  • Dimensions - What size are the pages of your book? Some common North American sizes are 5.5x8.5”, 6”x9”, or 8.5”x11”. However, one of the perks of printing your book with a traditional printer (as opposed to a print-on-demand printer) is that you can virtually choose any size you want.

  • Binding - How will your book be bound? The typical options are:

    • Perfect Binding (for softcover books, most common binding style for most self-publishers)

    • Hard Cover Binding

    • Saddle Stitch (“folded” spine with stitches or staples to keep the book together, only works for thin booklets)

    • Plastic or wire spiral binding

  • Interior details:

    • Will the inside of your book print in black ink only, or in full color? (The printer might also call full color “four color” or “CMYK”, referring to cyan, magenta, yellow and black.)

    • What kind of paper do you want for your book? Uncoated paper (“offset” or “opaque”) is a great option for books with black ink only interiors; coated paper (gloss, semi-gloss, or dull) is great for a book that has a full color interior.

    • Does your book have “bleed”? This means, does your book have text, graphics or images that go right up to the edge of the page? If it does, your book needs to have “bleed”, and the printer needs to know that.

  • Cover details:

    • Will your cover print in full color or black ink?

    • Does your book have foil, emboss, or any other finishing effects on the cover?

    • What laminate finish would you like for your cover? This is a coating that helps to protect the cover paper, making it more durable. There are three basic options: gloss, matte or soft touch.

If you are not sure how to answer some of these questions, just talk to your printer. This is another privilege of working with a local or traditional printer, you should be able to talk directly to a customer service representative, asking your questions and getting any explanations or samples that you need!

Feeling like you’ve bitten off more than you can chew with your book project? Sign up for my “Book Done” Newsletter to hear stories and tips from other writers who’ve been in your shoes and gotten their books done! Or, looking for a book designer? Let’s talk.