Books can be produced in many formats and consideration needs to be given to your chosen format as each will impact the production and sales costs differently.
Case Bound or “Hardback” Books
These can be produced with a cloth cover, generally known as Buckram or Rexine, with foil blocking to front, spine and back covers. Logos can be added at additional cost, but images cannot be reproduced.
This is the most expensive form of binding and though case bound books retail at a higher price, production costs are much higher and as a result profit margins are generally lower.
Wiro-Bound Books
Generally more suitable for school books or work books and manuals, wiro-binding uses coiled wires, such as those in reporters note books, to bind pages, allowing books to lay flat. Though this is a more cost effective option, it is not particularly suitable for general publishing.
Saddle Stitched Books
Saddle stitching, or FST as it is also known, produces smaller booklets with a lower page count, normally up to 48pp.
Perfect Bound Books
Paperbacks are the most common form of binding in the publishing industry and are suitable for a wide range of genres. 4selfpublishing recommend this form of binding as books look very professional and benefit from lower production costs.
Book Sizes
Book sizes vary considerably, but the most common sizes are as follows:
234 x 156mm (6.14" x 9.21")
216 x 140mm (5.5" x 8.5")
210 x 148mm
4selfpublishing would normally recommend 210 x 148mm as an optimal size.
