Personalised book printing
Books are probably the most popular privately used print products around the world. We use them to cook, we browse through them and we educate ourselves further through good books. We constantly depend on books even in our everyday work, even if it is just to record or look up something. With print24.com, you’ll be teaming up with a modern, experienced print shop which sets standards in quality, speed and prices, including when it comes to book printing. We print your books as paperbacks or hard-covers. Whether you are a self-publishing author or professor, whether you want to print a new DIY guide or your family history for your parents’ golden wedding anniversary.
You can let your creativity run wild when it comes to having your books printed by print24.com. It is difficult to think a single topic which has not been printed on paper since Gutenberg invented book printing. And the range of options available to you is just as broad. We print comics, poetry anthologies, diaries or your novels. You can also ask us to print your club history, or, if you are a school, order new class registers. We also print song books for musicians, as well as the print version of blog articles for bloggers. When would you like your books printed?
Books in A4 or A5 format with perfect binding or sewn binding | Portrait- or landscape format
Book printing for small publishing houses
We print books with perfect binding in volumes of up to 5,000 items per order and books with sewn binding up to 500 items. Combined with our particularly fair prices and excellent quality, our book-printing services are ideal for small publishing houses. It is no coincidence our loyal customers include many such publishers across Europe.
Various formats for your books
Choose from seven formats for your books with perfect binding, printed at print24.com – so you can find one which best suits your content. The 125 x 190-mm and 135 x 215-mm formats are among the most popular when it comes to printing fiction. Non-fiction books can be even larger. Classic DIN formats like DIN A5 or DIN A4 are available for club logbooks. Both of these sizes can also be printed in landscape format, which may be useful for coffee-table books. If you have any questions about selecting formats, we will be glad to assist by telephone or email.
From small publications to thick tomes – anything is possible
We can create a 40-page poetry anthology just as easily as 1,000-page memoirs. Our configuration system provides many different settings to allow you to select the right size for your book.
Classic and well-established printing processes for content and covers
Two tried-and-tested printing processes are used to print your books. We print both the cover and the inside pages using the CMYK four-colour process or black. The former may be suitable for graphics or images.
Books with perfect or sewn binding
Perfect binding: the single pages are collected into a block and fixated with a special polyurethane glue (PUR) that is applied to the back of the block. Books with perfect binding can be printed with 40 to 996 pages of content. Sewn binding: after folding, the printing sheets are collected and sewn to single sections (signatures). These sections are then attached to the cover with glue. Books with sewn binding are available with 48 to 500 pages of content.
Attention: Depending on the type of binding there are different choices for formats, orientation, number of pages, cover, papers and refinements!
Brighten up your book – with a matching cover
At print24.com, you can have your books printed either as paperbacks or hardcovers. Paperbacks are often the classic “pocketbooks”, while hard-covers are used for new editions or high-quality publications. For books with perfect binding, we offer you various base colours – black, blue, green or red – for your covers, allowing you to influence people’s first impressions of your book simply through a choice of cover colour.
High-quality paper for your printed books
You have the choice between various types of paper, depending on which binding you choose. The 80 gsm and 90 gsm offset paper types are inexpensive options for your book printing, which may be particularly beneficial for larger quantities. For professional printing of books with perfect binding, we recommend the wood-free, 80 gsm and 90 gsm book paper, which is similar in colour to ivory. Alternatively, you can print your books on classic coated art paper. Especially coloured prints like graphics or photos look good on this paper. For the perfect binding, you have additionally the choice of 115 gsm coated art paper. For sewn binding, there are various grammages between 115 to 170 gsm available. Incidentally, all print24.com coated art papers are PEFC-certified.
A professional look: Refinements for your cover
Upon request, we can refine your book covers, both for paperbacks and hardcovers. A number of options and combinations are available here. For example, you can create a gloss, matte or scratch-proof laminated finish. The latter may also be combined with UV spot varnish or hot foil flat embossing. Both additional options accentuate isolated text elements or motifs on your cover, while “lamination” further enables you to design your cover in a different colour, e.g. gold, silver or even red.
Your extra option at print24.com: Protective jacket
We see it on almost all hardcover books, and it can help prevent your books from stains and wear. The protective jacket can be personally designed. Many customers choose to have the same motif on both the protective jacket and cover, though you can of course also choose something different for the extra jacket. There are similarly a number of refinement options for this protective jacket. Matte or glossy lamination, for example, will make it even stronger. Further, scratch-proofing can be achieved by selecting the “matte, scratch-proof” option. A combination of lamination and hot foil flat embossing is also very popular, creating fancy gloss effects. When it comes to lamination, you can additionally choose from various colours for the cover, such as gold, silver, bronze, copper, red or blue. Text or individual image elements may be accentuated with UV spot varnish, which can similarly be combined with lamination.
Preview your books before printing – via screenproof
At print24.com, you can have a screenproof of your book created for a small surcharge. This is a digital preview of your printing order, which can be selected in the configuration menu. As soon as we have created the file, we will store it in your customer account, and inform you by email. You can then view your book on your screen before printing. If you are not happy with the result, you can cancel the order directly. When making your decision, bear in mind that the screenproof is not true-colour, and the final print product may differ. If you like the screenproof, you can start the printing order immediately. If you are not satisfied, you can modify your order and send the new print-version to us. Please note that screenproofs may only be ordered once per order.
FAQ for product Books
1. Is a front-end-paper, also called an FEP, included in the print or must it be created as a blank page?
End papers do not have to be created separately, they are already included in the calculation. One end paper in the front and one in the back.
2. Can cover pages be printed on the inside?
No, the cover pages themselves cannot be printed inside for production reasons. However, we offer the printing of a so-called dust jacket, which can also be refined. This loose cover is placed around the book and wrapped around the front edges of the cover.
3. Which grammages are used for the soft and hardcover of a book and how can the haptics of the hardcover be described in general?
The softcover consists of 275 gsm softcover board. The hardcover is made of 2 mm thick binder's board and a cover of 150 gsm picture printing paper. The picture printing paper is refined by a cellophane finish, which is either matt, matt scratch-resistant or glossy. Furthermore, an offset facing paper with a thickness of 120 gsm is applied to the front and back.
Books with hardcover or softcover
4. What exactly is a colour cover?
A colour cover is a kind of hardcover with linen structure. For this purpose, a binder's board with a thickness of 2 mm is used, which is covered with a typical linen cover. You can choose between different colours for the linen cover. In addition, the linen structure can be refined with hot foil stamping.
5. What does the headband in a book mean?
The polyester headband closes the gap between spine and book block when the book is closed and visually enhances the book. It is glued to the upper and lower edges of the spine and thus protects the book from dust and stress. If a book has a headband, it is possible to add a ribbon (also called a bound bookmark) from a minimum spine thickness of 10 mm.
Have books printed individually with headband and bound bookmark
6. What is the minimum number of pages for being able to select headband and bound bookmark?
For adhesive-bound books with hardcover cover, it is possible to order headband and bound bookmark from the following grammages and page numbers:
- 80 gsm offset - 152 pages
- 90 gsm offset - 140 pages
- 80 gsm book paper, wood-free - 160 pages
- 90 gsm book paper, wood-free - 120 pages
- 115 gsm image printing - 168 pages
7. Which paper should be used for book printing?
Book paper (or publishing paper) is particularly suitable for letterpress printing. This is the name given to the classic paper commonly used in books. It appears "bulkier" than picture printing paper and has the advantage of not being reflective due to its matt surface. Printing paper is only offered for adhesive binding.
8. When should a hardcover or softcover be used for a book?
Hardcover give your book an exclusive look, offer stable protection and are mainly used for large works. Softcover books are often the classic "paperbacks". Thanks to the flexible paper cover, they are much lighter than hardcover books and therefore ideal as a travel companion, for example.
9. Can I have books printed in small print-runs?
Yes, we print your book even in small editions starting from one piece.
10. What is the difference between perfect binding and sewn binding and what are the advantages of the two types of binding?
The perfect binding process combines sheets into a book block and bonds them by applying a special PUR adhesive to the milled spine of the block. Saddle stitching uses a book binding thread to sew the printed sheets into individual brochures after folding. These are then sealed at the spine of the book with a PUR layer of glue. If a book is used intensively and should still be in the best possible condition after years, high-quality sewn binding is recommended. This also has the advantage that double pages remain cleanly open and the book as a whole gives an exclusive impression. Nonetheless, books with less expensive perfect binding are also of very high quality. In addition, headband and a bound bookmark can also be ordered for perfecting binding, if the number of pages exceeds a certain number.
Perfect binding and sewn binding for books
Book printing available for single editions
It's hard to find an affordable printer that will produce just one single book. Most of the time the commission fails because of a high minimum circulation. At print24.com you can order and print your book with sewn binding starting from 1 edition. Our modern printing shop has enough capacity to fulfill orders of up to 5,000 books. Please contact our competent service team for an individual estimate if you need more books than our maximum limit.
Print books in top quality and low prices with print24! If you need matching bookmarks, you can similarly configure and order these online through us. Our online print shop also sells magazines to advertise your book or for other purposes, plus practical and personalised notebooks!
