A professional, good-looking book could be a little too pricey. Do not worry! At inexpensive rates, you can have quality affordable book printing. Here are ten practical tips that will help in getting the best value for money while making sure that your book looks fantastic.
1. Choose the Right Printer
Choosing the right printer is paramount. Not all printers are created equal, and finding one that is a book printer can save you thousands. Do your homework, read the reviews, and get some recommendations. When I printed my first book, I spent weeks researching different printers. I found a local printer who had a great deal with very high quality. Sometimes the smaller or local printers will give personalized service with better prices.
2. Digital Printing
Digital printing for small print runs remains competitive, if not low, in price. There are no expensive setup costs involved as there are with traditional offset printing. It’s perfect for authors who want fewer copies. When my first book was printed, I chose digital printing because I wanted only 100 copies; the quality turned out excellent, and it did not make me go broke.
3. Print in Black and White
Color printing is really expensive. If your book can be done in black and white, you will save tons of money. For example, if it is a novel or a heavy-text book, then black and white is always the way to go. Originally, I was going to do my poetry book in color; I learned this real quick. Since it was nearly twice what I wanted to pay, I switched it to black and white and the book still looked very good.
4. Use standard sizes
One thing that will make them more expensive is custom sizes, which require special cutting and handling. If you can do standard sizes, like 5.5″ x 8.5″ or 6″ x 9″, you’ll save money that way. Most printers have standard sizes they print frequently; therefore, you save in time and thus costs. My first book was a custom size, and I ended up paying more than necessary.
Changing to standard size for my second book saved me hundreds of dollars.
5. Select Affordable Paper Stock
Paper choice will affect not only the appearance but also the cost of your book. High quality, glossy paper comes with a price tag. Choose decent quality paper, but one that is more reasonably priced. For most books, a matte or uncoated paper looks just as professional without being such a budget-buster. When I printed my book, I went for mid-range paper that gave me a nice spread of cost vs. quality.
6. Simplify Your Cover Design
The more complex a cover design, the more complex and expensive are the printing processes that may be required with larger design fees. A simple cover design will save you money. Don’t feel that you need a cluttered and over-illuminated cover in order to have a really striking one. I did that with my first book. I hired an experienced professional designer to do a big job on the cover, and it was extremely expensive. With my second, I went for a much, much simpler design and used one of those online design tools. It was really quite inexpensive.
7. Order in Bulk
Ordering more copies at once can reduce the cost per book. Once you know within a few months that you are going to want more, you should print more to save yourself some money in the long run. I took a gamble and went for 500 instead of just 100, so the cost per book was drastically lower, and now I have a lot of stock for future sales.
8. Print on Demand
For self-published authors, Print on Demand really can save the day. You don’t have to order a huge amount of books in advance. They are printed as they are sold then, saving you storage costs and most of the up-front costs. I used POD with my third book; several times it was so very convenient. The up-front was not elephantic in price, nor would I be stuck storing hundreds of copies.
9. Wrangle with Your Printer
Don’t be afraid to a little haggle with the printer. Most will work with you in terms of price if you’re doing a large quantity or plan more print runs with them in the future. With my second book, I was able to work out this price with the printer in exchange for a turn-around time longer than usual. And it never hurts to ask!
10. Compare Quotes
Finally, always get quotes from a few printers before making up your mind. The prices will definitely vary to a great extent, and you might just get the better end by shopping around. Get quotes from at least three different printers, and compare them by price, quality, and delivery. When the time for printing my first book came, I got quotes from five different printers. The differences surprised me, and by going with the most aggressive quote, I saved myself hundreds.
Conclusion
Affordable book printing really does not need to be executed at the expense of quality. By choosing a good printer, deciding to do digital printing, sticking with standard sizes, using cheap paper, having a simple design for your covers, having bulk orders, availing of services like Print on Demand, negotiating, or comparing prices, anyone can successfully print high-quality books at very low cost.
Well done! This article provides a lot of value.