Typesetting and book layout
Book interiors, covers and co-editions set in InDesign, ready for your printer or a print-on-demand platform. We work from your manuscript, style sheet and design brief.
The Quiet Harbor
24
Chapter 3Low Tide
25
- You send
- The manuscript in Word, with images and a style sheet
- You get back
- Print PDF, packaged InDesign files and an EPUB on request
- Checked by
- A proofreader, against the approved manuscript
- Priced by
- Page count and how complex the layout is
What typesetting is
Typesetting is arranging a book's text and images on the page. That means choosing the type, setting margins and a baseline grid, and placing every heading, caption and footnote so the book reads well and prints correctly.
Readers rarely notice good typesetting. They do notice when it's missing: a single line stranded at the top of a page, a word split badly across two lines, or wide gaps in justified text.
What we lay out
For publishers, authors, universities and companies that print.
Book interiors
Fiction, non-fiction, textbooks and reports, set from your manuscript with master pages, paragraph styles and a baseline grid.
Covers and spines
Front, back and spine designed or adapted to your printer's template, with the spine width worked out from the final page count and paper.
Co-editions
One design in several languages, with shared artwork and each language's text on the black plate. See multilingual DTP.
Textbooks and complex layouts
Tables, equations, sidebars, footnotes and indexes, with cross-references that update when pages move.
Catalogs, brochures and newsletters
Multi-page layouts built on templates, so each new edition starts from a finished design.
Print-on-demand and eBook files
Files prepared to the specs of Amazon KDP, IngramSpark or your printer, plus an EPUB built from the same source.
What we fix on every page
The details a proofreader and a printer will catch if we don't.
- Widows and orphansNo single lines stranded at the top or bottom of a page.
- HyphenationRules set for the language of the book, with no more than two hyphens in a row.
- SpacingJustified text checked for gaps that line up and run down the page.
- Running heads and foliosCorrect on every page, and left off chapter openers and blank pages.
- Images and captionsPlaced at print resolution, with each caption on the same page as its image.
How a book project runs
You approve sample pages before we set the whole book.
Sample pages
Send the manuscript, images and any design brief. We set a few sample spreads for you to approve.
Full layout
Once the design is approved, we set the whole book with styles and master pages.
Proofreading
A proofreader checks the laid-out pages against the approved manuscript for missing text, bad breaks and wrong styles.
Second check QAYour corrections
You mark up the PDF. We make the changes in the InDesign file and send a new proof.
Print files
Print PDF to your printer's spec, the packaged InDesign files, and an EPUB if you need one.
Formats and software
- Manuscripts
- Word, InDesign or PDF, or scanned pages that need OCR first
- Software
- Adobe InDesign, QuarkXPress, Scribus and SDL XPP
- Print files
- PDF/X-1a or PDF/X-4 with bleed and crop marks, to your printer's spec
- Digital
- EPUB and Kindle files, and interactive PDF
Related services
Questions about typesetting
What is typesetting?
Typesetting is arranging text and images on a page for print or screen. It covers the choice of type, margins and grid, and the placement of every heading, caption, table and footnote, so the book is easy to read and prints correctly.
Can you lay out co-editions in several languages?
Yes. We build the design once, keep the artwork shared, and set each language's text on the black plate so the printer changes only one plate per language. Our multilingual DTP team handles right-to-left and Asian scripts.
Do you design covers?
Yes. We design new covers or adapt an existing one, and set up the front, back and spine on your printer's template, with the spine width calculated from the final page count and paper.
How much does typesetting cost?
We price per page, by how complex the layout is. A novel with plain text costs less per page than a textbook with tables, sidebars and an index. You get a fixed quote before we start, and we set sample pages first.
Can you prepare files for Amazon KDP or IngramSpark?
Yes. We set the trim size, margins and bleed to the platform's specs, export the interior and cover PDFs they require, and can build an EPUB from the same files.
Will we get the InDesign files?
Yes. You get the packaged InDesign files with fonts and links, so you or another designer can make changes for later editions.
Send us your manuscript
Send the manuscript and a few details about the book. We reply with a fixed price and a schedule, starting with sample pages for your approval.
- Phone
- +44 20 3290 0116
- Phone hours
- Weekdays 9:30 to 16:00, weekends 9:30 to 12:00, UK time