Paper & cover specs
Books at 234mm x 156mm (6.14 x 9.21 inches) and smaller will be printed on 85gsm (60lb) offset, opaque, 480 PPI, creme white acid-free paper. Books larger than 234mm x 156mm will be printed on 75gsm (50lb) offset, opaque, 500 PPI, white acid-free paper.
Paperback covers will be printed on white, 250gsm (80lb) offset, enamel paper and laminated. Hardbacks are bound in 250gsm (80lb) creme-white endpapers and bound to case using 88pt chip boards. Hardbacks are dressed with headbands and footbands and bound into either a printed 4-colour laminated cover or a durable Kivar acrylic latex-saturated linen weave cover with gold foil stamped spine.
Lightning Source uses a high quality, acid-free, book-grade of opaque paper stock. All books with trim sizes of 6"x9" or smaller are printed on a 55# natural shade opaque. Larger books are printed on a 50# white. Paperback covers are printed on a bright white 80# cover stock.
Completed books of 76 pages or less have special requirements regarding the design of cover art. Since a low-page-count book is so "thin", it cannot be designed with spine art or text. No straight edge artwork or text should be placed within a half-inch of the top, bottom, or side of the front or back cover. For more details, refer to the templates below.
Book sizes we offer
- 5 x 8 (203 x 127mm) Perfect Bound
- 5.5 x 8.5 (216 x 140mm) Perfect Bound
- 6 x 9" (229 x 152mm) Perfect Bound
- 6.14 x 9.21" (234 x 156mm) Perfect Bound
- 6.69 x 9.61" (244 x 170 mm) (Pinched Crown) Perfect Bound
- 7 x 10" (254 x 178 mm) Perfect Bound
- 7.44 x 9.69" (246 x 189mm) Perfect Bound
- 7.5 x 9.25" (235 x 191mm) Perfect Bound
- 8.25 x 11" (280 x 210mm) Perfect Bound
- 8.268 x 11.693 " (297 x 210 mm) A4 Perfect Bound
- 5.5 x 8.5" (216 x 140mm) Casebound
- 6 x 9" (229 x 152mm) Casebound
- 6.14 x 9.21" (234 x 156mm) Casebound
- 5.5 x 8.5" (216 x 140mm) Dustjacket
- 6 x 9" (229 x 152mm) Dustjacket
- 6.14 x 9.21" (234 x 156mm) Dustjacket
We can provide sample copies for you to look at the quality of books we provide. This is available on request.