Online Printing Blog

How to Obtain an ISBN Number for Self Publishing?

In the book publishing industry there is one metric to distinguish between publishers and non-publishers. If you own an ISBN block, you’re a publisher or else you won’t be recognized. The International Standard Book Number  or ISBN number is the key value that identifies the publisher of a book in all of the online databases and inventory systems used worldwide. It is a 10-digit number that uniquely identifies books and book-like products published internationally.

A publisher or a printing agency generally takes into account the ISBN Number for your book but if you are into self publishing you need to get the ISBN Number all by yourself. There are over 160 ISBN Agencies worldwide, and each ISBN Agency is appointed as the exclusive agent responsible for assigning ISBN numbers to publishers residing in their country or geographic territory. For example the United States ISBN Agency is the only source authorized to assign ISBN Numbers to publishers supplying an address in the United States, U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam and Puerto Rico.

There is a common belief that getting an ISBN Number is difficult which is far from being true. If you are a publisher, e-book publisher, audio cassette and video producer, software producer or run a museum with publishing programs you can approach your ISBN Agency for an ISBN Number. If you are into self publishing getting an ISBN number for your book becomes necessary as without  it you won’t be able to list your book for online sales.

Getting an ISBN number isn’t however free. There is a small service fee to process all ISBN applications. Service fee will be mentioned in the application form. However you will require a new ISBN Number is required for a revised edition. An ISBN Number is usually printed on the lower portion of the back cover of a book above the bar code and on the copyright page.

Once you have applied to the ISBN Agency it takes about 15 business days for non-priority processing from the time an ISBN application is received at the agency. In some countries Priority processing takes two business days from the time an application is received at the agency. Express processing is 24 business hours. Priority and Express processing involves an additional fee.

PrintPapa is a company that offers Soft Cover Book Printing Option at low cost and low quantities. You can order 5 books if you want. There are 3 sizes to choose from and with various paper and cover option. We can also help you in the cover design. We also offer Booklets from 8 to 60 Pages, starting from as low as 25 qty.

How to design attractive covers for your book?

It is popularly said “Don’t judge a book by its cover” but unfortunately people often tend to do that. So having an attractive cover for your book becomes very important. Although the content of any book is of prime importance, your book may never leave the bookstore shelf if the cover doesn’t grab the reader’s eye. But designing an attractive cover is more than just making it colorful.

There is a golden rule which says “Less is more” and while designing the cover of the book you need to keep that in mind. You have the liberty to play with color, graphics and text but you need to keep a few design tips in mind while designing the cover of your book:

Understand the Theme: It is important to understand the theme of your book and design a cover accordingly. A cover design should complement the content of your book. Studying the cover of books of the same genre is a good idea before you start designing your own. This will also let you the opportunity to design a cover that stands out among others.

Colors: Colors attract human eye more than anything else and also tend to have a psychological effect. If you are designing the cover of a romantic novel or comic strip playing with bright colors would be great, on the other hand for a serious book such as a murder mystery, darker colors are ideal.

Book Title: What ever the design of your book, the title should be center of attraction as it is the most important aspect of your book cover. Use fonts which are legible from a distance as most people tend to select books from a distance. Also the name written on the book cover spine should read the name of the book prominently as this is the only part visible in book stores.

Use Artwork Judiciously: The artwork on the front and the back of the book should complement the content of the book and not distort it. Misleading artwork should not be used to unnecessarily attract readers. Also using photographs which relating to the content of the book is a good idea.

 Study the Feedback: In case of a long run book if the performance of the book in the first run doesn’t meet your expectation be prepared to change it before it goes for the second printing run.

Print Papa is a company that has added value to the print promotions of their clients over the years designing and printing books, posters, booklets and brochures.

How Microsoft Publisher Can Help in Booklet Designing?

Booklets are one of the most effective tools for promotion and marketing. Full color booklets are being widely used these days for promotion of products and services. Setting up a good booklet is very important as a setup often decides the quality of printing. One of the easiest ways to set up a booklet is by using Microsoft Publisher. It is one of the most powerful tools for setting up booklets and other corporate documents such as business cards, brochures, letterheads and calenders.

MS Publisher is one of the most user friendly tools available in the markets which is widely used by both beginners as well as professionals for designing booklets and brochures. It gives the user ample opportunity to play with text, colors, pictures and other graphics. One of the greatest advantages of setting up a booklet or any other document with Publisher is the amount of inbuilt templates that it has. This lets users set up a booklet or a brochure from scratch within a short span of time.

To create a booklet from scratch in MS Publisher all you need to do is open a new document in Publisher. You can choose between Publications by Wizard, Publications by Design or Blank Publications. If you are a beginner Publication by Wizard will be the wisest choice as you are guided in each step. Publications by Design lets you choose from many booklet templates built within. If you however have a completely new idea in your mind and want to work on that Blank Publications is ideal for you.

Be careful about the booklet size before you start setting it up. By default a 8.5×11 booklet will be selected as this is the most widely used size of booklet in the world. However you can set the size to 8.5×5.5 booklet or any custom size that you would like to have. If you choose spiral binded books, be a little careful with the margins as spiral binded books tend to use a lot of space on margins for the bindings. Be careful while selecting the orientation between landscape and portrait.

Now you are ready to test your creativity over your booklet. You can play with text, colors and graphics but remember the golden rule “Don’t overdo anything.” The best of the booklets and brochures are the simplest ones.

PrintPapa is a company that has added value to the print promotions of their clients over the years designing and printing booklets, catalogs and brochures. You can create your booklet in Publisher and then convert to a PDF. See this FAQ. Also see this demo in action at Microsoft Website. Also here is good link to setup Booklets in Publisher.

How to Format Pages for Saddle Stitch Booklets?

Binding plays a key role in the process of making any book as it holds the book together. There are many forms of binding and one of the most commonly used one is saddle stitching. The process involves stapling through the centerfold. It joins a set of nested folios into a single magazine issue. This kind of binding is mostly found in magazines and comic books around the world. It is a very cost effective way of binding but is usually used when the number of pages are less.

Traditionally 11 inches by 8.5 inches was the standard size for making saddle stitch booklets. This size is preferred for corporate reports, calendars, software manuals, employee manuals, conference schedules and advertising handouts. However in today’s world saddle stitch booklets are made in varied sizes and often used for small manuals and other pocket documents.
Formatting Pages: The total number of pages in a saddle stitched booklet will always be in the multiple of four. The rough cut for the book is made by gathering the folded pages one after the other. The process of arranging the folded pages can be tricky as the highest and the lowest numbered pages are printed in the same pater and are adjacent to each other before being folded.

Stitching Pages: The saddle stitch booklet is produced in signatures containing four or more pages. Each of these pages are then gathered and inserted together and stitched through the spine or fold. The rough booklets are then trimmed on three sides to obtain a smooth, professional look for the finished booklets. Today colored stitches, child-proof stitches and loop stitches have made saddle stitch booklets more attractive.

Adding a Cover: A separate cover can be added on the outside of the booklet after the stitching has been done. The cover can also be a part of the initial stitching. Usually a harder page is used for the cover in saddle stitch booklet to make it stronger from outside.

PrintPapa is a company that has added value to the print promotions of their clients over the years. They have over the years developed expertise in designing and printing of books and all kinds of binding including saddle stitch booklets as well as other promotional materials. They provide one stop solution to the all the printing needs of the customers.

How to Format Pages for a Perfect Binding?

A book is not a collection of pages but a complete unit in itself. The book is held together by binding and thus it plays a crucial role in the printing industry. Binding is of many types but one of the most commonly used types of binding is perfect binding. It is a process which involves adhesive binding of a book or a magazine that allows it to open flat (180 degrees).

This type of binding is very cost effective. Such binding is used for paperbacks and most of the books in your bookshelf will have this kind of binding. The durability of such binding lies often in the quality and amount of adhesive used. However perfect binding isn’t an easy job a few important things that needs to be kept in mind while formatting the page for a perfect binding whether it is a notepad or a letterhead whatever be the promotional material you are printing.

• Formatting Pages: Formatting pages for perfect binding can be one of the easiest kinds of formatting as it is done only along the spine edge. Unlike spiral binding or comb binding it does not need much of blank spaces on the side of the binding. Also perfect binding is a fast process as the adhesive used for perfect binding settles down and dries up very quickly.

• Rough Cut on One Side: The edges on the side of the binding should be rough cut prior to applying the adhesive. This must be done to make sure that the surface absorb the hot glue and forms a strong bond between the individual pages. In the final stage the other three sides are face trimmed to give the book a perfect look.
• Divide When Large: In case the size of the book is too large, dividing the pages into smaller sections is a very good idea. In this process the book is divided into sections and each small section is bound to the other by a strong layer of adhesive. A heavier stock paper is glued to the spine as a cover to make the book stronger.

View this YouTube Video of our Perfect Binder in Action http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BW1XV9q0LJg.

PrintPapa is a company that has added value to the print promotions of their clients over the years. They have expertise in designing and printing of books and all kinds of binding including perfect binding. They provide one stop solution to the all the printing needs of the customers.

Unique Ideas for a Recipe Book

The world is fast changing and so are human habits. Unlike the past, people have become more experimental with their food. Recipe books thus have become one of the most sought after possessions for many. People not only like to like to eat food from all across the globe but they want to prepare it all by themselves at home. This is where recipe books have come to people’s rescue. A good recipe book not only brings water from the mouth but also preserves many rare and traditional dishes from across the globe. A few things must be kept in mind while making a recipe book:

• Raise Awareness: Since recipe books are used globally so it is important to make people aware of the different ingredients cutting across cultures. Linguistic barriers can be broken by listing all the major ingredients and spices in the book as an introduction. The images of these spices along with their popular international and regional names can make the recipe book more user friendly.

• Two Page Concept: This is a great way of designing recipe book where on one page the ingredients, methods of preparation and presentation tips are listed, while on the other the image of the dish is printed. The printed picture gives the user a fair enough idea of what to expect once the dish is finally prepared.
• Concentrate on Text: A recipe book is a help book and thus it should be self explanatory. List all the  ingredients in a logical order highlighting the amount required. The method of preparation can be printed in order and a bullet or number can be added before the start of each step. This will ensure that the readers will have a better experience while reading the book.

• Seeing is Believing: This statement holds true and thus pictures are an integral part of any recipe book. Picture of the final dish after garnishing can be put in the center of the page. Around this picture of the dish through various stages of preparation or key ingredients can be used. This will give the recipe book a very unique look.

PrintPapa is a printing service provider that has added value to the print promotions of their clients over the years. They have expertise in printing of recipe books, catalogs and brochures and other printed material. They provide one stop solution to the all the printing needs of the customers.

How to Create an Effective Product Catalog?

Business firms which have a huge product line often rely on a catalog or booklet to make people aware of their products. A product catalog usually is a vital tool to promote products to the customers. A person who is impressed with your catalog can be turned into a potential customer easily. In this era of cut throat competition, it is very important to stand out among your competitors and be noticed. A well made product catalog can give you a competitive edge. A few things should however be kept in mind while designing an effective product catalog:

• Work on the Layout: Following a layout can be a good idea while designing product catalog. Text and pictures being placed in separate columns has been traditionally used. This type of designing still looks good and attractive. However experimenting with the positioning of the pictures and text is not a bad thing to do as it allows you the opportunity to make a bold statement.

• Be Informative: Your should be very informative with your product catalog. The idea is to register your brand and your product in the minds of the customers. Include product specifications and their comparison in case you have a hierarchy of products. You might have a wide range of products but your customer might just choose one so try addressing every customer at a personal level. Also use, easy to read fonts instead of complex ones.
• Use Pictures: Picture can always be more convincing than text so use images to complement your text. No catalog would be complete without nice pictures of the products being sold. Use high resolution pictures and try enhancing them as they are the most attractive elements of any product catalog and the customer gets a feel of the actual product.

• Use Testimonials: If you have any testimonials from satisfied customers it is a great idea to include it in your product catalog. This not only convinces your potential customer about your product but also adds to your brand value.

PrintPapa is a company that has added value to the print promotions of their clients over the years . They have expertise in designing and printing of catalogs, booklets and other corporate documents. We provide one stop solution to the all the printing needs of our customers.

Tips for a Short Run Printing

Traditional offset printing was limited to big players. Normally an author needs to print books in large quantities (10000+) to make the per copy cost reasonable. The result was an high upfront investment which made sure that small time authors who needed to publish a book in small numbers were left with no option but to print the book in large numbers with a high per job price, and if the books don’t sell then they are left with a garage full of boxes. NOT ANY MORE!! Short Run Book Printing came to their rescue and allowed such authors to publish in small number (5+) and at affordable rates.

Short Run Printing is ideal for start up business houses which have to print posters, newsletters, brochures, booklets and other corporate documents in small numbers. It allows the organizations to study the demand in the market and also reduces costs.

• Know your Numbers Well: One mistake which many make while publishing a book or any other printed material for commercial purpose is that they don’t study the market demand well. Since Short Run Printing gives you the flexibility to publish in installments, it is wise to play safe with the first print and than be aggressive with the reprints if the market response to the first print is positive. This allows you to reduce losses if your book or other doesn’t do well in the market.

• Be Flexible: Going by the market reaction of your first print be flexible to make change or add additional information to your matter. Short Run Printing allows you the flexibility to make corrections even in the pre-print stage. So going by the reactions of the readers it is wise to make the necessary changes if required for the subsequent prints. This not only allows you to add value to your product but also builds a stronger bond with your readers.

• Print Well: Short Run Printing is affordable compared to traditional offset printing. Hence the money saved can be rather utilized for high quality printing. High quality printing attracts eyeballs, and a well printed book or a poster can go a long way in establishing your brand in the minds of your customers. For a startup business or first time author nothing can be more precious than getting positive publicity.

PrintPapa is a company that has added value to the print promotions of their clients over the years expertise in designing and short run printing of books, booklets, brochures, posters and other printed matter. We provide one stop solution to the all the printing needs of our customers.

5 Tips for Creating a Business Calendar

There is hardly any person on this earth who does not like promotional items and when the item is as essential for everyday use as a business calendar then it will definitely create a favorable image. Any person using the business calendar will glance at the logo and name of your company atleast once everyday. The length and breadth of these calendars makes them ideal surface to give information such as the logo and the contact details. You may also include some pictures related to your product or service.

Though business calendars are very good promotional tools but like a little extra spice makes a dish more delicious so will the next 5 tips help in making the calendars more appealing to the recipient.

• Understanding Purpose: Business calendars are used to plan everyday work and create highlights and reminders for special occasions. So you have to keep in mind that the calendar should be imaginative as well as professional. You must have some pictures that you find attractive and yet suits the mood of a professional place. Use these images and try and create a soothing feeling for the onlooker.
• Add Innovation: As the calendars are related to work places that does not mean that you have to overburden the designs and images with work related stuff. But it is said that people also need some respite from their work and you may create a calendar to give them just this relief.

• Choosing Type: There are so many sizes and shapes of business calendars from super planners, business dairies, to desktop organizers, etc. With so many types at your disposal it is essential that you choose the one that best suits your need.
• Place for Notes: As these calendars are mostly used in work places so there should be enough spaces in them where plans and schedules can be made and notes might be added. Creating an attractive format is well and fine but making the calendar user oriented is a necessity.

• Printing Services: You will be investing a lot of time and money behind the designing and implementation so it is essential that the final outcome should also be good. Choosing a printing agency which will specialize in such printing is a must. Printing service providers such as PrintPapa also offer last minute customization so check on this aspect too.

With a little bit of planning the business calendars can be made more user oriented and soothing. With its regular use your company will gain prominence and your marketing campaign would be a V for Victory!

Tips for Good Booklet Printing

Booklets and brochures are a great way to promote business and drive sales. A good booklet is a great way to inform your customers about your products and services and can give you an edge over your competitors. From hotels to travel agents and banks to electronic goods manufacturers, everyone has found booklets to be one of the most effective tools for promotion. Some things must be kept in mind while designing a good booklet.

• Use Templates: Using templates can be one of the most efficient ways of designing a booklet. A template comes with proper formatting and styles which are customisable according to your needs. Using a template can save time of designing a booklet from the scratch. This time can be used more efficiently on the content which is the most important aspect of a template design.
• Be Brief and to the Point: A booklet is not a book and so you need to focus only on the core issues and convey your message in brief. You can be creative with your style of writing of the promotional messages but avoid lengthening the booklet. Highlight your strengths and the advantages that your product or service can provide to your customers. Use simple fonts and style as unlike common belief use of complex fonts and different styles affects the readability of the booklet.

• Use Pictures and Graphics: A booklet full of text can be boring so use of graphics and pictures is a must. Seeing is believing they say and when your customer sees the product in the booklet it immediately draws his attention towards it. You can also use graphs to prove the advantage of using your product or service. Comparing your products with that of your competitors can give you a competitive edge in the market as this convinces the customer about your product or service.
• High Quality Printing: High quality printing services is a must for a good booklet and so you should not compromise with the printing quality of the booklet. A poorly printed booklet can create a bad impression in the minds of your customers. So you should always get your booklet printed by a professional printing agency on high quality paper.
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PrintPapa is a company that has added value to the print promotions of their clients over the years designing and have expertise in printing of booklets, brochures and other corporate documents. We provide one stop solution to the all the printing needs of our customers. We offer 2 different sizes of Booklets:

• 8.5×11 – (11×17 Sheets, folded in half and then stapeled) 8 to 60 Pages
• 8.5×5.5 -(8.5×11 Sheets, folded in half and then stapeled) 8 to 60 pages

You can order as low as 25 Booklets to upto 5000 at a time. We offer various types of paper, colors, turnarounds. All our Booklet Orders come with a Free Hard Copy Proof, so you will get a good idea of how the final product will look like.