Book Printing for Self Publishers & Book Printing Professionals
Here at Barbossa Book Design & Print we exclusively design and typeset print-ready book design files for Australia self-publishers, authors and editors.
While our nearest competitor has a mission statement that benefits their members, book designers, we’re here to help Australia writers provide better print-ready art files to Australian printers and improve the Australian book market.
In addition to designing and typesetting your book print file, here at the Barbossa Book Design & Print we can also help arrange an editor, organise your ISBN and manage your book printing for you, all at no extra cost.
We'll be there for you
We know it sounds amazing, but the first thing we’ll do in quoting any book design & print job is discuss with you what type of book you’re wanting. We’ll discuss the concept of the book, if you have any ideas for the cover, has the text been professionally edited and etc. We’ll ask these questions because only through getting to know your needs can we accurately estimate your book design and print. In saying that, we’re the only book designer company in Australia that will quote a design price and stand by it. Other companies charge the set fee quoted and then charge an hourly rate afterwards, or charge the set fee quoted and then charge per alteration. Here at Barbossa Book Printing, we have that much faith in our ability to accurately quote your book design that the price we give you at the point of quote will be the price listed on the invoice. We’re proud to say that in addition to our outstanding design work, our clients tell us that they chose to use Barbossa Book Design & Print because we stand by our quoted price.
scroll down to see what else we can do for you
The problem with automatic quoting systems is that they force your book into the format
they want. You're not a cookie, so why put your book through the cookie cutter process.
PREPRESS AND FILE ARCHIVE
In addition to our book design prepress which prepares your file for the printing process, we’ll also archive your working file and press-ready file for later use.
We plan on designing your book so well that it sells out and you need to print more, and with that in mind, we’ll never delete your book design. You might ask why we would keep your working files, and the short answer is because you might want to change the second print run.
FREE ISBN AT BARBOSSA BOOK DESIGN
Get your free ISBN when you design and print your book at Barbossa Book Design. As if that didn’t make life easier enough, remember, we stand by our quotes as a static price, and so now you know what your print and ISBN will cost you before you start the design phase of your next book.
Commonly asked book printing questions
WHO DOESN’T NEED AN ISBN?
Because the ISBN is used as a basic identifier throughout the international book distribution system, any book that is intended to be sold through retail channels will need to have this identifier.
There is absolutely no need for books printed for private use, or for a closed distribution to have an ISBN.
CAN I PROVIDE PDF FILES AND BARBOSSA MAKES THE BOOK?
Yes. While we would prefer to create a book job from beginning to end, we can consider any files you want to include. Before you start designing 101 jpg or photoshop files though, please know that not all files are usable, and if you think that creating all the files is going to lower your cost, it might not. Poorly supplied files create just as much work as creating a new book from scratch, so if you do want to provide your own files, please make sure they are 300DPI, CMYK and are the right size.
Books that are text driven mostly only require a word document, so as the writer, spend more time crafting your copy and making sure it’s free of errors and leave the design to us.
DO I NEED TO HAVE ALL MY TEXT EDITED BEFORE I GO TO DESIGN?
Having your book text edited before the design process starts makes the design process smoother and potentially less frustrating for you. While we don’t charge for text alterations, all alterations take time, and that means your book file will be delayed.
CAN I PRINT JUST ONE BOOK?
Yes. The printers on our panel will supply a print quote for 1 book. We are not the printers. We’re designing the print-ready book file for the printers. We’re happy to manage your printing need, but that is not our primary function and we do that as an add-value to our customers.
HOW TO BECOME A SELF-PUBLISHED AUTHOR?
Becoming self-published is a long and difficult road, and there are a few paths on that road that will take you in different directions. The pathway you're presented with though, won't always be yours by choice, and can sometimes depend on the strength of your written content. For example. If JK Rowling had decided to not let any professional publishing house or book company come near her book, then I doubt she would have enjoyed the success that she has. We say that because in her case, the strength of her book is so strong that one could only imagine her needing an agent to represent her. This doesn't mean her book wouldn't have spread like wildlife without an agent, it just means she might not have been so positively rewarded for her work.
The other pathway is that you've tried to have people look at your book, and without success you're are running out of options. That pathway is backing yourself in all things financial and marketing. If you've tried to contact the big book-stores to get your book on their shelf and you've failed, then it goes without saying that the media giants and publishers haven't been bashing their way to your door. Your best option then might be to gift your book to the managers and owners of your local independent bookstore.
There are other ways, but we try to keep these responses short. The simple truth is, if your book is good enough to sell, then keep pushing and find another avenue until it's sold.
DOES BARBOSSA DESIGN CHILDREN'S BOOKS?
Yes, but designing a children's book is not like designing a novel. Winnie the Pooh, for example, has creative hand-drawn images that are straight from the author's imagination. If you are interested in designing a children's book, then we encourage you to first give us a call.
IS BARBOSSA A BOOK COVER DESIGNER?
Yes. We can design just the book cover if that is all you need. First, we will discuss your book and how you would like the book cover to be designed. Then we will look at the inside text pages in order to keep your book cover design consistent. If you haven't yet arranged your text pages to be designed, we can design those too based on a discussion.
DESIGNING YOUR OWN BOOK FILE AND WANT US TO CHECK IT BEFORE PRINT
Content & Layout Tips
Type Style
Sans serif or serif fonts? There are two primary styles of type font: san serif and serif. Serifs are the tiny tails on the text, and sans-serif literally means without serif. While most books use a 10 or 11 point serif font for the body text and then a bold sans-serif font for chapter titles and headlines, this is just a matter of book printing history and style. If your book is going to be read on screen then it should not be type-set in all serif, because many screens do not have the resolution to show the finer details in the serifs, and your book's message will be lost to the frustration of un-easy reading. Another factor to consider when type-setting your book is the demographic and socio-economical factor of your intended reader. The audience might be too senior to read point 10 or 11 on paper and might not have access to screen-based media.
ACCEPTABLE FILE FORMATS
PDF (Portable Document Format)
A PDF ensures that your printed or viewed file retains the formatting that you intended. Please ensure that your PDF preference is set for press quality. This will ensure that fonts and images are embedded and that no loss of data occurs during the printing process.
Adobe Indesign
Adobe Indesign is the industry standard software for designing book files and is capable of out-putting the above PDF files, exactly as we'll need it, with a few clicks. Please just call us to ask how.
Microsoft Word PDF for Book Printing
As we're sure you already know, Microsoft Word is part of the Office Suite, and as such is intended for office administration use; not book printing. That being said, if you provide us with a 2007 or later version of word PDF we'll be able to put that into a book format for you.
Book Bleed & Trim Settings
Bleed & Trim Margins
Bleed for your cover is also essential. For all images which go to the edge of the finished cover size, 3mm external bleed is required. To ensure that important content is not guillotined off, please also allow for an internal bleed margin of 3mm.
WHO'S THE BEST PRINTER FOR PRINTING BOOKS?
If you're looking for the best printer for printing books, then look no further than Barbossa Books Design & Print. Here at Barbossa Books, we know the best book printer for every book print job, because it's our business to know who the best printer is. Between art-file and book printing, we guarantee you'll get the best book price every time.