Booklets & Magazines:
Several issues can cause problems
if the designer is not aware of them

PRINTER SPREADS, NOT READER SPREADS

READER SPREADS are set up so that each page in the document is sequential from the first page to the last page (i.e.: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, etc.). This is fine for reading the document on your computer, or for printing each page separately on a laser printer. But, it is not the proper sequence for printing.

PRINTER SPREADS are set up out-of-sequence because page one and page two are not printed on the same side of the paper. What does that mean? Open up a stapled magazine to any page except the center spread. Grab the left-hand page, and follow THAT PIECE OF PAPER through the spine to the latter half of the magazine. As you'll see, two pages that are not sequential were printed together on one flat sheet, or signature. When collated and bound together with the other signatures, they end up making a book with the proper pages in their proper place.

NUMBER OF PAGES DIVISIBLE BY 4

The NUMBER OF PAGES in a book is usually a multiple of four, because any one flat sheet has two pages on each side. So a booklet with 35 printed pages will end up having 1 blank page at it's end, because the book is made up of 9 four-page spreads, totaling 36 pages.

The best way to organize a book into printer spreads is to take letter-size paper and fold it in half. Each piece of paper will represent two spreads (front and back), consisting of four pages. Staple the folded sheets in the center, just like a magazine, and number the pages just as they will appear in your booklet (it also helps to write a description of the booklet page on each page of the mock-up).

Look at the outside, or cover spread. Unfold it and place it flat in front of you. You will notice that the back page is on the left, and the front page is on the right. On the opposite side of that sheet, you should have the inside FRONT cover on the left, and the inside BACK cover on the right. Each spread in your book will be similar; out-of-sequence pages on one spread.

HINT: Notice in the example above that all the even pages are on the left, and all the odd pages are on the right. This will be true for 64 page books or for 8 page books.

In your computer program, order your pages just as they appear on your mocked-up spreads. Remember to number your pages. It makes it a lot easier for you and the printer to have printed page numbers. (Don't use automatic page numbering. That feature is only for documents set up as reader spreads.)

Check, double-check, and triple-check the ordering of your printer spreads, or disaster could result. Or, you can always pay your printer a good fee to convert your reader spreads into printer spreads.

SHINGLING OR PAGE CREEP

PAGE CREEP is the other big problem with printing larger booklets and magazines. Note on your stapled mock-up that the pages toward the center of the booklet have crept out from the other pages. The final event in the printing process is to trim the edge of the booklet to get rid of that excess.

The problem is that your carefully planned outside margins are suddenly chopped to smithereens. The larger the booklet, the more the center pages creep outward, and the more outside margin gets cut out of your center pages. The amount that a booklet's pages will creep depends on the weight and characteristics of the paper it's printed on. The lighter the paper, the less creep. The heavier the paper, the more creep.

Ask your printer how much creep you can expect for the paper weight and number of spreads in your booklet. Take that number, and divide it by the number of flat sheets in your book. This number will be quite small, but will represent the amount that you should adjust each page's outside margin, as you get closer to the center of the booklet.

Your text columns on the center pages will be smaller than on page one, but your margins will be the same. People won't notice your column size getting smaller, but they will definitely notice (especially in a big booklet) that your margin is slowly disappearing. A printer who doesn't care will actually let this situation go without a word, and in a large booklet you can end up literally with copy chopped off in the center of the book.

Paper - Ordering the correct paper for your booklet or magazine is important