Now that you have finished arranging the content of your book, it's time to finally think about printing it. There are many factors you will have to consider, such as whether you are printing your book out on a computer, printing it by hand, or having it printed by a commercial printing house. If you are printing the book yourself, print out the pages, then follow these steps to put on the finishing touches. (If you are sending it to a commercial printer, skip down to the section titled "Working with a Print Shop.")
Collating the book
How to collate pages
No matter what system of collating or binding you use to put together a book, it's important to check that all the pages are accounted for and arranged correctly before binding. Before and after you collate pages, you need to check for the following:
Upside-down pages
Blank pages
Doubled pages
Missing pages
Correct sequence of pages
Follow these steps when you collate pages:
1. Stack the printed pages together in numerical or chronological order. For example:
Put all copies of the first page in one stack.
Put all copies of the second page in the next stack.
Repeat this stacking procedure with each page of the book.
2. Place the stacks of pages in order on a flat work surface.
3 . Walk around the table and pick up one sheet from each stack. For example:
Begin with the first page, then continue by putting each consecutive page under the stack in your hand, or
Begin with the last page and put succeeding pages on top of the stack in your hand.
Tip It works well to have several people check the collated pages once again before binding them, following each other around the table.
4. Trim the pages.
If you are printing the book yourself, trimming the pages will be your last step. Congratulations, you have a finished book! If you are sending it to a commercial printer, read the following section regarding some things to consider.
Working with a print shop
Guidelines
Here are some guidelines to follow when you work with a print shop:
1. Look at examples of other work done by the print shop to be sure that the quality they produce is adequate.
2. Determine the following information about the job you are submitting:
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