Hardback Book Printing

Heroic Hardbacks

Hardback books are wonderful, and seeing your own custom hardback book come to life is a dream.

Hardbacks

Perfect Bound Books

A4, A5, A6, DL, 148mm Square, and 210mm Square. Full colour inner pages.

Hardbacks

Thread-Sewn Hardback Books

A4, A5, A6, DL, 148mm Square, and 210mm Square. Full colour inner pages.

Hardbacks

Lay-flat Hardback Books

A4, A5, A6, DL, 148mm Square, and 210mm Square. Full colour inner pages.

Hardback Books Printing

Welcome to FAS Printing Hardback book printers. We can help bring your book to life with various options, including softcover booklet printing, but if you want hardback books, you are in the right place.


Navigating the world of hardback book printing can be complex, with choices that affect not just the look but the feel and longevity of your book.

This guide breaks down the essential steps for producing a professional hardback book, from paper selection to binding techniques, and presents your various customisation options. With a focus on quality and durability, the information here primes you for making informed decisions about your hardback book printing project.

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Hardback book - diary
Hardback book - diary

Introducing our Hardback Book Printing Service

Entering the realm of professional book printing, you’ll encounter a service ready to metamorphose your manuscript into a high-quality hardback book. It offers a resilient hardcover crafted from sturdy materials like grey cardboard.

The flexible service allows you to add blank pages to your book and even start with a blank page, further expanding your customisation options.

You have the option to print pictures or illustrations throughout the book, or accent sections with colour.

But our hardback book printing service doesn’t stop at just one type of book. Whether you’re looking to print:

  • a novel
  • a textbook
  • an art book
  • a coffee table book

Our book printing service has got you covered, offering high-quality printing for both the inner pages and the covers of your self-published book, including full-colour or black-and-white pages, ensuring that your book looks and feels professional.

The main feature of the hardback book printing service is the extensive level of control you have over the final product. You can create your own cover and interior pages, size, specifications, and colour printing options, producing a personalised and professional book. So, our service can cater to your preferences, whether you dream of a vibrant full-colour print or a classic black-and-white design.

Our hardback book printing service provides an array of customisation options. As we delve deeper into the options, we’ll explore them in greater detail.

Better Books

  • Our hardback books printing service offers high-quality, durable hardcover books with extensive customisation options, including design, size, and colour printing preferences, suitable for various types of content.
  • Essential considerations for hardback book printing include binding method and material quality. Case binding provides a professional appearance and durability, and the choice of glossy or matte paper affects the visual and tactile experience of the book.
  • The durability, production timeline, and overall quality of the hardback book are influenced by factors such as binding technique, and paperweight.
Hardback book - diary

Diaries

Capture your thoughts, plans, and memories with our custom diaries. Personalise them with your name, monogram, or a motivational quote for that daily dose of inspiration. Our diaries come in various sizes and styles, suitable for everyone.

Choosing the right hardcover book for you:
Lay flat, Thread Sewn, or Perfect Bound.

When selecting the ideal hardcover book, you have multiple options, each boasting distinct features and advantages. Among these options are lay-flat, thread-sewn, and perfect-bound hardcover books.

Hardbacks

Perfect Bound Books

Perfect-bound hardcover books will be similar to a standard book on your bookshelf and will not lay flat, making them more suitable for novels and other text-heavy books – ideal for 32 to 300 internal pages. These are the most budget-friendly hardback books available and have a beautiful finish, though they lack the robustness of thread-swen alternatives.

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Hardbacks

Thread-Bound Hardbacks

Thread-sewn hardcover books use a single line of thread to sew pages together. This technique enhances the book’s durability, as the pages are less likely to come loose over time. The thread-sewn binding process involves folding individual pages and sewing them together with thread. If you look at the books our your shelves, there will be a few of these.

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Hardbacks

Lay-flat Hardback Books

Lay-flat hardcover books are designed to open flat on a table, making them ideal for books with images spanning two pages. Due to the process of creating lay-flat books, they are suited to lower page counts than standard books. They are ideal for coffee table books, art, and photography books. This is a premium binding option. Contact us for a quote.

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The Choice is Yours

Naturally, your choice of hardcover book will also influence the total cost of your project. Thread-sewn binding is generally more costly than perfect binding, while lay-flat binding has higher costs due to its specialised construction. This information will help you choose the right hardcover book for your needs.

Exploring Paper Options

In addition to binding and cover options, the paper type used is another vital consideration in hardback book printing. Two primary finishes are available for paper: glossy and matte.

Glossy paper is characterised by a shinier appearance, resulting in vibrant and crisp images.

On the other hand, matte paper, with its lower reflectivity, provides a more organic aesthetic and is less prone to displaying fingerprints.


When it comes to hardcover printing:

Full-colour printing

Full-colour printing is available as standard on the front and back cover and throughout the inner pages. So, you have the most creative freedom when designing your book and cover design.

  • Uncoated paper is commonly used for the inside pages, providing reduced reflections and a softer visual feel; it is excellent for an organic aesthetic and is less prone to displaying fingerprints. Uncoated inner pages are available in 90, 120, 170, and 250gsm. We also have the most eco-friendly solution, which is 100% recycled uncoated 120gsm paper stock.
  • Silk-coated paper is often chosen for vibrant colour reproduction and durability and is a widespread paper stock for books. Silk inner pages are available in 90, 120, 170, and 250gsm.
  • Gloss-coated paper is less common but available at 130gsm and 170gsm.
  • We currently don’t offer printed endpapers.
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The quality of the paper also plays a significant role in the visual presentation of printed images in hardback books. Higher-quality paper can improve clarity and vibrant colours and reduce the visibility of blemishes or smudges, enhancing the book’s overall aesthetic and tactile experience.

Lastly, the paper gsm weight significantly affects a book’s durability and tactile experience. A heavier paper weight conveys a sense of higher quality and substance, while smoother papers are generally more durable. As you can see, choosing paper is not just a matter of aesthetics but also contributes to your hardback book’s overall quality and durability.

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Remember that the number of pages inside will determine how thick the book is, with 250gsm being roughly twice as thick as 120gsm paper stock; this will add up over many pages.

Print Quality & Turnaround Time

With our book printing, we wanted to balance printing speed, quality, and cost. We ensure a superior quality standard, regardless of the printing speed and budget. We always aim to achieve a superior finish, even on smaller budget projects. For optimal results, it’s also essential to provide precise spine width measurements for your hardback book.

FAS Printing employ several strategies to deliver high-quality output within a constrained timeframe. These include utilising original, high-resolution images and working with print-ready files, which ensures that our digital printing service delivers on its promise of high quality and speed, especially for book printing when working with a print file such as a PDF.

 

 

Regarding the production timeline, because of the added steps to producing books, our standard hardcover book printing services production time is 7-10 business days for regular printing. We ensure that your back and front cover designs are promptly printed with high-quality materials and finishes.

Summary

In conclusion, book printing involves several important considerations, including choosing the right binding option, cover design, the appropriate hardcover book option, and the paper type. 

If you have any questions, please contact our friendly customer service team, and we will help you create your book.

Considering these factors, you can ensure that your book looks professional and stands the test of time. So, the next time you hold a book, you’ll appreciate the craft and precision of creating such a product.

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Frequently Asked Questions

How are hardcover books printed?

Hardcover books are printed using a specialist method called case binding, where the front and back cover are printed and wrapped around a greyboard to create the ‘case’ of the book with the text pages bound either using a solid adhesive or stitched together.

How long does it take to print a hardback?

On average, it takes 7-10 days to print, bind, and deliver a hardback book print run.

What are the main features of the hardback printing service?

Our book printing service provides a sturdy hardcover book cover, high-quality printing, and extensive customisation options, catering to various book genres and uses.

How do I get started with my hardback book printing project?

To start your book printing project, use this page as your information resource or contact our design and print experts for help choosing which book type is right for you. You can also ask us for help choosing the right binding option and cover design. Case binding is a popular choice for its durability and professional presentation, but we have a range of softcover book and booklet options, too >Link>. Good luck with your project!

What are the different hardcover options available?

The hardcover options available are lay-flat, thread-sewn, and perfect-bound. Choose based on your specific needs and budget. As a general rule, perfect binding is the cheapest option, with thread-sewn and lay-flat as premium options. If you are trying to determine the difference, many textbooks are perfect-bound books, whereas hardback novels are thread-sewn. Below, we include some pictures of book spines and inner pages so you can tell which type of binding it is.

Can you help design the front cover artwork?

Yes, of course. If you need help with a beautiful front cover, well-designed back cover, or complete book cover, we can help. Our designers are happy to guide you or take on the project. If you are supplying your own artwork, check the file formats we accept before starting your project, as it will save you time in the long run.

If you need help with your book design, visit our design hub or contact us for a quote – we are happy to help.

Why Choose us

Save Money

We print amazing quality for unbelievable prices. Seriously, give us a try.

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Design for Everyone

Traditional or cutting edge, we believe everyone should have beautifully designed print.

Simply Better

We believe design and print should be simple, easy and amazing value! (Which we are)

Free Delivery

We include UK delivery charges so that there are no surprises when it's time to pay. Simple.

Always Local

We are based in Greater London, but we have delivered all over the UK (and even abroad)

Working with You

We work with our customers to provide them with the very best for their budget, find out how we can help you.

Design Centre

 

Intro to Design Centre

We offer affordable design services because we know it can be tricky to design a multi-page booklet if you're inexperienced. There are a lot of hoops to jump through to get print-ready artwork, especially if you aren't a print designer. So firstly, decide if it is worth your time to muddle through, make mistakes and end up paying to have them fixed anyway.

 

Guides

The guide to print bleed and why it's vital for print-ready artwork - With print-ready artwork, the problem we usually find is that no bleed was included. Make sure you read our guide to find out what it is and why it's important. 

 

Design Templates

We are currently at work creating some design templates to help you create the best print-ready artwork you can. Currently, we ask you to get in touch if you would like us to send you a template - including what you are designing, the size, and what format you require, i.e. Illustrator, InDesign, PDF etc.

But if you are in doubt, ask for a design quote, and we think you'll be pleasantly surprised!

Let us Help

Need print advice? Contact us and we can guide you. Shy? Check our FAQs

Free Delivery

Free Delivery as standard, so the price you see is the price you pay

Save Money

Amazing quality printing at unbelievably cheap prices. Yay!

Local Printer

Working locally with big & small businesses, designers, artists. Everyone