After you upload your PDF to MagCloud, if it is over 20 pages you will have the option to select perfect binding for your print version. Although MagCloud uses the same PDF for saddle stitch and perfect bound publications, if you plan to choose perfect binding there are a few things that are good to keep in mind while you are designing your PDF.
Content Near The Spine
Saddle stitch binding allows your printed copy to lay flat when it is opened, allowing all content up to the inside edge of your PDF to be visible in the final print copy. Perfect bound publication are glued at the spine which results in approximately a quarter inch of the inside edge of your pages to be less visible because a perfect bound print cannot lie flat without breaking the spine. Therefore, it is good to account for an extra 0.25 inches of margin on the inside edge of your publication when placing text and images on the page, keeping in mind that anything within this 0.25 inches, also referred to as the gutter, may be lost into the spine in the final print.
Images Across Two-Page Spreads
The gutter can be troublesome when you want to place an image across the center spine of your publication. When an image covers two pages, the inside 0.25 inches on both pages will be obscured, which amounts to a half of an inch in the center of the image. This is enough to cause a full person to disappear in a larger group photo, or obscure a subject’s nose in a centered portrait. The best way to account for this is to shift the image outward on both pages so that it is duplicated inside the gutter (shown within the pink lines in the diagram below). Doing so will create the appearance of a continuous image across both pages in spite of the binding.
It’s also a good rule of thumb to avoid centering the focus of your image directly on or near the spine in a perfect bound publication. This disappearing act will be much less obvious if your eye isn’t drawn to it, as shown in the layout on the right versus the one on the left below.
Designing a Spine
Another design aspect to think about with perfect bound publications is the spine. After you upload your PDF to the MagCloud site and select perfect binding, you’ll have the option to pick a color for your spine or upload your own design. In either case, it’s a good idea to pick colors and designs for your spine that are the same or very close to the front and back covers of your publication. Just as the trim of your print copy can vary slightly, so can the placement of the spine, and this will be far more obvious if you have selected a white spine with a dark cover. Choosing a spine color that closely matches your cover or continuing an image from the front or back covers will ensure that your printed publication has a professional appearance every time.
Do you have a good-looking perfect bound publication design that you’d like to show off, or any tips of your own to share? Tell us about it in the comments below!
Do I need to do this for two-page spreads that will be saddle stitched?
Charles
Hi Charles,
These tips are just for publications that are perfect bound. With saddle-stitch binding, pages lay flat, so images across 2-page spreads can be made continuous from one page to the next. There’s no need to duplicate the image close to the spine as shown here for perfect bound publications, since nothing will be lost into the binding.
Cheers,
Meghan
Thank you for your reply.
Would a 20 page magazine be saddle-sttiched or perfect bound?
Charles
Hi Charles,
A 20-page magazine can be either saddle-stitched or perfect bound – publications of 16 pages or less can only be saddle-stitched, publications from 20 to 100 pages can be either saddle-stitched or perfect bound, and publications from 102 to 384 pages can only be perfect bound.
Cheers,
Meghan
Can I specify my binding preference in a 20 page magazine?
Hi Charles,
As noted above, anything from 20 pages to 100 pages can be either saddle stitched or perfect bound, so yes, you can specify your binding preference in a 20 page magazine.
Cheers,
Meghan
Are there standard dimensions for spine file? Should this file be saved as a jpg or pdf?
Hi Xan,
The dimensions of your spine file depend on your product size (Standard, Digest, or Digest Landscape) and the number of pages in your file. After you upload your PDF to the MagCloud site and choose the option to “Upload a file for the spine” you will see the dimensions your spine file should be based on the size and length of the PDF you uploaded. You will also have the option to download a spine template at this point. The spine file you upload to MagCloud can be a JPG, PNG, or PDF file.
Cheers,
Meghan
Hi Meghan,
Great information, thank you! I know we can get this after we upload the content, BUT to help me prepare, would it be possible to get an idea of the spine size for a perfect bound publication of 75 and also 100 pages?
A rough idea will help our graphic designers figure out how much room we are likely to have to work with so we can start designing earlier. Given that there is a standard page and cover paper quality I assume it shouldn’t vary much.
Thanks again
Hi Nigel,
Perfect binding requires a page count that is a multiple of 2, so you wouldn’t be able to have a 75 page publication. A 76 page publication will need a spine file that is 0.19″ by 11″, while a 100 page publication will need a spine file that is 0.25″ by 11″. The file you upload for the spine can be a JPG, PNG, or PDF.
Cheers,
Meghan
For a Perfect Bound magazine with photos that span 2 pages, What happens when someone purchases a digital copy? Is the repeated part of the image in the gutter removed from the digital copy?
Hi Harry,
When someone orders a digital copy, the PDF will be 8.25″ x 10.75″ regardless of the binding type. At this point, we have no way of knowing if content as been duplicated in the gutter, so we do not want to risk trimming off content that is of value. Therefore, the inside edge of your publication will not be trimmed off in the digital copy – it will appear as it does in the preview on MagCloud.com.
Cheers,
Meghan