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Size: Overview

To ensure price quote and design accuracy, it is crucial that the size of the order matches the size of the PDF. The PDF (saved with bleed) should be .25 inches larger for both the length and width than your desired product size. For example, if you are ordering an 8.5” x 11” booklet, the dimensions of your PDF document (saved with bleed) should be 8.75” x 11.25”.

For more information on size, click here.

Booklets, Books, Magazines, Catalogs, Booklet Brochures, Programs, and other Multi-Page Products:

Calendars:

Greeting Cards:

Brochures and Flyers:

For a step-by-step tutorial on checking your size, select from one of the following programs:
InDesign, Illustrator, Photoshop, Canva, Publisher, and Word

Have more questions? Check our Size FAQ.

Page Count: Printer vs. Reader Spreads

Note: Please do not submit your document in printer spreads or reader spreads. Please refer to Page Count for more information on single page PDFs.

Reader Spreads

Reader Spreads show consecutive pages in two page spreads. They are in the correct order for someone to read the document.

Printer Spreads

Printer Spreads are not in consecutive page order, they are in proper order so that when the document is printed, trimmed, assembled all the pages appear consecutively.

At PrintingCenterUSA, we prefer that you upload your PDFs as single pages (see Page Count). If you happen to use reader spreads or printer spreads, let your Customer Service Representative know which spread you used so we can ensure that your final printed document is in the correct page order.

When you open up your single PDF document in Acrobat®, you should see your pages individually (see image below).

Page Count: Wire-O Binding

Wire-O binding is similar to Spiral binding. Wire-O binding is great for Calendars, Directories, Annual Reports, and many other types of products. They will lay flat or wrap back around themselves. It is a metal coil that passes through a row of punched holes at the edge of the printed piece. The binding can be on the left or top of the project depending on how the project is designed. Wire-o bound books are a series of parallel wire loops attached along a wire. Wire-o binding can be 1 1⁄4″ thick.

Number of Pages Accepted

We can print wire-o orders that have 8 pages – 800 pages (or up to 1 1⁄4″ inches thick) and we require them be in 2 page increments.

Design Tips

1. You must leave extra space for the hole drilling on the binding-side of your Wire-O booklet. Set your binding-side margins to be 7/8”. Refer to our free downloadable templates for a design guide.
2. While bleeding images are fully acceptable, PrintingCenterUSA does not recommend crossover images due to the substantial gap between pages.

Page Count: Spiral

Spiral Bound Printing

Spiral bound printing is a coil of a plastic continuous loop passing through a row of punched holes at the edge of the printed piece in a spiral. The binding can be on the left or top of the project depending on how the project is designed. Spiral bound coils are available in different colors and sizes. You cannot print on the spine or add or remove pages. Spiral bound book printing is great for manuals, directories, annual reports, calendars and many other types of products. Spiral binding can be up to 2 3⁄4“ thick.

Number of Pages Accepted

We can print spiral orders that have 8 pages – 800 pages (or up to 2 3/4″ inches thick) and we require them be in 2 page increments.

Design Tips

1. You must leave extra space for the hole drilling on the binding-side of your Spiral booklet. Set your binding-side margins to be 7/8”. Refer to our free downloadable templates for a design guide.
2. While bleeding images are fully acceptable, PrintingCenterUSA does not recommend crossover images due to the substantial gap between pages.

Page Count: Perfect Bound

Perfect Bound Printing

Printed sheets are gathered into a book, one on top of the other and the edges are ground off and the book is glued into a wrap around cover and then trimmed to size. This type of perfect bind creates a square spine. They provide an attractive looking durable book. They do not lay flat. Perfect bound book printing is great for directories, magazines, manuals, year books or any type of booklet that has many pages.

Number of Pages Accepted

The minimum number of pages is 28 pages to 2” thick maximum. 2 page increments are required when ordering.

Since perfect bound books are glued at the spine, it makes it harder to see or read content near the binding side (see the image below). To help avoid this, we recommend you have a 3/8” (0.375”) margin on the binding side of all pages, including inside cover pages. Smaller books may need less margin while larger books may need more.

For example, if you are designing a perfect bound book, then your margins should look similar to the graphic below. Notice the binding side margins are thicker (3/8”) than the other margins and that the binding spine margin reflects the adjacent facing page.

Upload Pages in this Order

To calculate Page Count in a Document:
Set up numbered pages as single pages

• In the image above, Page 1 is the Front Cover
• Page 2 is Inside the Front Cover
• Pages 3-6 are all inside pages
• Page 7 is the Inside of the Back Cover
• Page 8 is the Back Cover

Page Count: Saddle Stitch Binding

Saddle stitching is the same binding that the catalogs and magazines you get in the mail tend to have. It is two staples nested in the spine of the folded piece, securing the sheets together. It can go along the left edge or on top depending on how the project is planned out. Saddle stitching is great for booklets, calendars, photo-books and programs.

Number of Pages Accepted

We can print saddle-stitch orders that have 8 pages – 92 pages, though we require them be in 4 page increments. In other words, your document (counting front and back cover) should be one of the following page counts:
8 | 12 | 16 | 20 | 24 | 28 | 32 | 36 40 | 44 | 48 | 52 | 56 | 60 | 64 | 68 | 72 | 76 | 80 | 84 | 88 | 92

Page Creep

When saddle stitching, there is a term called “page creep,” which is when the inner pages stick out farther than the pages closer to the outer cover. This usually happens when there is a large number of pages or thicker paper. A booklet with fewer pages will most likely not have to worry about creep because the trimming may not be as noticeable as with higher page numbers.

Diagram C below shows how the pages stick out (creep) from the book and Diagram D shows how the pages are trimmed after being stitched.

Upload Pages in this Order

To calculate Page Count in a Document:
Set up numbered pages as single pages

• In the image above, Page 1 is the Front Cover
• Page 2 is Inside the Front Cover
• Pages 3-6 are all inside pages
• Page 7 is the Inside of the Back Cover
• Page 8 is the Back Cover

Page Count: Overview

We require that any booklet files be sent as single pages, not spreads. In your files, page 1 should be the front cover and the last page should be the back cover (see below).

Upload Pages in this Order

To calculate Page Count in a Document:
Set up numbered pages as single pages

• In the image above, Page 1 is the Front Cover
• Page 2 is Inside the Front Cover
• Pages 3-6 are all inside pages
• Page 7 is the Inside of the Back Cover
• Page 8 is the Back Cover

PrintingCenterUSA’s prepress department will personally arrange the single pages from your PDF onto front and back sheets. For this reason, we do not accept spreads. Learn more about spreads here.

For a step-by-step tutorial on page count, select from one of the following bindings:
Saddle Stitch, Perfect Bound, Spiral, and Wire-O

Resolution: Word

There is no way to check the resolution of your images once they are in Word. Be sure to check that your images are 300 ppi or more before placing them in your document. If your imported images appear pixelated (like the image below does), then you should attempt to find a new image.

To ensure your document itself is saving as a high-resolution PDF, please refer to our File Saving guide for Word here.