Why Print Perfect Bound Books at Smartpress?

• Order exact quantities, small and large: Order 10 to 5,000.
• Choose from a large paper selection: 15+ cover and interior stock options.
• Get your order fast: Orders are ready to ship in as little as 4 business days.
• Variable Data Printing: Create a truly personalized presentation. 
• Enjoy superb full-color printing: 100% Satisfaction Guaranteed.

Perfect bound booklets are great for publications with 30 pages or more. The cover is folded twice creating a seamless square spine which the pages are glued into. This gives the booklet a clean, professional look. Perfect binding is a great option for catalogs, magazines, lookbooks, and bigger manuals - up to 2” thick.

Please note the following regarding your document setup:
These are the minimum and maximum dimensions for perfect bound books.

• Please note that the finished size is Width X Height. Perfect bound books are always assumed to be bound on the height dimension.
• Please enter the total number of sheets (not sides of paper), including 2 to create the wrapping front/back cover & spine.
• Please submit 2 print ready PDFs for your book - 1 for your cover, and 1 for the interior pages:
  • Cover art should be submitted as 1 PDF with 2 joined spreads; exterior and interior. Please use the estimated spine thickness shown in the calculator, as calculated by your stock selection and sheet counted entered, to set your spine art. Include this estimated width in the total spread, leaving the interior gutter blank of any printing for the glue to adhere to the cover.
  • Please submit a single PDF for interior pages with each page in correct succession. Your document should have twice as many pages as sheets ordered, i.e. 1 sheet is equal to 2 pages; if you are ordering a book with 16 interior sheets, then your document should contain 32 single pages. You can add blank pages as necessary to make page count.
  • Make each page of your document the same size as what is being ordered. So if you are ordering a 5.5" x 8.5" book, the pages in your document should also be 5.5" x 8.5". 
  • Be sure to include an additional 1/8" bleed on all 4 sides of the page, as well as 3/8" text/image safety margin on the spine edge and a 1/4" on all 3 outer edges of each interior page. 

Paper thickness affects the thickness of the book; our perfect bound books have a maximum thickness of 2" inches. The spine calculator will help you to know when your page count and stock selection has resulted in a book that is too thick for perfect binding.

If you are planning to publish and sell your book, you will need both an ISBN number for your book, as well as a UPC or barcode for retail use. You can obtain both of these by going to http://www.isbn.org, where you will have options to purchase simply the ISBN, or the ISBN and barcode as a unit. If you already have the ISBN and simply need the barcode, another option would be here: http://www.gs1us.org.

Bound book printing can be used for a variety of purposes, from more creative projects like self-publishing your own fiction/non-fiction paperback book to more business-minded ventures, like printing a thick catalog. They are particularly useful for printing thick, high page count books that could be too much for a simple saddle-stitched booklet or wire coil booklet. Smartpress.com produces high-quality perfect bound books with a professional, paperback appearance. We're not the copy shop around the corner, we're a top quality printer on which you can rely. 

With their versatility, you can print perfect bound books for a variety of purposes, such as: 

• Product catalogs
• Non-fiction & fiction books
• Employee manuals
• Cookbooks
• Membership directories
• Instruction manuals
• Training manuals
• Policy manuals
• Handbooks
• Reference guides
• User manuals

When you print perfect bound books with Smartpress.com, you can be sure that your publications will be something you would be proud to sell to fans or hand out to customers. The designs that you create will jump off the pages with superior color printing and perfect binding. Book sizes available range from 4" x 6" to 9" x 12". Print books with spines as thin as .10" up to 2" thick. As long as the spine is thick enough, you can also add copy to the spine of the book, including the title and author name. Our online perfect bound book printing services make it easy to get an instant quote and incredibly affordable to print books for all of your publishing, marketing and other similar needs.  

For for quantities over 5,000, for sizes other than listed, or for laminating options, please request a custom quote. 

If you are ready to order here are the next steps. Please note that you can place your perfect bound book printing order now and upload your artwork file later.

1. Run a quote using the form on the right-hand side of this page. After you select your options, you will be able to see how much your order is going to cost.
2. Click Continue and you will be taken to the next page where you can upload your file.
3. Then, add to cart and continue shopping or check out to complete your order.
4. You will get a PDF proof of your book printing job after you have placed your order – watch your email for a proof notification, or log into your account at any time to see if a proof is available for your review.

Please Note: If you've chosen Variable Data Personalization, please view our List File Upload information.

Smartpress.com offers a selection of booklet printing options. Check out the booklet printing services page for more information. 

Don’t see the paper stock, or finishing options you need here? Submit a custom quote or call a customer service representative at (888) 934-6909 to get started!