Hardcover Book Printing

Give your imaginative ideas a premium look and feel they deserve. Whether you print Children's Books or Photo Books – our Casebound Books offer superior strength and durability that will proudly sit on any bookshelf. From premium paper options to exceptional color printing, the creative potential for your custom Hardcover Book is limitless.

Non-account holders can place orders, but we recommend creating a free Mixam account and signing in. Select an item from the categories at the top of the website, and choose your print specifications, free quote and estimated shipping date via the Instant Quote Calculator. Click Add to Cart, then Continue, and upload your files to your Artwork tab. Visit our How To Print With Mixam Support Page for more information.

You can create artwork by hand, scan it or photograph it and upload images to your desktop. You can also use graphic design programs like Adobe Photoshop, InDesign, Illustrator, Canva, or Affinity Publisher. To ensure print-ready files before upload, download Our Instant Quote Calculator's downloadable PDF templates to lay out your designs. Alternatively, click the Design Online Tool to create artwork in your order (visit our Support Page for more information).

Bleed is an extension of artwork or color(s) to minimize unprinted edges appearing when we cut your prints to size. Your front cover, back cover, and spine need 0.8” bleed on the top, bottom, and outer edges. The bleed allows your cover artwork to extend around the cover boards. Inner pages require the standard 0.125” bleed on all four sides. If you upload your covers and spine as single files, add 0.8” on all 4 edges. We will only use 0.2” bleed on the inner edge to cover the hinge areas (the flexible bridges between the spine and the cover). You don’t need to include bleed if no artwork or color(s) meet the page edges. Visit How To Print Hardcover Books and Full Bleed Printing Explained for more information.

Start a pending order by adding a quote to your Cart and clicking Continue. Please label your files clearly before uploading with names like Page_1, Page_2, etc., so our system can place your files chronologically. Drag and drop files from your desktop or upload them from your computer, online file-sharing accounts like Dropbox, or a web URL. You can upload single and multi-page files to orders. Visit our Print File Setup Guide for more information.

You can upload many file types, and we’ll convert them into high-quality PDFs. You can submit them as single, double, or individual files. Ensure your files are in CMYK color mode before uploading. Visit our Color Guide for Printing and File Formats Support Page to view the complete list of accepted file types.

A multi-piece shipment refers to a single order containing multiple items. Once you add your first quote to your Shopping Cart, you can repeat the process for the same item or add a quote for another item via the categories at the top of the website. You can then upload your files to each item in one order.

Once you’ve uploaded files in your order’s Artwork tab, you can preview them via Thumbnails, an Online Preview and Downloadable Proof. Mixam’s automatic file checker will scan your files, but please also check all files manually, especially your Downloadable Proof, to review and fix issues before we send your order to production. Visit our Proofing Support Page for more information, and contact our print experts by chat, email or phone for assistance.

The cut-off time for Confirmed orders is 4 pm CT every workday. It would help to confirm your order before these times to secure your estimated shipping date. Unconfirmed orders may mean you receive a new estimated delivery date. Visit our Shipping and Delivery Support Page for more information.

We aim to get your order to you by or on the estimated date you choose on our Instant Quote Calculator. While all shipping dates are not guaranteed, we’ll inform you at the earliest opportunity if a delay occurs. Visit our Shipping and Delivery Support Page for more information, and contact our team in advance if you have a deadline, and we’ll try to accommodate.

You can familiarize yourself with our quality, products and paper stocks by ordering free printed samples here. You can also create a test print before placing a larger order by ordering one copy via our Instant Quote Calculator. Please note that shipping can take longer depending on your location, but you can contact our team if you have any questions.

Upload one 300 dpi PDF file to your Artwork tab containing a back cover, spine and front cover design. Ensure your design matches the dimensions you selected in your initial quote and it's labeled with a name like cover.pdf so our system can automatically put it in the correct place. Visit our Print File Setup Guide for more information.

A spine refers to the edge where the outer covers and interior pages are bound, typically featuring artwork, the publication title and the author's name. Upload a single PDF file or design one as part of a cover spread at 300 dpi. You can find your spine dimensions in your Shopping Cart or Artwork tab. Add 0.125" bleed to the top and bottom of your spine. For Hardcover items, add a 0.2" hinge area on both sides of the spine and 0.8" bleed to the top and bottom. Labeling your files will also ensure they appear in the right place. If you cannot upload spine artwork, add a blank page by clicking the blue three-dot button under the spine thumbnail. Print work will only appear if you upload a spine design file. Otherwise, it will remain blank. Visit our File Setup Support Page for more information.

Lamination means applying a transparent plastic coating on top of prints to preserve, protect and enhance aesthetics. All laminations and finishes can affect the final appearance of printed colours, but each minimises issues like marking, ink transferral, smudging, creasing, fading, wrinkling, abrasion and tearing. Please note we cannot laminate Uncoated and Recycled Paper stocks. Visit Our Print Finishes Support Page for more information.

On Hardcover Books, a Smyth® sewing machine stitches all your inner pages together using thread to form a book block (a stack of folded, gathered pages). A strong adhesive then covers the binding edge and attaches the block to the spine and covers. Sewn binding incurs a higher cost and additional production days but provides unbeatable strength and longevity. We recommend this option for items with high page counts and heavy paper stocks.

On Hardcover Books, a Dust Jacket is a detachable outer cover with folded panels. It increases a book’s longevity, minimizes damage, and can be highly decorative. We'll produce them on 80lb Cover stock, but we may use a similar, high-quality alternative should this stock become unavailable. You can upload a separate Dust Jacket design file to your Hardcover Book order by selecting the Add Dust Jacket option on the Instant Quote Calculator. Please note we cannot accept orders for dust jackets alone. Visit our Hardcover Setup Guide Support Page for more information.

Chat or Call us on: +1 888 510 1456 to speak to our friendly customer service team.

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How To Upload Your Files
  • To ensure high-quality print files, we'll convert your files to PDFs, no matter which file type you upload. We accept single pages, double pages or individual files. Visit our File Formats Support Page to learn how to submit your files.
Important - Your Cover
  • Adding a cover to your order will increase your total page count by four. A cover includes a front cover, an inside front cover, a back cover, and an inside back cover. Hardcover Books have no inside covers; therefore, you don’t need to supply files.
Bleed
  • Bleed is the area surrounding your print’s trim size, extending an image or color beyond the finished trim size. Add a 0.125” bleed to every print file before uploading them to your Artwork Dashboard. Hardcover Books require a 0.8” bleed on the cover and spine files. Avoid placing any important content within the bleed area. You don't need to include bleed if your pages are blank (i.e. no images/graphics meeting the edge of your page). Visit our Bleed Setup Support Page to learn more about bleed, trim lines and gutter areas.
Binding
  • You can choose from a range of binding options on our Instant Quote Calculator. Head to our Binding Types Support Page to learn more about binding and how to set up your files for each option.
Please Note:
  • Our Instant Quote Calculator automatically switches to the appropriate binding options when the number of pages or paper weight reaches a specific limit. For example, high page counts and paper weights may mean Perfect Binding is available, while low page counts and low paper weights may mean Staple or Wire-O Binding is better suited.
Spine 
  • For Perfect Binding, you can create your spine design and upload it as part of a cover spread or as a separate PDF file. Please include a 0.125” bleed at the top and bottom of your design. We’ll calculate and display your spine measurements in your Shopping Cart and Artwork Dashboard. If you don’t want to include a spine file, please insert a blank page instead. Hardcover Books require a 0.8” bleed on the cover and spine files.
Completing Your Order
  • Make sure you fill in all page thumbnails. For example, if your order has 32 pages, your files must fill 32 thumbnails. You can add blank pages or adjust your quote if you do not have enough content. Visit our Print File Checklist Support Page for more information.
Size
Letter (8.5" x 11")
11.8" x 11.8"
Executive (7" x 10")
Pocket Book (4.25" x 6.87")
Digest (5.5" x 8.5")
Crown Quarto (7.44" x 9.68")
US Trade (6" x 9")
8" x 8"
7" x 9"
10" x 10"
7.5" x 7.5"
7.25" x 9.5"
Royal (6.14" x 9.21")
A4 (8.3" x 11.7")
A5 (5.8" x 8.3")
8.5" x 8.5"
8" x 10"

Professional Photo Quality Books

Weight
Adhesive Casebound
Smyth Sewn
Satin Paper
70lb Text 20 - 720 pages 20 - 720 pages
80lb Text 20 - 700 pages 20 - 700 pages
100lb Text 20 - 700 pages 20 - 700 pages
Gloss Paper
70lb Text 20 - 720 pages 20 - 720 pages
80lb Text 20 - 700 pages 20 - 700 pages
100lb Text 20 - 700 pages 20 - 700 pages
Uncoated Paper
50lb Text 20 - 800 pages 20 - 800 pages
60lb Text 20 - 800 pages 20 - 800 pages
70lb Text 20 - 720 pages 20 - 720 pages
80lb Text 20 - 700 pages 20 - 700 pages
100lb Text 20 - 700 pages 20 - 700 pages
Recycled Uncoated Paper
60lb Text 32 - 800 pages 32 - 800 pages
70lb Text 32 - 720 pages 32 - 720 pages
80lb Text 32 - 600 pages 32 - 600 pages
100lb Text 32 - 532 pages 32 - 532 pages
Paper Type
Gloss
Recycled Uncoated
Satin
Uncoated
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