Custom Printing

About Custom Printing

If you are interested in publishing your novel, printing a family cookbook to present to your relatives, or bringing your previously out-of-print book back into circulation, Harvard Book Store can help!

Paige M. Gutenborg, Harvard Book Store's book-printing robot

Benefits of printing your book at Harvard Book Store:

Books are library-quality, perfect bound, acid-free paperbacks, indistinguishable from books produced by major publishing houses.

There are no minimums, so there are no large up-front investments as usually required by self-publishing programs. You print books as you need them.

The author retains all rights to the printed work, along with complete control over layout, content, and design.

The author may choose to have his or her work on display and for sale at Harvard Book Store and at harvardsquarebookstore.com.

The author retain rights for non-exclusive distribution and may sell books printed at Harvard Book Store through any avenue they choose.

The author sets the book price.

Modifications and alterations are allowed at any time, for an additional fee.

Personalized service from an established and internationally recognized independent bookstore.

Paige M. Gutenborg, Harvard Book Store's book-printing robot

How It Works

You provide us with print-ready PDFs, and we’ll print the books! Print-ready means you give us your book files once they are final–after the writing, editing, design, and layout have been completed, and the files are formatted according to our Submission Guidelines. You can follow our DIY Formatting and Layout Guidelines [PDF] or hire someone to help you; we'll be happy to recommend local freelance editors and designers.

Watch an introductory overview of the Espresso Book Machine made by On Demand Books in 2008.

Want to discuss your own custom printing project, or have our printing staff review your files?

The first step:
You'll need to contact us to schedule an appointment with our Print on Demand Manager!

Submission Guidelines

You’ll submit two PDF files: one for the bookblock (the interior of the book) and one for the cover.

You must own the rights and/or have permission to use any content or images included in your book.

You may submit your files by email at bookmachine@harvardsquarebookstore.com or you may bring them into the store on a USB, CD, DVD, or zip drive.

Bookblock

The bookblock consists of your interior pages. It includes any blank pages and front or back matter. It will print in black and white.

Minimum number of pages: 40

Maximum number of pages: 700

Trim size dimensions (W” x H”): minimum 4.5” x 5.5”, maximum 8.25” x 10.5”
(trim size is the width and height dimensions of the book)

Determining your page count:

A 300-page book only uses 150 pieces of paper, printed on the front and back. When considering any blank pages, dedications, about the author pages, etc, remember to think of each physical piece of paper as 2 pages in your final book page count.

Cover

For layout purposes, your cover is the back + spine + front of your book, printed as one continuous sheet (a 17”x11” landscape-oriented rectangle).

Nothing can print on the interior side of the front or back cover.

Cover requirements:

Maximum cover dimensions = 16.75” x 10.75”

Cover must be centered vertically and horizontally in landscape-oriented 17” x 11” document

No crop / registration marks

¼” bleed on all sides

Before designing your cover, you must know your spine width. To calculate this, you’ll need your number of book pages (front, core, and back matter) and the PPI (pages per inch). The PPI measurement is specific to the thickness of the paper you’re using. Harvard Book Store's standard PPI is 434 (for Springhill Opaque 60lb cream paper).

To calculate spine width:
Spine width = number of pages ÷ PPI

Note: number of pages here refers to the double-sided page count you use when you describe the length of your book. Remember to include all front and back matter, as well as any blank pages, in your final page count.

Keep in mind that the appropriate trim size for your book depends upon the number of pages & your spine width. The more pages you have, the larger your spine width will be, and the smaller your overall trim size may need to be for the cover to print properly on the 17” x 11” page.

Cover Template Samples:

Sample Cover 1 [PDF]
Sample Cover 2 [PDF]
Sample Cover 3 [PDF]
Sample Cover 4 [PDF]
Sample Cover 5 [PDF]
Sample Cover 6 [PDF]
Sample Cover 7 [PDF]
Sample Cover 8 [PDF]

Additional Formatting Guidelines

Read our expanded DIY Formatting and Layout Guidelines [PDF].

Fees

Set-up Fee Options:

$10 – includes set-up and book printing (revisions and proofs not included; files will not be retained).

$70 – includes book printing, one free proof copy, one round of revisions, unlimited copies thereafter based on price per page fees, and the option to distribute and promote your book at Harvard Book Store and harvardsquarebookstore.com.

After the initial set-up, each book is printed on a price-per-page fee:

40-100 pages – $5 for the first 40 pages, plus $0.05 per page for pages 41-100

100+ pages – $8 for the first 100 pages, plus $0.02 for each additional page

Cover Layout Fee:

Layout/adjustment of a pre-designed cover – $10

Choose from existing template – $30
(view Cover Template Samples in our Submission Guidelines)

Personalized layout – $60

Bulk purchase discounts

30+ copies | 10% off

75+ copies | 20% off

200+ copies | 25% off

Alteration Fee

Any time after the initial set-up and printing, the author may make alterations to their work for an additional $25 fee plus the cost of an additional proof copy (based on price-per-page fee).