January 1, 2025
When you have a creative idea for a children’s book printing, turn your concept into a beautiful book that kids will enjoy reading. Self-publishing your book is a great way to make sure your idea looks exactly how you want it to since self-publishing gives the author the power to make all of the printing decisions. But what if you don’t know which choices to make? Let’s take a look at what you need to know about children’s book printing so your book will look great on the shelf.
One of the choices you will have during the children’s book printing process is how your book’s binding will be designed. The three categories of bindings – with a spine, using a circular ring or wire and stitched bindings – all work best in specific situations. Choosing a binding that fits the specific use and reader for your children’s book printing will help make your book more user-friendly, last longer and look its best.
Books that are perfect bound utilize a strong adhesive to join together the pages resulting in a flat side of the binding called a spine. The use of perfect binding is typical for books with lots of pages, often seen in novels. But perfect bound books have a cover made of soft, bendable materials.
Books whose bindings are created by punching a hole in the inside margins of a page and threading a circular material through them are called coil, plastic coil, wire bound or Wire-O bound. The coils, rings or wire are wound from the top of the page to the bottom of the page to bind the pages to each other and the cover, providing a secure binding that has the added feature of creating a book that will lay flat or open to a single page with the remaining pages stacked behind.
Plastic coil binding is a children’s book printing favorite because little fingers can safely handle coils made with soft, non-puncturing plastic, and the material also is very durable. Plastic coils can be manufactured in a variety of bright colors to create an eye-catching children’s book.
Children’s book printing bound with plastic coil are also often very durable because each page can be constructed with heavy-weight paper that holds the pages securely, making it difficult for little hands to tear out pages of a beloved book. Another reason that many self-publishing children’s book authors choose this type of binding is that books made with brightly colored coils stand out on the bookshelf, making them highly visible to both little readers and those who might purchase them.
The least expensive but still effective type of binding is called Saddle Stitch. This type of binding uses two stitches or lightweight staples in the folded center of large, printed pages. Often saddle stitching is used on calendars, pamphlets and booklets, but it can also be used on books under approximately 80 pages in length.
Due to the strength and size of the stitches or staples, book-length and paper weight are both impacted and play a part in the ultimate number of pages. Saddle stitching, while a reliable binding, is not commonly used for young children’s book printing due to the likelihood of a young child tearing or damaging the binding materials. For older children, saddle stitching is an economical binding choice for shorter books or projects.
Another consideration in children’s book publishing is the size of the book. As a self-publisher, you can choose any size of book to print from 5.5×8.5 inches up to 9×12 or even a custom size, somewhere in between. However, choosing a book size is not just based on the author’s preference, although that does play a part. Writers should think about who is going to be primarily looking at the book, what the contents of the book will be and how those two considerations work together
Smaller square books look very neat and tidy and may stand out on the bookshelf due to their uniform shape or diminutive size compared to other books. But choosing a square-shaped book might be good for one other stand-out reason: it might be easier for little hands to grasp and hold.
Square books are often crafted for the littlest readers because their small hands can hold them independently much sooner than larger, more unwieldy or less-balanced books. In addition, a square book of a small size may be easier to transport, stick in a baby bag or slip into a book bag for repeated reading sessions, making this shape highly desirable for the youngest set of readers and the parents that offer books to them.
When a book is deemed to be designed in Landscape, the horizontal plane is larger than the vertical plane. These longer-rather-than-taller books have a few benefits that other, more traditionally shaped books may. First, the wider pages offer authors a larger space to provide pictures, photographs or other graphic elements in a bigger space. This means that bigger, more detailed pictures and sketches or drawings can be included in a book more easily with the increased footprint of the book’s page.
And secondly, this bigger canvas allows young readers and pre-readers more information to gather on each page. This characteristic is especially advantageous in books teaching reading and pre-reading skills, where plenty of visual cues are important to the book’s contents. Books that rely heavily on pictures or drawings can also include more content per page, too, making landscape-style books a great choice for authors creating a kid’s book heavy on visual elements.
A typical children’s book printing size is similar to the size of a sheet of paper, and for good reason. This standard size, taller than wider, is easy for hands of all sizes to hold and maneuver and it fits easily into bags or on bookshelves. Choosing this size of book means your self-published children’s book will fit in well with this genre on most bookshelves. This size book may also be a standard printing size, not incurring any extra charges for bindings or paper or cover selections.
The interior pages of a children’s book are noticeably thicker than those of a typical novel printed with an older, more careful reader in mind. Those onion-skin thin pages would be torn or damaged instantly if they were used in a children’s book where little hands are less adept at protecting the pages or even holding a book comfortably.
Instead, children’s book printing normally utilizes paper coated with gloss or matte materials to strengthen and protect the pages so young readers can flip the pages many times over their lifetime.
Ready to transform your children’s book idea into a beautiful book? These three hints will help you finalize your concept and create a gorgeous book your readers will love.
Download a free book template to help you put together the pages, text and visual elements of your book along with optional elements like page numbering.
Think about what age and ability level your potential reader should be before you make the final decision on binding, paper and book size. Choose the correct durability level, book size and weight of paper to maximize your reader’s experience with your book.
Partner with a business that has worked with many authors over the years and can help you print your book quickly and beautifully, like Publishing Xpress.
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