Sample cover — replace with client asset
The Harbour Line
From$6.99
Printing Services
Print-on-demand setup and offset print run coordination, with a physical proof before anything is committed.
- Price Quoted individually
- Typical timeline 2–6 weeks depending on method
There are two ways to print a book, and choosing wrongly is expensive in opposite directions.
Print-on-demand manufactures a copy when someone orders one. No inventory, no upfront cost, no garage full of unsold books, and the title stays available indefinitely. The per-copy cost is higher, so the margin is thinner. For most independent authors this is the right default, and it is what our packages include.
Offset printing prints a full run at once. Per-copy cost drops sharply above roughly 750 to 1,000 copies, and it opens up things print-on-demand cannot do — specific paper stocks, foil, spot varnish, embossing, French flaps, printed endpapers, unusual trim sizes. It also means paying up front and storing what you print. It makes sense when you have a known destination for the copies: a speaking programme, a corporate order, a launch with committed retail interest.
We set up and manage either. For print-on-demand that means correct file specification, spine calculation, colour profiles and a full proof cycle. For offset we prepare files to your printer's specification, obtain and compare quotes, coordinate proofing and manage the schedule to delivery.
Either way, you get a physical proof copy before approval. Screens lie about paper, and holding the book is the only reliable way to catch a cover that is darker than expected or a text block set slightly too tight.
What you receive
Deliverables
Exactly what lands in your inbox, listed the same way it appears in your written scope.
- Print-ready interior and cover files to printer specification
- Spine width calculated from final page count and paper stock
- Print-on-demand account and title setup
- Physical proof copy for approval
- Offset quote comparison and run coordination where applicable
- Colour profile management for illustrated titles
What we need from you
Requirements
Having these ready before we start is what keeps the timeline honest.
- Final typeset interior with all corrections applied
- Final cover design at correct spine width
- Confirmed trim size, paper stock and binding
- For offset: your quantity, delivery address and storage arrangements
Production timelines are estimates. Actual schedules vary with manuscript length, revision rounds, author response time and third-party retailer processing.
How it works
Printing Services, stage by stage
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1
Choose the method
We work through expected volume, budget, finish requirements and storage to decide between on-demand and offset.
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2
File preparation
Interior and cover prepared to the specific printer's requirements — bleed, margins, colour space, spine.
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3
Digital proof
A digital proof is reviewed and approved before anything physical is produced.
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4
Physical proof
A printed copy is sent to you. Nothing proceeds until you have held it and approved.
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5
Production
The title goes live for on-demand printing, or the offset run is scheduled and tracked to delivery.
Examples
Browse the bookstore
Books this service has shaped
Sample catalog titles. Replace with a real portfolio of work you have permission to show before launch.
Sample cover — replace with client asset
The Second Tide
From$6.99
Sample cover — replace with client asset
The Evidence Gap
From$9.99
Sample cover — replace with client asset
Decision Debt
From$11.99
Cheaper as part of a package
Packages that commonly include printing services
If you need several services, a package is usually less than buying them individually.
Laureate
Our most complete publishing program
Authors publishing at the highest production standard — illustrated or complex books, audiobook and translation-ready assets, an author website, and a full year of marketing support.
From
$12,500
Placeholder price. $2,500 reserves your slot; balance invoiced against milestones.
- Manuscript assessment before any work is scoped
- Developmental edit with a written report and two consultation calls
- Cover design phase with unlimited exploration and photography direction
- Bespoke interior design for complex, illustrated or colour layouts
- Paperback and hardcover, Colour or premium-stock print run quoted separately, Reflowable eBook and fixed-layout eBook where the design requires it, Audiobook produced with a professional narrator, Print-ready assets prepared for translation licensing
- ISBNs assigned across every edition and format
- Global print-on-demand plus offset print coordination where suitable
- Timeline: 9–15 months from manuscript handover, scoped precisely after review
As a rule of thumb, somewhere around 750 to 1,000, but it depends on trim size, page count and finish. We will run the actual numbers for your book rather than guessing — sometimes on-demand stays cheaper well past that point.
Because cost is driven by page count, trim size, paper, binding, colour and quantity, and no useful single figure covers those. A quote against your actual specification is accurate; a starting price would not be.
Yes, and you should. A physical proof is included and we do not proceed without your approval of it. Colour in particular behaves differently on paper than on screen.
Yes — case-bound with a dust jacket, or printed case. Foil, emboss and printed endpapers are available on offset runs and quoted with the rest of the specification.
Often bought together
All services
Related services
Design
Interior Book Formatting
Professional typesetting — the invisible craft that lets a reader forget they are reading a designed object.
Design
Book Cover Design
An original cover designed around your book and its category — front, spine and back, built to work at thumbnail size and in the hand.
Distribution
Global Book Distribution
Getting your book listed, orderable and fulfilled across online retailers, wholesalers and library suppliers.
Talk it through
Not sure whether you need printing services?
Send us the manuscript. If this is not the service that would help your book most, we will tell you which one is.
Your manuscript stays confidential. We claim no rights in your work at any stage.