Post
by Alex Deligiannis » Mon Jun 27, 2005 12:23 am
Your book, I assume, will end up being 8.5 X 5.5 inches. So, your files should scale to that size. Changing resolution won't screw printing up at all as long as you know what you are doing, but resolution is a tricky thing in that when you change the size dimesnions, you automatically affect resolution. (Real quick, here's the basic: a 10X10 page at 600 dpi is the exact same thing as a 20X20 page at 300 dpi, or a 5X5 page at 1200 dpi. It's all relative. Try it in photoshop and you'll see that nothing changes, not even the file size, as long as you keep the proportions relative. The "inches" are for your benefit only; the computer screen doesn't understand inches, because it works in pixels. So as long as your total pixels within the image remain the same, you are fine. Once you scale down your image to the print size you want, make sure to scale up your dpi in the exact same percentage ratio to keep the same resolution).
Ok, now back to your book. Once you are ready to assemble the files, you need to prepare them as follows (standard 8.5 X 11 books are usually 24 pages, so that's the example Im using).
Your front cover and back cover will be laid out in one 8.5 X 11 file, with the front cover on the RIGHT and the back cover on the LEFT, each at 8.5 X 5.5.
Inside front cover and inside back cover will be laid out in one 8.5 X 11 file, with the inside front on the LEFT and inside back on the RIGHT.
Then, you just count toward the middle, assembling page 1 and 24, 2 and 23, 3 and 22, 4 and 21, 5 and 20, 6 and 19, 7 and 18, 8 and 17, 9 and 16, 10 and 15, 11 and 14, and 12 and 13. All your EVEN pages will be on the LEFT of the file, and all your ODD pages on the right.
Keep in mind that page 1 and 24 will be single pages at the start and end of the book, so they should not be double-page spreads. Also be weary of the bleeds, meaning don't take any artwork within .25 inches of the edge or it will be trimmed off.
VERY RECOMMENDED: Make a mock-up. Take 7 sheets of paper and fold them in half, then number them and indicate which page is which. This way, you'll be able to catch layout errors before you assemble the files.
Hope this helped a bit!