Book Sizes
Standard finished hardcover and paper back genealogy book sizes are available in the following sizes(width x height):
8.5 x 11- Most popular hardcover and paperback size
8 x 10
6 x 9
5.5 x 8.5
Other options you have for standard books are cloth cover with custom foil stamping or typeset stamping, printed graphic cover, dust jacket, ribbon markers and head and tail bands
What paper choices do I have for my text?
We offer multiple standard paper options for genealogy printing. They are:
- 60# White
- 60# Off-White
- 80# Gloss
- 80# Matte
- 100# Gloss
- 100# Matte
These are the most popular paper types used for books and all are available with either hardcover or softcover books. Off-white is sometimes also called vanilla or natural and it has a light beige or cream color. 80# Gloss is a white coated stock that has a shiny look to it. We can not offer stocks other than those listed above for printing.
Spine Thickness
All hardcover books with a text thickness of 3/8”(approx. 160-180pages) or more will be adhesive bound. The text for almost all genealogy books are at least 1 /2” thick or more.
Any book that, after printing the text, has a text thickness of 3/8” or less, will be side sewn. Side sewing is a very durable binding method for thin books in which the text blocks are sewn together approximately 1/2” into the text blocks. Almost all genealogy books are 1/2” in thickness or more. The more information you have, the thicker the book will be.
File Formats
See information about submitting print ready PDF files and other file formats at which file formats we can accept. This area will help you with questions on creating PDF files, embedding fonts, photos and graphics and other information you may need.
Trim Information
Keep in mind that the above sizes are the finished sizes of the book. If you are getting hardcover books, the final size of the trimmed text will be approximately 1/8” smaller on the top, bottom and outside than the finished book sizes above. For instance, an 8.5 x 11” finished book would have a text block size of 8 3/8” x 10 3/4”. If you are planning on pages with bleed, see our information on bleeds to help you layout the pages.
Foil Stamping & Type Stamping
If the cover of your book is cloth cover you can choose to have a custom design foil stamped in gold or silver on the cover, spine or both, or, you can have your cover and spine type stamped in 18pt or 14pt Record Gothic.
Although type stamping can be done at no additional cost, the look of foil stamping on a cloth book creates a feel and a look that is special to only your book. Foil stamping costs extra and the cost is based on the number of books you are ordering and the size or area on the cover you will be foil stamping. Costs are based on two sizes on the cover. The two sizes are 1) up to and including 5 x 7 and 2) larger than 5 x 7 and up to 8 x 10. If you are getting custom foil stamped covers, you will be asked for the dimensions under which your design size would be. The cost will be included in your quote for stamping and dies based on the size you specify.
