Printing Large

As people know on here, I print my own books, of both hard and soft cover of full-length novels, memoirs, and children's books.

So far I really love how the soft covers have evolved, they look like novels you would buy off a bookstore shelf with embossed lettering, a nice glossy cover, and everything. I am happy with them.

As far as hardcovers go, I have got that worked out to a point. I can make the book block, head bands, leather covers and all that just fine, and they look good and are more gratifying to make then the soft covers, but then...

There are no dust jackets.

I know, most people toss them out anyway, but all efforts at trying to make a dust jacket have come up short. Literally, with the inside flap, bend, cover, spine, back cover, bend, and back flap: it is a 8 x 18 page that must be made. My printer can only print legal sized sheets (I think). I tried gluing paper together, but it came out rough. Then I tried making a spine and gluing to that, but it also came out rough. I know I can get a plotter, and maybe I will have too, but they are really expensive. It's just really frustrating. I got a perfectly good hard cover book, but with one it would just look so much better.

Any ideas on how to print something roughly 8 x 18?

(I have a Canon Color Image Class LBP622CDW printer)

Steve, you've probably already thought of this, but my suggestion is to contact a local commercial printer who does custom print sizes. I know most of them print posters, so they may be able to help.

I worked in the printing industry for an association.

My suggestion which probably would not work for you is that these companies buy rolls of paper and the printing is done in a continuous large strip of paper and then cut into book covers.

I really have no idea what kind of equipment you have though I doubt you would be able to use rolls of paper.

If your hardcover books have pretty glossy covers are book covers really necessary?

Leigh Tate wrote:Steve, you've probably already thought of this, but my suggestion is to contact a local commercial printer who does custom print sizes. I know most of them print posters, so they may be able to help.

Yeah I thought of that, but one problem I have, is setting things up. I have found with book-making, you have to tweak things several times to get everything just right. I could do that with a commercial printer, it would just be a lot of back-and-forth,

I also like to change things with my books, like different cover photos or artwork. But again, that could be done with a commercial printer.

It just sucks, I have learned to do so much by myself with the minimalist of bookmaking tools that this just frustrates me.

I might just have to get a plotter though. I was hoping for a workaround...

Anne Miller wrote:If your hardcover books have pretty glossy covers are book covers really necessary?

Yes, very valid point.

To answer your question: Yes... no... I don't know???

No in that I use a fake leather for my hardcover books, or by laminating one side, you can get really nice glossy paper for bookmaking; so the hardcovers look great as is, so they really don't need a dust jacket in some ways.

But yes in that a dust jacket is typically on a hardcover book. So if I want my hardcover novels to look like the ones on a store shelf, they kind of need dust jackets. But my girlfriend says the same thing as you, "Why? I just rip them off as soon as I get home anyway".

I guess I just keep coming back to needing a plotter. That's nice, but I am going to need a much bigger office if I get that! (Laughing)

Steve, I'd look into some local, or online, print-on-demand service. It might be an office supply store, sign shop, blueprint and copy shop... The cost of a larger machine that you seem to do okay without (so far) and the expense of ink cartridges (which fail prematurely if not used frequently), seems excessive for a relatively small number of dust jackets. Especially since you are on the fence about the idea, you could test your first ones this way before spending on a new printer.

Another option might be if a local makerspace has a large format printer. You might get a short-term membership, like just one month? (one near me offers a 10-day-access punch card), or maybe find a member who you could hire to do the printing job? (thinking this might be a more worthy cause than Staples shareholder dividends).