Design and production
Book printing services in Australia, with a proof copy first
Print on demand for ongoing orders, short-run offset when you need stock. Either way a physical proof copy reaches you before anything is printed at volume.
What you receive
What printing with us involves
Six things that decide whether a printed book feels right in the hand.
Printing is where decisions made months earlier become permanent. Paper weight changes how a page turns and how much the text shows through. Cover lamination changes how the colours read and how the book survives a backpack. Spine width depends on page count and paper stock together, so a cover built before the interior was final will not fit.
We handle the specification and the proofing, then set up whichever route suits your print run. Distribution is a separate question, covered on our book distribution page, and the print figures sit inside our guide to the cost of publishing a book in Australia.
- 01
A specification you understand
Trim size, paper stock and weight, cover board, lamination and binding, each explained in terms of what it does rather than its trade name.
- 02
A physical proof copy
Posted to you before any volume printing. Screens flatter everything; paper does not. This is the only reliable way to check colour and feel.
- 03
Print on demand set up
A title printed locally as orders arrive, so Australian buyers are not waiting on an overseas shipment and you carry no stock.
- 04
Short-run offset when it is cheaper
From around 150 copies, offset brings the unit cost down and the print quality up. We will tell you where your break-even sits.
- 05
Spine and cover checked together
Spine width recalculated from the final page count and paper stock, so the cover fits the book that was actually printed.
- 06
Launch and event quantities
A short run for a launch, a bookshop or a school visit, quoted separately from your ongoing print-on-demand listing.
The numbers that decide your print route
- Proof copy, always
1
Proof copy, always
A physical proof is posted to you before any volume run. No exceptions.
- Printing routes
2
Printing routes
Print on demand for ongoing orders, short-run offset for stock you hold.
- Copies, the offset minimum
150
Copies, the offset minimum
Below that, print on demand is cheaper per copy and we will tell you so.
- Of print files are yours
100%
Of print files are yours
Press-ready PDFs handed over, so you can take them to any printer.
How it works
How printing works
Four stages, and nothing prints at volume until you have held a copy.
- 01
Specification and quote
Days 1–3We price your book on both routes — print on demand and short-run offset — at the quantities you are considering, so the break-even is visible rather than asserted.
Your part: Tell us how many copies you realistically need in hand.
- 02
Pre-press checks
Days 3–7Interior and cover PDFs checked for bleed, margins, embedded fonts, image resolution and spine width against the final page count.
Your part: Nothing, unless a file needs rebuilding — we will tell you.
- 03
Printed proof
1–2 weeksA single copy printed on your chosen stock and posted to you. Check the colour, the trim, the spine alignment and how the paper feels.
Your part: Read it on paper and sign it off, or tell us what is wrong.
- 04
Print run or listing goes live
1–3 weeksEither your offset run is printed and delivered, or your print-on-demand listing goes live and prints to order from then on.
Your part: Somewhere to put the boxes, if you chose offset.
Portfolio
Books we have produced and printed
Covers from author projects, each shown with its real title and author.
The Mage's Heir
Wolfe Locke
The Drowning Lesson
Caleb Ruiz
Thirty-Six Winters
Ruth Carmody
Wombat Doesn't Share
Benny Okafor
The Longest Fence
Gordon Maitland
Nine Kitchens
Sofia Castellano
Related services
What usually comes next
Packages
Where printing sits in our packages
Print setup and your proof copy are included in the Publish and Publish and launch packages. Unit printing costs are separate and depend on page count, stock and quantity — we quote both routes.
Manuscript
Get the writing right before you spend anything on design.
for a 60,000-word manuscript
- Written manuscript assessment
- One round of structural editing
- Line edit and final proofread
- Australian spelling and style sheet
- A call with your editor at each stage
Publish
Everything needed to turn a finished manuscript into a book on sale.
for a 60,000-word manuscript
- Everything in Manuscript
- Original cover design, print and ebook
- Typeset interior for paperback and ebook
- ISBN registration and legal deposit
- Retailer and print-on-demand setup
- A printed proof copy before you sign off
- You keep the rights and the royalties
Publish and launch
For authors who want readers to find the book in its first month.
for a 60,000-word manuscript
- Everything in Publish
- A launch plan with dates and owners
- Author website with an email sign-up
- Retailer advertising for the first 90 days
- Review and bookshop outreach
- Monthly sales reporting for six months
Every quote is confirmed after we read your manuscript. Prices in Australian dollars and include GST. Longer books and illustrated books cost more, and we will say so before you commit.
Questions authors ask
Book printing: questions authors ask
Print on demand for anything you sell online, because you carry no stock and Australian orders print locally. Offset once you need roughly 150 copies or more in hand, where the unit cost drops and the print quality rises. Most authors end up doing both: a short offset run for launches, print on demand for ongoing sales.
Per-copy cost depends mostly on page count, then on trim size, paper and whether the interior is colour. A black-and-white paperback novel is the cheapest case; a 200-page colour picture book is several times that. We quote both printing routes side by side at your likely quantities.
For print on demand, yes — Australian orders print locally, which is why delivery is days rather than weeks and why the freight cost is not absurd. Overseas orders print in the nearest facility to the buyer. Short-run offset is quoted with Australian printers first.
Always, and we will not skip it even under deadline pressure. A screen cannot show you how heavy the paper is, whether the cover colour shifted on press, or whether the spine text sits centred. Authors change something after seeing the proof in roughly half of all projects.
For fiction, a cream 80gsm stock is the usual choice: it is easy on the eye and makes a slim book feel substantial. White stock suits non-fiction and anything with images. Heavier paper increases spine width and print cost, so it is a trade-off we will show you in numbers.
If the fault is ours or the printer’s — a misaligned spine, a colour shift from the approved proof, a binding failure — it is reprinted at no cost to you. If the file you approved contained the error, a reprint costs money, which is exactly why the proof stage exists and why we insist on it.
Still have a question? A real publisher will answer it.
Start your publishing journeyA conversation about your book
Get both print routes priced
Tell us your page count and how many copies you want in hand. We will quote print on demand and short-run offset side by side, and show you where the break-even sits.
Your manuscript. Your rights. Your next chapter.