From paperback novels to hardback gift editions, short-run academic monographs to trade-publisher print runs — we print and bind every kind of book in-house at our Exeter facility, from 10 copies up. Pick the route below that fits your project.
Live prices from the same engine as the full calculator — no email, no sign-up.
From paperback novels to hardback gift editions, yearbooks to academic monographs — we print and bind every kind of book in-house at our Exeter facility. Pick the closest match.
Perfect bound, PUR or thread-sewn paperbacks from 24 to 1,000+ pages. The standard trade book format.
Paperback printing
Case-bound, thread-sewn hardback books from 10 copies. Cloth, leather or printed paper covers. Premium hardcover finish — and a plain-English hardback guide if you’re new to it.
Hardback printing
10 to 500 copies. Dedicated print job, far cheaper per copy than print-on-demand. Real bookbindery quality.
Short-run printing
We print and bind self-published books. You keep the rights, we make the copies. From 10 copies, no setup fees.
Self-publishing
Hardback or paperback school yearbooks, A4 or Royal, foiled spine standard. From 10 copies up for any school size.
Yearbook printing
Lay-flat thread-sewn hardback cookbooks. Heavy coated paper for food photography, premium binding for kitchen use.
Cookbook printing
Guest books and keepsake editions of the day in short runs. Cloth, leather or vegan covers, foil-blocked titles.
Wedding book printing
Large-format hardback photo and art books. Premium coated paper, thread-sewn binding, foil and embossed covers.
Coffee-table books
Comics and graphic novels in B-format to A4. 115–170gsm silk or gloss, perfect/PUR/thread-sewn binding.
Comic book printing
Picture books, story books and early readers. Lay-flat sewn hardbacks, vivid colour on heavy 150gsm paper.
Children’s books
Custom journals, planners and notebooks. Thread-sewn, PUR or wire-O binding. A6 to A4, 70–200gsm paper.
Journal printing
Saddle-stitched booklets, programmes and brochures from 4 to 64 pages. Cost-effective short-run format.
Booklet printingShort-run magazines and catalogues. Perfect bound with printable spines or saddle-stitched, full colour on silk and gloss.
Magazine printingArt, photo, poetry and fanzines from 10 copies. Saddle-stitched or perfect bound, uncoated and recycled stocks.
Zine printingCustom notebooks for brands and retail. Lined, dotted, grid or blank — rulings printed free, foil-blocked covers.
Notebook printingPersonalised, corporate and academic diaries. Day-per-page or week-to-view, dated from any start month.
Diary printingCorporate brochures, prospectuses and pamphlets. Saddle-stitched or perfect bound, soft-touch covers.
Brochure printingAdult and children’s colouring books on paper that takes pencil and pen. Single-sided printing available.
Colouring booksManuals, workbooks and course materials. Wire-O lies flat on the desk; per-cohort runs from 10 copies.
Training manualsAdult content printed professionally — erotic fiction, adult comics, art books. Discreet plain packaging, no judgment.
NSFW printingMost “print a book online” results are print-on-demand platforms. Useful for what they are — but a POD copy and a dedicated short run are different products, and most sites won’t tell you which one you’re buying.
POD prints each copy individually as orders come in, on whatever machine in the network picks up the job. That’s genuinely useful for zero-inventory retail fulfilment — but it means limited paper and binding choices, copy-to-copy variation, and a per-copy price that never falls with quantity.
Your books are printed as one dedicated job on our presses and bound on our own lines — the same paper, binding and finishing as a 5,000-copy trade run, whether you order 10 copies or 1,000. Every copy is identical, because every copy came off the same run.
When POD is the right answer, we’ll say so — for one-at-a-time retail fulfilment it’s the correct tool, and our print-on-demand guide explains the trade-offs honestly. For everything else — copies you’ll sell, gift, launch or keep — a dedicated short run is the better book and usually the cheaper one per copy.
Every binding type below is produced in-house. Pick the one that fits your project — or call us if you’re unsure and we’ll talk you through which method gives you the look, durability and price-point you’re after.
Hardback books with rigid 2.75mm board covers. The most durable, premium-feeling binding we offer — built for long-term preservation.
Pages physically sewn together with thread before binding. The strongest, longest-lasting binding available — and books open completely flat.
Polyurethane reactive adhesive. Stronger and more flexible than standard perfect binding — recommended for coated paper, heavy-use books and titles that need to lie flat.
EVA hot-melt adhesive holds pages directly into a wraparound cover. The classic trade-paperback method — cost-effective, professional and ideal for novels, manuals and catalogues.
Folded sheets stapled along the spine. The most economical binding for shorter publications — magazines, brochures and event programmes.
Every binding method above is produced in-house at our Exeter book bindery. Whether it’s short run book printing for self-publishing authors and trade publishers (10–500 copies), academic editions for university presses, or longer trade runs up to 10,000+, the same press makes every copy. Unlike print on demand services that print one copy at a time on shared equipment, every order here is a dedicated print job with the same paper, binding and proofing as a long run. More on our book binding services →
We stock 19 paper options from 70 to 200gsm — but for most books the right answer is one of four. Here’s what we’d actually recommend, by book type.
80gsm uncoated bookwove — cream or white
The trade-paperback standard. Cream is easier on the eye for long reading and is what most UK fiction uses; white suits non-fiction and anything with diagrams. Bulky enough to avoid show-through on solid text.
130–170gsm coated silk or gloss
Coated stock holds fine detail and rich colour without ink soaking in. Silk reads better under room lighting; gloss maximises punch for photography. Go heavier (150gsm+) when images run edge to edge.
100gsm opaque
The step up in weight stops text and tables ghosting through from the reverse side — the thing that makes a report look cheap. Takes highlighter and pen well, and survives heavy handling.
115–150gsm silk
Enough weight for full-page colour illustration without the stiffness of art-book stock. For picture books handled by small hands, heavier is more durable; we’ll advise by age group and page count.
Two judgement calls worth knowing: paper choice changes your spine width (heavier and bulkier stock = thicker book — check yours with the spine width calculator), and uncoated stock always reads more “book”, coated more “brochure”. Unsure? Order the free sample pack and feel the difference, or read our guide to paper types.
Most printers can’t tell you where their paper is made. We can — every stock we print on starts as certified fibre in a European forest, and we can name the mill it was made at and trace its route to our Exeter bindery.
Printing a book in the UK comes down to six steps — getting a quote, uploading files, approving a proof, printing and binding, packing, and delivery. Here’s how the process works at Imprint Digital and what to expect at each stage.
Use the online calculator for live pricing on any spec. No account, no commitment, no payment up-front — you only pay when you’re ready to print.
Submit print-ready PDFs via our cover and interior file checkers. Each runs preflight checks in your browser and flags any issues before going to press.
A free digital proof for your approval — or add a printed proof copy. Take your time — full production only starts once you’re happy.
Your full run is printed on Canon and Ricoh digital presses, then bound on our in-house lines. No outsourcing — ever.
Books are packed in single-skin boxes with bubble wrap, then placed in larger double-walled cartons. Hardbacks are individually shrink-wrapped.
Tracked courier delivery via DPD, Parcelforce or pallet for larger orders. International shipping available — quoted at order time.
Ready to print your book?
Print your book in the UK from just 10 copies. Instant online pricing, free file checks, and a digital proof to approve before your full run.
Live pricing for any spec is available via our book printing quote calculator. To give you a starting feel, here’s the per-copy price for six common book printing specs at typical short-run quantities. Per-copy cost falls as quantity rises.
| Format | Specification | Quantity | Per copy |
|---|---|---|---|
|
A5 paperback novel
|
200pp mono · perfect bound · 80gsm opaque
|
200 | £1.97per copy |
|
B-format paperback
|
250pp mono · perfect bound · 80gsm cream
|
100 | £3.01per copy |
|
A4 colour paperback
|
100pp full colour · PUR bound · 100gsm opaque
|
250 | £5.83per copy |
|
A5 hardback
|
250pp mono · thread-sewn case bound · 80gsm opaque
|
50 | £4.71per copy |
|
Royal hardback
|
300pp mono · thread-sewn case bound · 80gsm opaque
|
100 | £4.41per copy |
|
A4 colour hardback
|
200pp colour · thread-sewn case bound · 100gsm opaque
|
50 | £13.51per copy |
Prices include UK delivery and exclude VAT. Most paperbacks dispatch in 5–10 working days, hardbacks in 3–4 weeks. For the comprehensive UK book printing prices across every quantity tier, or our deeper guide to how much it costs to print a book, see those pages — or get an exact quote for your spec →
Real bookbindery floor at Unit 1, Seychelles Farm, Upton Pyne, Exeter EX5 5HY. Print, sew, case, foil, finish — all under one roof.
132 reviews from UK self-publishing authors, publishers and businesses. Highest-rated UK short-run book printer in Devon.
Founded as the printing arm of Imprint Academic in the late 1990s. Continuous in-house production ever since — before Lulu, before Mixam, before the aggregator era.
Our Universe sheet-fed sewing machine thread-sews at short-run quantities — the binding on a Penguin Modern Classic, from ten copies. Most short-run printers can’t do this at all.
Paperbacks dispatch in 5–10 working days, hardbacks in 3–4 weeks. Fast Track brings paperbacks to 3 days and hardbacks to 2 weeks (+25%), on most jobs.
A free digital proof on every order — we don’t print your run until you’ve approved it. Want to hold the real thing first? Add a printed proof copy to any order.
Want to see the comparison and the five questions you should ask any UK short-run book printer? Read our short-run book printing comparison →
PDFs in CMYK at 300dpi are ideal — but if you’re not sure, our browser-based tools will check for you and flag anything that needs fixing before going to press. We print any size up to 320×320mm (custom trims welcome — we’ll quote them), and you can download a free cover template sized to your exact spec, paperback or hardback.
Upload your cover PDF — we’ll overlay bleed, trim, spine and safe-zones, and flag anything off in plain English.
Sample pages, dimensions, bleed, fonts, colour profile and low-res images — all checked in your browser, no upload to staff needed.
Drop in page count, paper stock and binding — we’ll give you an exact spine measurement to paste into your cover template.
Still typesetting? Type your manuscript’s word count and see how many pages your printed book will run to at any trim size.
Whether you call it printing your own book, custom book printing, printing a book from a PDF or one-off book printing, it’s the same in-house service from our Exeter facility. The most common framings:
If you have a press-ready PDF (or a Word file we can convert), our book printing quote calculator takes under a minute. Choose paperback or hardback, paper, page count and quantity — you’ll see live per-copy pricing and an exact total. From 10 copies up, no setup fees, free digital proof on every order.
Price your bookIf you want to print your own book in the UK from a press-ready PDF, our quote calculator handles size, paper, binding and quantity in under a minute. From 10 copies up, no setup fees, no email gate.
Print your own bookNot print-ready yet? To make your own book, start with our free tools: format your manuscript in Word with our guide, generate a production-accurate cover template, add an ISBN barcode — then bring the finished files back here to print properly.
Free book-making toolsFor bespoke books — cloth or leather covers, foil blocking, embossing, head & tail bands, ribbon markers, printed endpapers — the full bookbindery toolkit is available in-house at short-run quantities.
See bespoke hardback optionsCustom book printing means the book is built to your specification, not picked from a fixed menu: any trim size from A6 to 310mm square, your choice of paper, five binding methods and the full finishing toolkit. The calculator prices any combination live.
Configure your bookA press-ready PDF is all we need to print your book from PDF — upload the interior and cover, pick your spec, and we preflight everything before a free digital proof. Only have a Word file? We convert it to a print-ready PDF at no charge. Our PDF to book printing page covers the whole journey, file specs included.
PDF to book printingYes, we print one-off books — a single keepsake, a gift edition, a proof before the run. Per-copy cost is highest at one copy because press setup is the same at any quantity; from 10 copies the price falls fast, and every standard order includes a free digital proof anyway.
Price a small runThe honest version of cheap book printing: mono interior, A5 or B-format, 80gsm uncoated, perfect bound, and the biggest quantity you can use — that’s how a paperback gets under £2.50 a copy without looking or feeling cheap. See the real numbers at every quantity tier.
See live UK prices"Their quality remains consistent regardless of the size and complexity of the project. I've never seen them cut a corner."
"Imprint Digital are THE best printers out there. The quality and service is second to none. Five stars."
"Getting my first book printed was made very easy. Sarah was very helpful throughout with no pressure at all."
The most common questions we get on book printing in the UK — including what it really costs. For the full set of 73 questions across design, printing, quotes and shipping, see our FAQ page.
What is short-run book printing?
Short-run book printing means producing small quantities — typically 10 to 500 copies — digitally, without the setup costs of a traditional offset run. It is the standard route for self-publishing authors, test editions and academic monographs. For the full picture — how it differs from print on demand, pricing behaviour at low quantities, and the questions to ask any printer — see our dedicated short-run book printing guide.
What is the minimum order for book printing?
Ten copies. There is no upper limit — we routinely print runs from 10 up to 10,000 copies, and per-copy pricing falls as quantity rises.
What file format do I need to supply?
Press-ready PDF, ideally CMYK at 300dpi. If you only have a Word document we can convert it to PDF for you and send it back for approval before printing — no charge for this.
How long does printing take?
Standard turnaround is 5 to 10 working days for paperbacks, 3 to 4 weeks for hardbacks. Fast Track is available on most jobs for a 25% supplement and brings paperbacks down to 3 days, hardbacks to 2 weeks.
Do you print eco-friendly?
Yes. We use responsibly sourced papers, and most of our work is printed on uncoated bookwove or opaque stocks rather than energy-intensive coated papers. Books are dispatched in cardboard rather than plastic packaging.
How much does it cost to print a book in the UK?
Cost depends on quantity, page count, paper, format, binding and finish. As a guide from our current digital press pricing: a 200-page A5 paperback in 80gsm uncoated bookwove works out around £9–£12 per copy at 50 copies, falling to £4–£5 per copy at 250 copies and £2–£3 per copy at 1,000+. A 200-page A5 hardback (case-bound, thread-sewn, printed paper case) ranges £18–£25 per copy at 50 copies, £10–£13 at 250 copies, £6–£8 at 1,000+. All prices include UK delivery and a free digital proof. For your exact spec see our quote calculator or full UK book printing prices page.
What is the best book printing company in the UK?
There is no single "best" — it depends on quantity, binding type, turnaround and budget. Short-run hardback specialists (10–500 copies, thread-sewn binding, in-house finishing) differ from print-on-demand generalists who optimise for one-copy-at-a-time fulfilment, and again from offset houses who only quote competitively above 1,000 copies. We are a real UK book printer, not a print management company — see the five questions we recommend asking any UK book printer (in our short-run book printing guide) to spot the difference between a printer and a broker.
How much does it cost to print a 200-page book?
For a typical 200-page A5 paperback in 80gsm uncoated bookwove with a soft-touch laminated cover, expect roughly £9–£12 per copy at 50 copies, £4–£5 per copy at 250 copies, and £2–£3 per copy at 1,000+. For a 200-page A5 hardback (case-bound, thread-sewn, printed paper case), expect £18–£25 per copy at 50 copies, £10–£13 at 250 copies and £6–£8 at 1,000+. All prices include UK delivery and a free digital proof. Pricing scales smoothly with quantity — there is no minimum charge or setup fee.
Can I print just one book?
Yes. We will happily print one or two copies as a proof or single-copy gift. Per-copy cost is significantly higher at single-copy quantities because the press setup is the same regardless of run length, but for a one-off it is straightforward. Most customers ordering a single copy are doing it as a proof before committing to a short run — a printed proof copy can be added to any standard order, and digital proofs are free. For genuine print-on-demand single-copy fulfilment routed direct to retail, dedicated POD partners are better suited than a commercial book printer.
Do I need an ISBN to print a book?
No — an ISBN is only required if you are listing your book for retail sale (Amazon, Waterstones, Blackwell's, libraries). For private editions, family histories, corporate reports, internal academic editions, gift editions and any non-retail use, no ISBN is needed. We can print, bind and dispatch your book whether or not it has one. If you are self-publishing for retail, you will need an ISBN per format (one for paperback, a separate one for hardback) — ISBNs are issued by Nielsen UK.
Is there VAT on printed books?
No — printed books are zero-rated for VAT in the UK, so no VAT is added to a finished book run. The main exception is products designed to be written in (notebooks, journals, diaries and planners), which carry standard-rate VAT at 20%. If your project is borderline — a workbook with answer spaces, for example — we will confirm the VAT treatment at quote stage.
What is the cheapest way to print a book?
Five levers bring book printing cost down, in rough order of impact: (1) print mono rather than colour — colour pages cost several times more; (2) choose a smaller trim size such as A5 or B-format; (3) use a standard 80gsm uncoated stock rather than heavy coated paper; (4) choose perfect-bound paperback rather than hardback; and (5) order at a quantity break — per-copy price falls steeply between 10 and 250 copies. Above roughly 1,000 copies, offset litho becomes competitive with digital — we will tell you when your quantity crosses that line.
Can you print a book from a PDF?
Yes — a press-ready PDF is exactly what we print from. Upload your interior and cover PDFs, configure size, paper, binding and quantity in the quote calculator, and we take it from there: preflight checks, a free digital proof, then the run. If you only have a Word document, we convert it to a print-ready PDF for you at no charge and send it back for approval before anything is printed.
How much does it cost to print a 500-page book?
A 500-page book is routine work for us — we print and bind paperbacks and hardbacks up to around 1,000 pages, where many online printing services cap out at 300–500 pages. As a live guide from our calculator: a 500-page A5 paperback (mono, 80gsm opaque, perfect bound) is £4.97 per copy at 50 copies and £3.60 at 250 copies; the same book as a case-bound, thread-sewn hardback is £6.27 per copy at 50 and £4.46 at 250. Thick books are exactly where thread-sewn binding earns its keep — the thread carries the weight of the block rather than a line of glue — and a lighter paper stock keeps the spine width practical. We advise on both at quote stage. All prices include UK delivery and a free digital proof.
Live online pricing in under a minute — no account required. Or order a free sample pack to see and feel the books we print before you commit.