Tools for authors & publishers

A growing toolkit
for book-makers.

Free, in-browser tools for quoting, preparing and checking your print files, built by us, because getting a book right shouldn't require guesswork or back-and-forth emails.

10
Live now
2
In development
12
Total roadmap
Stacks of finished hardback books, silver-foil-blocked covers, produced at our Exeter facility
Available now

Ready to use
right now

Ten things you can do today: nine free in-browser tools for designing, checking, preparing and pricing your book, plus a free sample pack posted to your door if you would rather see and feel before you commit.

10 live
Live Free

Check your cover
before you send it.

Upload your paperback or hardback cover PDF. We overlay bleed, trim, spine and safe-zones, match the file against your book's spec, and flag anything that's off, in plain English.

  • Visual preflight in your browser
  • PDFs up to 500 MB, no account
  • Plain-English reports, not machine codes
Open cover checker
Live New

Check your interior pages too.

Upload your interior PDF and see sample pages laid out with trim, bleed and safe-zone guides. Dimensions, bleed, fonts, colour profile and low-resolution images, all flagged in plain English.

  • Sample pages from across your book
  • Catches missing fonts and RGB images
  • Free, browser-based, no account
Open interior checker
LiveNew

Make a cover
that's yours.

Our free book cover maker brings your paperback's front, back and spine together. Choose your size, pages and paper, then personalise a template with text and artwork.

  • Drag, resize and arrange your layers
  • Save your book and artwork in your account
  • Review the flat cover and 3D book preview
Open Cover Builder
Live New

Generate a cover template
to your exact spec.

Pick your binding (paperback, gatefold, PPC hardback or dustjacket) enter your trim size, page count and paper, and download a print-ready template with spine, bleed, hinge and board overhang all marked. The spine is calculated from our production paper data.

  • Four cover types incl. cased hardback & jacket
  • Spine auto-calculated from page count + paper
  • Print-ready PDF, downloaded or emailed, no account
Open template generator
Live Instant pricing

Price your book in under a minute.

Work through 5 quick steps (size, binding, paper, quantity, delivery) and watch your total update in real time. Save the quote to your account or send it straight through to our team.

  • Live pricing engine: updates as you choose
  • 28 paper stocks, every binding we offer
  • Paperback and hardback, 1 to 10,000+ copies
  • No account: submit in guest mode
Open quote calculator
Live New

Work out your spine width.

Drop in your page count, paper stock and binding, we'll give you an exact spine measurement in millimetres, ready to paste into your cover template.

  • Every paper stock we offer, on tap
  • Paperback and hardback supported
  • Copy the result straight to clipboard
Open spine calculator
Live New

Turn your word count into a page count.

80,000 words: how many pages is that? Type your manuscript's word count, pick a trim size and type setting, and see how big your printed book will be, with a one-click price for that exact length.

  • Real typesetting assumptions, honest ranges
  • Five trim sizes, four type settings
  • Hands the result straight to the calculator
Open words-to-pages
Live New

How much will your book weigh?

Format, trim size, pages and paper, get the weight per book, the total for your run and the carton count, straight from our bindery's production data. Postage bands included.

  • Paperback and hardback, any trim size
  • The same formula our job tickets use
  • Royal Mail band check for a single copy
Open weight calculator
Live New

Generate a print-ready barcode
from your ISBN.

Paste a 13-digit ISBN, get an EAN-13 barcode in your browser. Vector SVG that scales cleanly into any cover artwork, plus a 600 dpi PNG for everything else. Standard quiet zone, standard sizing, ready to drop on the back cover.

  • Live preview as you type, no submit button
  • Validates ISBN check digit, tells you what's wrong
  • Free, browser-based, no account, no usage cap
Open barcode generator
Live No obligation

See and feel
before you commit.

Tell us where to post it and we'll send a free sample pack, paper swatches across the stocks we run, examples of every binding method, and a couple of finished books so you can judge the print quality first-hand.

  • Paper swatches across all 17 of our stocks
  • Perfect, PUR, thread-sewn and case-bound examples
  • Two finished trade-quality books to handle
  • Posted Royal Mail within 3 working days
Order your sample pack

First hardback? Understand how hardbacks work →

Coming soon

On the workbench

Tools we are actively building. Each one solves a real problem we see authors and publishers hit during file prep, and each will be free to use when it ships.

2 in development
Coming soon

ONIX metadata editor

A place to organise your title information and prepare ONIX files. Nearly ready, with testing still to complete before customer access opens.

In progress

Cover mockup generator

Upload your cover artwork and see it rendered as a 3D book, perfect for sharing with your agent, editor or spouse before going to print.

  • 3D render from a flat cover PDF
  • Paperback and hardback presets
  • Shareable image, free to download
Coming soon
Help shape the roadmap

What should we
build next?

Got an idea for a tool that would make your book production easier? We read every suggestion, the best ideas go into our roadmap, and the people who suggested them get a heads-up when the tool ships.

File prep pain points, workflow annoyances, things you wish existed, anything goes.

We read every suggestion personally.

Idea received

Thanks: we'll take a look. If you left an email, we'll be in touch if we build it.

Ready to print
your book?

Instant pricing for paperback and hardback. No account needed: straight to your quote in under a minute.