Post by terrym on Aug 4, 2020 20:01:57 GMT
I’m looking for advice regarding the size of the inner margin on a book I am submitting to Lulu (Xpress).
My book is Crown Quarto size (7.44” x 9.68”), with an outer margin of 0.5” and an inner margin of 0.8” (calculated as 0.5” normal margin plus 0.3” gutter margin).
The Lulu Book Creation Guide says on page 22 (Interior File Specifications):
Allow a minimum 0.50 in Safety Margin for all content
Allow a minimum 0.20 in Gutter Margin for inner edge of all pages
On the other hand, on page 10, the Guide says (under Gutter Additions) that the gutter should be:
For 61 to 150 pages: gutter = 0.125 inches; normal margin + gutter = 0.625 inches
For 151 to 400 pages: gutter = 0.5 inches; normal margin + gutter = 1.0 inch
There is a lot of difference between a 151-page book and a 400-page book. So, if 0.125 inches is OK for a 150-page book gutter and 0.5 inches is OK for a 400-page book gutter, I would guess you could do some sort of pro-rated increase in gutter as your number of pages exceeds 150.
My page count is 182, less than 13% of the way between 151 pages and 400 pages. My gutter is 0.175 inches larger than the 61 to 150-page suggestion and 0.2 inches smaller than the 151 to 400-page suggestion. So, I do about 46% of the gutter size increase.
When submitted, my book passes the Lulu gauntlet and is available to order, so it is not a question of meeting any hard Lulu requirement.
Any thoughts on whether my 0.8-inch inner margin+ gutter seems large enough?
My book is Crown Quarto size (7.44” x 9.68”), with an outer margin of 0.5” and an inner margin of 0.8” (calculated as 0.5” normal margin plus 0.3” gutter margin).
The Lulu Book Creation Guide says on page 22 (Interior File Specifications):
Allow a minimum 0.50 in Safety Margin for all content
Allow a minimum 0.20 in Gutter Margin for inner edge of all pages
On the other hand, on page 10, the Guide says (under Gutter Additions) that the gutter should be:
For 61 to 150 pages: gutter = 0.125 inches; normal margin + gutter = 0.625 inches
For 151 to 400 pages: gutter = 0.5 inches; normal margin + gutter = 1.0 inch
There is a lot of difference between a 151-page book and a 400-page book. So, if 0.125 inches is OK for a 150-page book gutter and 0.5 inches is OK for a 400-page book gutter, I would guess you could do some sort of pro-rated increase in gutter as your number of pages exceeds 150.
My page count is 182, less than 13% of the way between 151 pages and 400 pages. My gutter is 0.175 inches larger than the 61 to 150-page suggestion and 0.2 inches smaller than the 151 to 400-page suggestion. So, I do about 46% of the gutter size increase.
When submitted, my book passes the Lulu gauntlet and is available to order, so it is not a question of meeting any hard Lulu requirement.
Any thoughts on whether my 0.8-inch inner margin+ gutter seems large enough?
