Double-page spreads are an eye-catching feature with high visual impact, ensuring your content extends across two opposite pages and through the centre of a publication when open.

You can calculate the spread dimensions by multiplying the width by 2. You will also need to include a 3mm bleed on all sides of this spread.

While we cannot guarantee perfect alignment due to manufacturing variance, place text away from your margins, and you can prevent images from becoming obscured by the gutter by offsetting them to account for the 12mm gutter area. This method will create a space in the middle of the page that makes images look duplicated. But it will not be visible when printed.

Here's how to offset an image in InDesign: 

1. Split your images into individual frames on separate pages (not a single frame running across both pages).
2. Move the left-hand image to the left by 3mm and the right-hand side image to the right by 3mm.
3. Then, adjust the frame to fill the pages and bleed correctly.

Alternatively, you can watch our YouTube tutorial to learn how to set up page spreads and gutter areas here.

Please note that Page 1 will always be a right-side single page for interior spreads. The first full-page spread will appear across Pages 2 and 3. 

A spine refers to the book edge where the outer covers and interior pages are bound, as seen on Paperback and Hardcover items. Spines face outwards when placed upright on shelves and typically feature artwork, the publication title and the author's name. You must include the spine width in the middle so the inner front and inner back cover create a spread. You can leave this blank in the middle, as the binding area will cover it. But you’ll need to ensure you’ve added an extra 3mm white gap on each side of the spine to serve as a glue trap. These gaps help the adhesive bind the book in the unprinted area around the interior pages to ensure they easily open and turn. We apply PUR adhesive on an unprinted area when we wrap the cover around your internal pages. 

Inner cover spreads are not an option for Hardcover Books as you cannot print on the inside covers; this is where we’ll apply the endpapers. For Perfect (PUR), Staple and Wiro items, you can supply a page spread for the inner front cover and Page 1.

You can export your double-page files as spreads or single pages. If you choose single pages, the bleed area may be missing or look different on the binding side of the book, but we will glue this area together, and it won’t require bleed. Please note your canvas or artboard size is equivalent to double your trim size if you create your pages in Illustrator or Photoshop. If you export your file as spreads in InDesign, select Spreads in the Export panel. Our software will split your pages when uploading to our online platform. Although they'll appear as single pages in the Artwork Dashboard, the files sent to the printer will keep their alignment.  

When uploading double-page spreads, including both page numbers in the file's name is essential. For example, a page spread across pages 2 and 3 should be named similarly to ‘pages 2-3.pdf’ to ensure our system positions them correctly.

You can upload files separately, either as a Front and Back cover with a separate spine file or a single file with an integrated spine design. Your cover artwork will wrap around the binding edge, which is always on the left-hand side. Therefore, your front cover is on the right-hand side, and your back cover is on the left (see image below). If you add special features like Spot UV, you only need to provide a same-size, second cover file with the areas marked out by a single colour. But you don’t need to include a spine when creating a cover spread for Staple and Wiro items. 

Spine Design Tips:

• Centre the spine on the spread and ensure that the text is legible and fits within the spine width.
• For Hardcover items, set all text to a minimum of 5mm for legibility and position it vertically. You can create text so it can be read from top to bottom, meaning it won’t appear upside down if placed on a shelf or be illegible if laid on its side. 
• For Hardcover items, position all text 5mm away from the top and bottom edge of your spine to minimise content from being trimmed into or off.
• Set your spine dimensions before uploading your file to minimise content loss once our system sets trim boxes. If you cannot upload spine artwork, add a blank page by pressing the blue three-dot button under the spine thumbnail. Print work will only appear in this area if you upload a spine design file. Otherwise, it will remain blank.

You can upload single files and multi-page files to your orders. We recommend supplying covers, spines and cover spread files separately from the interior pages for bound products. This method is particularly relevant for Hardcover Book designs as the bleed area differs from the covers and inner pages. Here are some more tips on removing and supplying files:

• Remove a file entirely before uploading a revised version. This step ensures no duplicate files and that your artwork appears in sequence.
• You can remove specific thumbnails by pressing the three dots symbol. 
• You can also remove files by clicking the red X symbol next to each file name under your Artwork tab and rename them by clicking the pencil icon.

*You can also delete a single page by clicking the button with three dot symbol underneath the thumbnail image. When resupplying this file, ensure the single page is labelled for the correct location (i.e. ‘page 1.pdf’).