Full Color Interiors
Full Color Interior Book Design
A colour interior is only as good as the way it prints. We lay out colour pages and prepare every image so that what arrives in a reader's hands looks like what you approved on screen, and we help you choose the colour print option that fits your book and budget.
- Every image checked for print before layout
- Files built to your platform's colour specifications
- Revisions included until the brief is met
- No lock-in on standard services
The problem
Colour that looks right on screen often prints wrong
A screen produces colour with light shining through it. Paper only reflects light, and ink on paper cannot reach the brightest blues, greens and oranges a monitor can show. The result is familiar to anyone who has printed a colour book without preparation: images that come back darker, duller and sometimes with skin tones that look slightly off.
There are technical traps too. Artwork that runs to the edge of the page without bleed leaves thin white slivers after trimming. Images that look sharp on screen print soft because they are too small for the printed size. Text placed close to the edge gets trimmed. All of these are avoidable if the files are prepared for print from the start.
Print options
Choosing a colour print option
Print-on-demand platforms offer different colour grades. On Amazon KDP, for example:
Standard colour
Lower printing cost, available for paperbacks only. Works for workbooks, guides and books where colour supports the text rather than being the point.
Premium colour
Richer, more accurate colour, available for paperbacks and hardcovers, at a higher printing cost. Usually chosen for picture books, photography and art.
Offset printing
A traditional print run with a printer. Higher upfront cost and stock to store, but consistent colour and special finishes for larger quantities.
Not sure which option fits?
Send us the brief. You will get a scope, a timeline and a fixed price within 24 hours — no obligation.
- Custom page layouts that balance text, images and white space
- Illustration and photo placement, with captions styled consistently
- Typography chosen to stay legible over coloured backgrounds and images
- Image optimisation: resolution checked at print size, brightness and contrast adjusted for paper
- Bleed set correctly for any image or colour that runs to the edge of the page
- Colour consistency across the book, so the same colour looks the same on every page
- Print proof review before the book goes on sale
Technical basics
Three print rules every colour book follows
Resolution at print size
Images should be at least 300 DPI at the size they appear on the page. Enlarging a small image does not add detail.
Bleed
Anything that touches the page edge extends past it, 0.125 inch on KDP, so trimming never leaves a white edge.
Safe margins
Text and important details stay well inside the trim and away from the spine, so nothing is cut off or lost in the binding.
Cost
What colour does to your list price
Colour pages cost much more to print than black and white, and on print-on-demand that cost is charged on every copy. Platforms set a minimum list price that covers printing, so a long colour book can end up priced above similar titles.
We help keep the cost in check by tightening the layout where it does not hurt the design, choosing the colour grade that suits the book, and considering whether some sections could be black and white. You see the printing cost before you commit to a format.
Free proposal
Tell us the goal. We’ll send the plan.
Share your requirements and a strategist gets back to you within 24 hours with scope, timeline and a fixed price. No obligation, no sales pressure.
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Response within 24 hours
Usually much sooner during business hours.
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Talk to a strategist
Not a call centre — the person who scopes your work.
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Fixed pricing upfront
You approve the number before anything starts.
Prefer to talk?
[email protected]Questions
Questions about full colour interiors
Still unsure about something? Talk to a specialist — no script, no sales pitch.
On Amazon KDP, standard colour costs less to print and is available for paperbacks only. Premium colour gives richer, more accurate results and is available for paperbacks and hardcovers, but costs more per copy. Picture books and photo books usually justify premium; workbooks and guides often do not.
The common print guideline is at least 300 DPI at the size the image will appear. An image that is 300 DPI at postcard size will print soft if it fills a full page. We check every image and tell you which ones need a larger original or a different placement.
Because paper reflects light rather than emitting it, and printed ink has a narrower colour range than a screen. Images usually need brightening and contrast adjustment for print. We prepare images with this in mind and review the proof against the design.
Bleed is extra image area beyond the trim edge, so that when pages are cut there is no white sliver. If any image or background colour touches the page edge, you need it. On KDP the bleed is 0.125 inch. We set it up in the layout for you.
On most print-on-demand platforms, a book is printed either entirely in colour or entirely in black and white, and a colour interior is charged at the colour rate for every page. With an offset printer, mixing is sometimes possible. We advise based on where your book will be printed.
Works well with
Pair it with the rest of the stack
Ready when you are
Ready to work with the pros?
Get a free proposal in 24 hours — scope, timeline and fixed price. No obligation, no lock-in contract.
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