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Cookbook Printing

hardcover cookbook printing
print your own cookbook
cookbook printing
cheap cookbook printing
Cookbook Printing
Play Video about hardcover cookbook printing
hardcover cookbook printing
print your own cookbook
cookbook printing
cheap cookbook printing
Cookbook Printing
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Whether to share your innovative recipes, preserve your family traditions, or to self-publish at profit, let’s make your cookbook good enough to eat!

Cooking is all about people. Food is maybe the only universal thing that really has the power to bring everyone together.”

— Guy Fieri, American restaurateur and award-winning presenter

Cooking is almost as old as humanity. Diverse flavors, dishes, aromas, traditional and innovative recipes, enrich all the world’s nations. But preparing and sharing tasty food crosses cultural and social boundaries.

At QinPrinting, we believe “the first taste is with the eyes”. A cookbook should be a visual as well as a culinary feast. Print your cookbook with us to benefit from our 25 years of industry experience, personalized service, and a scrumptious finished product!

Food, to me, is always about cooking and eating with those you love and care for.”

 — David Chang, restaurateur and cookbook author

Instant Quote

Quantity
Enter the total number of prints you need.
Our MOQ is 100pcs.
Size
Choose preset dimensions from the dropdown menu or click “CUSTOM SIZE” to enter your own custom dimensions.
Please use the format, width x height;

size

so, 5.5″ x 8.5″ would mean 5.5″ wide and 8.5″ high.
Cover
The cover is composed of four pages. They are the front cover, the inside front cover, the inside back cover, and the back cover.
Full color printing
Cover Paper
If you need special paper not shown in the dropdown menu, please contact us.

1 gsm ≈ 0.68 lb Cover Paper

Lamination
We laminate only the outside of the cover.
Surface
We offer a comprehensive selection of special surface finishes which we can apply to most covers, with a few limitations. For example, spot UV can only be applied to matte laminated and soft-touch laminated covers.
These options are only suitable for gold or silver foil stamping up to a 5.9″ x 1.18″ area; and embossing, debossing, or spot UV up to a 7.87″ x 1.96″ area. If the special finish area you need is larger than this, please contact us to get a quote.
Besides gold and silver foil, we can foil stamp designs in a range of colors. If you need a special color foil stamp or have specific surface requests, please contact us. We’ll be happy to help.
Inner
Full color printing
Page Count
One sheet of paper is equal to two pages.

page-sheet

page-sheet

 

The total page count is a multiple of 4. When printing and binding your book, we fold sheets into “signatures”.
If your book is larger, say, 8.5″ x 11″ or A4 size, one signature will have 16 pages. So, the inner page amount should be divisible by 16. Making your page counts match signatures is the most economical solution.
Inner Paper
Please select your paper choice for your internal pages from the dropdown menu. If you have a special request not listed here, get in touch. We’ll do everything possible to satisfy your needs.
1 gsm ≈ 0.68 lb Text Paper
Binding
If your book has 48 pages or fewer, we recommend saddle stich as your binding option.
If you have more pages and choose fairly thin paper, such as 80 gsm /54 lb or 105 gsm / 71 lb text paper, we recommend perfect binding.
If your book has heavier interior paper or the page count exceeds 200 pages, sewn perfect binding will be your best choice.
Wire-O and spiral binding are other options and both of them open flat.
perfect binding
sewn perfect binding
wire-o binding
saddle stitch binding
spiral binding
To other countries, please contact us
Delivery from Shanghai, China to 90063, USA
EXW Shanghai Price
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Shipping Cost to Door
Please enter zip code and click “Apply”
*Excluding duty and tax
Total
Calculating
*The price doesn’t include shipping costs.*
Estimated weight:
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Quantity
Enter the total number of prints you need.
Our MOQ is 100pcs.
Size
Choose preset dimensions from the dropdown menu or click “CUSTOM SIZE” to enter your own custom dimensions.
Please use the format, width x height;

size

so, 5.5″ x 8.5″ would mean 5.5″ wide and 8.5″ high.
Binding
Choose your binding type.
We use high-quality sewn hardcover binding which gives a “square” printable spine.
hardcover binding
hardcover wire-o binding
Cover
A hardcover book’s cover is printed on one side only; the outer-facing side. The inside front cover and inside back cover are glued to the end sheets.
Full color printing
Cover Paper
157 gsm

157 gsm ≈ 58.0 lb Cover Paper

Lamination
We laminate only the outside of the cover as the inside is glued to the end sheets.
Grey Board Thickness
Surface

Please choose from the options below.

These options are only suitable for gold or silver foil stamping up to a 5.9″ x 1.18″ area; and embossing, debossing, or spot UV up to a 7.87″ x 1.96″ area. If the special finish area you need is larger than this, please contact us to get a quote.

Besides gold and silver foil, we can foil stamp designs in a range of colors. If you need a special color foil stamp or have specific surface requests, please contact us. We’ll be happy to help.
End sheet
The end sheets connect the hardcover casing and the interior pages when binding the book. So, there are two end sheets, one at the front and one at the back and both glued to the grayboard cover.
blank end sheet option
color end sheet option
End Sheet Paper
If your book size is 8.5″ x 11″ or less with an interior page count of fewer than 320 pages, then a good option for the end sheets is 140 gsm / 95 lb offset paper.
If your book size is larger than 8.5″ x 11″, then 180 gsm / 122 lb offset paper would be better.
If your end sheets will be printed and your book’s interior uses gloss or matte art paper—say, for an art book or coffee table book—to make sure the colors match well, use 157gsm / 58 lb gloss or matte art paper for your end sheets.
1 gsm ≈ 0.68 lb Text Paper
Inner
Full color printing
Page Count
One sheet of paper is equal to two pages.
page-sheet
page-sheet
 
When printing and binding your book, we use “signatures,” with each signature containing 16 pages. While we can print any page count which is a multiple of 4, and using multiples of 16 provides the most economical pricing.
The maximum page count here is 800 pages. If you need more pages, please contact us.
Inner Paper
Please select your paper choice for your internal pages from the dropdown menu.
If you have a special request not listed here, get in touch. 
1 gsm ≈ 0.68 lb Text Paper
Flap Width
inch
Full color printing
Dust Jacket Paper
1 gsm ≈ 0.68 lb Text Paper
Lamination
Surface
Besides gold and silver foil, we can foil stamp designs in a range of colors. If you need a special color foil stamp or have specific surface requests, please contact us. We’ll be happy to help.
To other countries, please contact us
Delivery from Shanghai, China to 90063, USA
EXW Shanghai Price
calculating
Shipping Cost to Door
Please enter zip code and click “Apply”
*Excluding duty and tax
Total
Calculating
*The price doesn’t include shipping costs.*
Estimated weight:
Back

QinPrinting Rated Excellent on Trustpilot

Custom Cookbook Printing Costs

At QinPrinting, we believe cookbooks should be as beautiful as they must be practical. The best cookbooks combine functionality, ease of use, and eye-catching design. But we know you may not have the financial resources available to world-famous chefs. That’s why we strive to keep our costs the lowest in the industry without compromising on quality or service.

So, how much does it cost to print your cookbook with QinPrinting? While the end price depends on your choices — paper, format, binding, and more — you can get an idea by checking our super-easy at-a-glance charts. Most offset printing companies won’t go to press unless you order at least 500 or even 1,000 copies in a single print run. But we know that’s often too many for an independent publisher, so we’ve set our minimum order quantity (MOQ) at just 100 copies. Still, the more you order, the less you pay per unit.

8" x 8" Cookbook Printing Price Chart (Spiral binding)

All prices listed in USD

  • Please note that all prices are EXW our facility and do not include shipping costs.
  • Cover: 300 gsm / 111 lb coated cover paper with gloss lamination
  • Inner: 157 gsm / 106 lb coated text paper for interior
  • Cover and inner: full color printing

8" x 10" Cookbook Printing Price Chart (Paperback)

All prices listed in USD

  • Please note that all prices are EXW our facility and do not include shipping costs.
  • Cover: 250 gsm / 92 lb coated cover paper with gloss lamination
  • Inner: 128 gsm / 86 lb coated text paper for interior
  • Cover and inner: full color printing

8" x 8" Cookbook Printing Price Chart (Hardcover)

All prices listed in USD

  • Please note that all prices are EXW our facility and do not include shipping costs.
  • Cover: 157 gsm / 58 lb coated cover paper with matte lamination wrapped on 2.5 mm thickness greybeard
  • End sheets: 140 gsm / 95 lb uncoated text paper, blank
  • Inner: 128 gsm / 86 lb coated text paper
  • Cover and inner: full color printing

If you already know your cookbook printing specifications and you’d like a more precise figure, you can drop your details into our helpful Online Print Cost Calculator to get an instant quote. Otherwise, get in touch by email, telephone, Skype, or the contact form. We’re always here to help.

print your own cookbooks

Common Cookbook Sizes

  • The most common size for a cookbook — because it’s big enough to look good but small enough to handle easily — is a square 8.5″ x 8.5″ format.
  • But often clients want a luxury display cookbook which shows off professional food photography to advantage, in which case 11″ x 11″ is a good option.
  • A portrait-oriented 8.5″ x 11″ is another possibility. But the smaller size is better for daily use in the kitchen.

You can print your cookbook in custom sizes, too. That’s no problem. But remember that customization is always a little more costly than going with a standard option because of the extra work involved. And if you want to sell your cookbooks, then meeting consumer expectations is often more effective than trying to “stand out” with an unusual design. If you’re publishing a cookbook for the first time or have a limited budget, we recommend printing in a straightforward 8.5″ by 8.5″ format.

8.5 x 8.5 inch cookbook
8.5" x 8.5"
8.5 x 11 inch cookbook
8.5" x 11"
11-x-11-inch cookbook
11" x 11"

Cookbook Paper Options

The paper you choose to print your cookbook on will affect the price and the quality of the finished product. Most cookbooks feature printed recipes, decorative illustrations and flourishes, color symbols and keys, and high-resolution photography. So, we recommend printing your cookbook’s interior pages on gloss or matt art paper to get the best results.

Gloss and matte coated papers both have surfaces which are ideal for vibrant color reproduction. For cookbooks with full-page color photography and less text, gloss is often best as it will make the images really ‘pop’. For simpler cookbooks with fewer visual elements, matte paper will still do justice to your photography but make the text easier to read.

Cookbook paper mustn’t be too thin or colors might “bleed through” from one side of the page to another. Gloss or matte coated paper is great because it’s more durable and even resistant to the odd splash of sauce! It’s important for most cookbooks that you can lay the open pages flat. While this also depends on the binding style, the paper shouldn’t be too heavy for that reason.

At QinPrinting we recommend 128 gsm / 86 lb, 157 gsm / 106 lb coated paper for cookbook interiors as they give a lovely crisp, vibrant finish to the artwork and make the text easy to read. It will also stop the artwork “bleeding through” to the other side of the page. Choosing book interior paper depends on the book size and book thickness, too. As a general rule, we recommend thinner paper for the interior. Thinner paper can be opened flat easily which is best for a small size book. If the interior paper is too thick, smaller books can be harder to open. 

Paperback Cover Paper

Hardcover Paper

Interior Paper

If the book is 8.5” x 11” or larger, we recommend thicker paper for the interior. For example, 128 gsm / 86 lb, 157 gsm / 106 lb coated paper. If the book has 32 pages or less and you want to use perfect binding, we recommend 200 gsm / 135 lb coated paper to reach the required spine width.

You can download a book cover template to check the book spine thickness according to different paper types and page amounts here.

You may choose a heavier 250 gsm / 92 lb or 300 gsm / 111 lb gloss cover paper—with single-sided or doubled-sided coating—for your cookbook cover if you’ve opted for a spiral bound or sewn perfect bound cover, or 157 gsm / 58 lb gloss or matte coated cover paper wrapped on 2 mm to 3 mm gray board for a hardcover binding, for example. Vinyl covers are another popular choice as they’re splash proof and water resistant and come in a range of attractive colors.

Bindings for Cookbooks

To bind your cookbook, you can choose from a range of possibilities. “Sewn perfect bound” and “Sewn hardcover” are the most popular choices, but we also bind cookbooks with spiral coils. Your choice will depend on your budget, the length of your book, your market research, and other factors. You can open all the following bindings flat.

We use this binding style for many cookbooks. We collate the interior pages into sets called signatures, which are then sewn together and fixed into a wrap-around cover made of heavier art paper or lightweight card stock. For cookbooks with a higher page count, this is a great option.

Lay Flat Perfect Book Binding

Lay-flat perfect binding

We apply a sewn binding to the interior pages before gluing them to the cover. But the sewn pages are not glued individually to the spine, allowing the book to open flat. Our lay-flat perfect binding gives you the best of both worlds for a clean, professional presentation coupled with robust, practical functionality. And best of all, this up-scale binding method is the least expensive of all the options for an open-flat book.

In this binding, we organize the interior pages into signatures which are then printed, cut, and sewn, and glued into a hard casing covered by a printed sheet which forms the cover. This binding is the most durable.

This binding is another popular choice for cookbooks for its practicality and flexibility. We punch or drill holes into the pages down one side and then bind them with a plastic coil which spirals through the holes. We crimp the coil at both ends so the pages don’t come loose. You can turn the pages of a spiral-bound book through 360° and also lay the open book completely flat. We can laminate the pages to make them extra-resistant to splashes and we can make the covers from waterproof vinyl. This is a superb choice for a cookbook that’s used daily.

Whichever binding style you choose, we like to make it easy for you to design your cookbook. So, you can use one of our ready-made design templates if you wish.

Cookbook Design and Artwork Tips

The quality of photographic reproduction is always important, but especially so when printing a cookbook. Whether your cookbook has only a few photographs to illustrate and add style, or step-by-step montages for each recipe, you want your images to be a visual feast which suggest the delicious flavors and textures of the food to the reader’s imagination. With that in mind, here are a few useful tips to help you when you’re preparing your files for the printer.

PDF

Export your files as vectors in PDF format for the best results. Our recommended software options are Adobe InDesign or Adobe Illustrator. These will also allow you to convert your color space from RGB to CMYK which you will need to do for offset printing.

300dpi

If you can’t deliver vectors — say, if you’re exporting bitmaps from Photoshop — then make sure the resolution is at least 300 DPI. With vectors, you needn’t worry about resolution, but all other images must have a high definition to tolerate resizing without becoming fuzzy and “pixilated”.

3 mm bleed zone

You’ll need to add a “bleed zone” of 3 mm around all your illustrated pages. A bleed is an extended zone at the periphery of your artwork, which falls outside the area that your final page will cover. Once we print your pages, we’ll cut them to the exact size needed for your cookbook format. This “bit extra” gets cut off and makes sure that the image fills the page with none of it being lost. You should mark bleed zones as red lines.

trim line 10mm

Inside your bleed zone, don’t forget to mark the “trim lines”. These will define the final dimensions of the finished page. Make sure that any necessary elements of your images stop at least 10 mm short of the trim line.

spiral bound margin

For a spiral bound cookbook, leave an added margin of at least 15 mm on the edge that we’ll bind the book to allow for the holes.

If you’re working with a professional designer to create your files, they should understand what’s needed to make everything “print ready”. But if you’re working with design software yourself for the first time, these are the vital tips to remember before you submit your files. Still, our team of experts will always manually check all your files before we go to press. If we find any issues, we’ll let you know and help you resolve them. We won’t print your cookbook until we’re sure we’ll get a perfect result.

Have other questions? Contact us!

The QinPrinting Eco-Friendly Promise

At QinPrinting, we are very conscious of our responsibility to develop our industry in a sustainable way that respects the life of the planet and of future generations. For that reason, we use paper stock that’s sourced from FSC-certified sustainable forestry whenever possible. We can provide recycled paper material on request. We also use environmentally-friendly soy inks—based on harmless, biodegradable vegetable products—rather than toxic resins and solvents. Getting your book printed in batches with an offset printer — rather than one at a time with a print-on-demand service — is also significantly more energy efficient, saving both water and electricity.

When you order from us, we can include the FSC-certified logo and an environmental guarantee from the manufacturer of the soy inks.

FSC Marks

Talk to Us!

If you’re keen to print a beautiful, high-quality cookbook — and personal customer service matters to you as much as a world-class product — then we should talk. Get in touch today to chat through your needs or to ask for a no-obligation quote. We can’t wait to help you make a delicious, mouthwatering cookbook!

Get in touch
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