Customizing Your Book: It’s all in the Details
About customizations and why:
As a self-published author, you spend hours and hours making your book perfect. From actually writing the book to finding the best illustrator and a reputable printer, there’s a LOT of details to cover.
Once the book is written and you’re talking to the book printer, you now get to focus on the fun stuff: the customizations! These details can truly determine whether someone picks up your book in the store, or decides to stop scrolling when looking online. Adding customizations to your book can make it even more striking, building curiosity and hopefully a new fan.
PufferPrint offers a wider variety of book customizations than most book printers out there! The most common customizations PufferPrint offers include:
Metallic Foiling-
Foiling is the application of a foil material onto paper by using a heated die. This then sticks the foil to the paper, leaving the design in foil on the cover of your book. Foiling can be done on any type of book, including boardbook and in a variety of colors, giving your book a beautiful shine to catch peoples’ eyes. Foiling can be used to enhance images, or help the words on your cover pop out. PufferPrint offers a multitude of foiling in every color, plus “holographic” foiling options too!
Embossing/Debossing-
Embossing and debossing adds wonderful textural details to the cover of your book and can be applied to all book types. It is generally used for the title or author of the book to make it quite literally pop off the page. Embossing means that section of the cover will be raised, debossing means sunken in. The process of embossing and debossing uses a custom die made to align with the text or image being embossed/debossed. The die then pushes down on the cover creating the raised effect.
Spot UV-
Spot UV is a clear varnish applied to the cover of your book creating a smooth texture. It is generally used on a matte cover on areas that you really want to stand out and draw the eye in. The varnish is applied in a similar way to ink being applied to the cover. It is then cured with UV light. Spot UV is a really great way to accentuate certain parts of your cover through textural differences.
Cover Padding-
Cover padding adds an extra layer of thickness to your cover. The cover will essentially be made up of a thin layer of foam that is placed in between two layers of soft cardstock. The cover padding provides a plushier feel to the book and extra protection against minor damage. This is especially nice for children’s books as it can withstand most of the damage that comes with a child and heavy use. Cover padding can be added to hardcover books.
Ribbon Bookmark-
Ribbon Bookmarks are a great addition to any sort of novel. The attached ribbon in the spine will lie flat so it does not do any damage to the book, while keeping track of what page you are on in the book. The ribbons can come in many different colors. These can be great for cookbooks where the author wants to save a recipe for quick reference later!
Once you have the customizations done on your book cover, you can also add extras on top of just the physical book. These customizations add an extra cover and element of durability to your book. The best part is that almost all customizations (such as foiling, embossing/debossing, and spot UV) can be applied to these elements too!
Dust Jacket-
The dust jacket is a detachable outer cover for a book, which can also include other customizations on it such as foiling or embossing. The jacket has folded flaps that attach to the front and back covers. Dust jackets (or dust covers as they’re sometimes called) are a great way to enhance the presentation of your book with illustrations and beautiful images.
Slip Case-
A slip case is a five sided box made out of high quality cardboard. The thickness and texture of the slip case itself can be customized, whether you want a faux leather look, or a really thick slip case, we can do that! The book is then slipped into the box for protection leaving the spine exposed. Slip cases protect your book from dust, light, and damage. Apart from functionality, they add another display aspect to your book to help it stand out from other books on the bookshelf. Slipcases can be a great way to package a series of related books (i.e. How to Self Publish, parts 1, 2 & 3) so that they are kept together as a set.
Each of these customizations are a way to add character and excitement to your book. It’s all in the details. For pricing information, fill out our quote request form and select the customizations that you’d like to see, and we will get back to you with specified pricing for your book! If there are any customizations that you would like that aren’t already on the form, feel free to reach out through email and we would be happy to set up a time to chat and make sure your vision becomes a reality.