how to set up my children's book

Before I start to create my book I need to understand how to produce it in a professional way. The website link below came in handy as I will consider these aspects when producing my layouts and cover. It suggests what dpi to use and dimensions etc.


http://www.artbookbindery.com/ChildrensBooksComplete.htm

Below are tips I found most helpful:


Choosing a page size/ binding
"The most common page size for children's books is the 8 1/2" x 8 1/2" format. This is mainly due to the preference of many illustrators to create the illustrations in the square format. As a rule, the square format is commonly used when text is placed opposite the illustration pages, and not mixed with the illustrations. If text is to be placed on the same page as the illustration, or if the illustrations are produced in the portrait format, the larger page size of 8 1/2" x 11" is a good choice. You may select the landscape format for your book at no additional charge. The term "Portrait" is used to describe a page which is taller than it is wide. For example, an 8 1/2" x 11" portrait style page is 11" tall and 8 1/2" wide. The term "Landscape" is used to describe a page which is wider than it is tall.

The most common binding style is the quality softcover (also known as perfect bound or paperback) format. Generally, books containing 20 pages or more are produced in the quality softcover format while books containing fewer than 20 pages are produced in the saddle stitch binding format. The hardcover binding format is also available, but is not as common because of the higher production cost."

Scanning tips

"There are many brands of scanners available on the market. Even the most inexpensive scanner will be able to produce the high quality images needed for printing. Properly setting your resolution will determine whether your images will be blurry, or print quality. Print resolution is measured in dots per inch (DPI). The more dots used to make up the image, the higher the quality of the image.

For best results, illustrations should be scanned at high resolution (300 DPI) in either the TIFF or JPEG file format. If you are planning to enlarge the size of your illustration to be printed, it would be advisable to scan your illustrations at 600 DPI. Some scanners automatically default to 72 DPI between uses so be careful. Illustrations scanned at 72 DPI would not be considered acceptable for printing.

Note: Higher resolution is not necessarily better. A resolution over 600 DPI will only increase your file size (sometimes dramatically) and cause your computer to run more slowly."