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George DeLuca
Known Participant
September 1, 2025
Answered

Gutter for two page photo spread ...

  • September 1, 2025
  • 3 replies
  • 416 views

I'm about to go to print with a 120 page picture book, 11"x8.5" landscape, with full width photos on each page. The captions and narration are below the photos. I've arranged the pages so there's 1" in the gutters and 3/4" top, bottom and outer margins for adequate white space. The book leads up to a two-page photo spread that I'm concerned about. 

 

I've settled on a matte anti-scuff 130 lb cover with satin 100 lb pages. I sense the binding will be tight. But I think leaving a 1/4" space in the gutters of the facing pages will work. That leaves at least 1/2" per page to any imagery (waterfowl). My theory is that the 1/4" white space will be swallowed up in the binding and there will still be another 1/4" before contact with a waterfowl. I don't see a perfect way to address this, so I'm looking for an experienced eye to advise me on best practices in this situation.

 

Thoughts?

Correct answer Brad @ Roaring Mouse

If you are perfect binding then, yes, you will lose about 1/4" in the spine, and maybe more, visually, because of how the pages will "curve" into the spine, so I think if you want the "appearance" of a gutter equal to the outer margins, you should be fine. 

For our clients (I used to work for a commercial printer). we would bind up a dummy in the spec'd stock so they would get a sense of how it felt for weight, thickness, and how "flat" the pages will lay when open to a spread. You don't want the perfect bind to "crack" when laid flat, although that's hard to prevent completely; a landscape format is more prone to this than portrait format. This would be helpful for you to judge oh much of a white gutter you want to accommodate.

It didn't sound like you are doing any crossovers, but if you were on a perfect-bound job, I would repeat a bit of the image in the center, if that makes any sense.

3 replies

Brad @ Roaring Mouse
Community Expert
Brad @ Roaring MouseCommunity ExpertCorrect answer
Community Expert
September 2, 2025

If you are perfect binding then, yes, you will lose about 1/4" in the spine, and maybe more, visually, because of how the pages will "curve" into the spine, so I think if you want the "appearance" of a gutter equal to the outer margins, you should be fine. 

For our clients (I used to work for a commercial printer). we would bind up a dummy in the spec'd stock so they would get a sense of how it felt for weight, thickness, and how "flat" the pages will lay when open to a spread. You don't want the perfect bind to "crack" when laid flat, although that's hard to prevent completely; a landscape format is more prone to this than portrait format. This would be helpful for you to judge oh much of a white gutter you want to accommodate.

It didn't sound like you are doing any crossovers, but if you were on a perfect-bound job, I would repeat a bit of the image in the center, if that makes any sense.

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George DeLucaAuthor
Known Participant
September 2, 2025

Brad,

Yes, that's what I ended up doing and I feel more comfortable with the thin strip of water (now less than 1/4") in the center. In fact, one of the two full spreads only required about 1/8" strip on one of the pages.

 

As for the binding: I agree lay-flat would be better, but I need to keep the price reasonable.

Thanks,

George

davecourtemanche
davecourtemanche
Inspiring
September 2, 2025

Hi George

The vendor I worked with on large catalogs would adjust for gutter / creep when impositioning the PDFs with their software. We had a lot of crossover images it was never a problem because of the work they did. I would reach out to your vendor and work with them on the best way to set this up.

    Mike Witherell
    Community Expert
    Mike WitherellCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    September 2, 2025

    Hi George,

    Have you considered printing out some test proofs on that paper stock and putting the proofs together in the same way it will eventually be bound? Then you could handle that "dummy" layout copy and see if your theory looks right.

    Mike Witherell
      G
      George DeLucaAuthor
      Known Participant
      September 2, 2025

      Hi Mike, 

      Thanks for your reply.

      I was able to work out a solution where I filled the white space with water to match the existing. I was also able to reduce the 1/4" even further. I'm happy with it now. As for the paper stock, I'm having a few ARCs printed so I can get a look at the final product before I mass print.

      Best,

      George

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