Tight margin—12mm gutter for 400pp sewn hardcover. Can ID extend pages asymmetrically?

Question

Seeking a sanity check on a production decision for a 400-page hardcover art/architecture book. The design is final—most elements hand-positioned across 400 pp.—so if the gutter needs adjusting, I need a method that won't disturb existing content.

Specs

210×260mm trim
Inside margin: 12mm
130gsm coated stock (Arctic Volume White)
Hollow-back construction, sewn signatures

Printer says 12mm is fine. I'm skeptical. And as it may affect the gutter, there's a choice between squared spine (rigid) and gently rounded spine (no spine board, covers pivot independently). Both hollow-back with sewn signatures, so text block behavior should be similar. Rounded is more ergonomic for this tome in the hand, while squared feels more solid. But if squared spine is even marginally less forgiving at the gutter, I'd want to add 1-2mm of safety.

Questions

If I need another 1-2mm: can InDesign extend pages asymmetrically—adding width to the spine edge only—while leaving all placed content at its current absolute coordinates?
For this stock and page count, is 12mm inside genuinely adequate with squared hollow-back, or am I courting gutter loss?
Does rounded spine offer meaningful gutter advantage if both are hollow-back—enough to justify the loss of case rigidity?

Has anyone actually done this successfully on a complex facing-pages document? On 400 hand-positioned pages, I need certainty before attempting.

rob day · Accepted Answer

The key question "Can ID extend pages asymmetrically—adding width to the spine edge only—while leaving all placed content at its current absolute coordinates?", which comes down to what core choices I have in the realm of ID (not the printer, though I brought that background info into the picture so as to provide a sense of the full scenario) finds no response with the focus redirected to the printer. Perhaps this is intended to suggest that there is no need to address it and I should know from this kind of response that the ID question isn't what should be focused on. But I brought it here aware that member expertise may cover a limited amount of book production technical matters but is primarily centered on the software, on ID, and on an ID-related response. We're not aiming to overtake the printer's duties, but all designers are responsible for these fundamental margin considerations. So, Taschen did extraordinarily nice work taking a different tack and slightly rebelling against customarily generous margins, and managing to make this indeed work in production where often 1 cm inner margin would be susceptible to gutter creep issues. You may feel overwhelmed or resentful reading the full context of my considerations, but I think it's not unclear that in terms what an ID forum can be turned to for discussion in involves this sort of question around adding to the inner margin at this stage.

Can ID extend pages asymmetrically—adding width to the spine edge only—while leaving all placed content at its current absolute coordinates?

Yes, but the pages would have to be set up as non-facing—see this thread:

https://community.adobe.com/t5/indesign-discussions/gutter-bleed-still-the-same/m-p/11367643#M198592

You don’t know what the creep amount should be. This is similar to trapping which is a print, not design, task. Traps can not be applied to the page item objects, the rules set in the Trap Preset panel can only be applied at print time when color separations are being output.

rob day · Answer

Hi @Typothalamus , You are referring to binding creep, which should be handled by the printer during imposition and not included in the page layout:

colorvisionprintingcom_469659610.png

Even Indesign’s primative Print Booklet imposition feature includes a creep allowance.

Screen Shot 24.png

And assuming a creep allowance, 12 mm does not seem like enough for a hardcover’s inside margin. You might find an old hardcover book, take it apart and measure the inside margins when the spread sheets are flat.

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