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Inspiring
July 9, 2025
Answered

Should photos be ganged for a book in InDesign?

  • July 9, 2025
  • 2 replies
  • 189 views

I will be incorporating photo pages in a nonfiction book (print & ebook) and wonder about best practices for inserting them - individually within a layout or ganged (grouped) into a single image of the layout?

 

Is this the same method for both print and ebook?

Correct answer Mike Witherell

Your own suggestion to go individually-placed for print and grouped for epub is an ok idea, but I would further choose to prepare two separate InDesign documents: one for print and afterward do a Save-As and make one for epub-export. Epub argues for at least a little bit of purposeful building/retinkering in favor of that output.

2 replies

Mike Witherell
Community Expert
Community Expert
July 9, 2025

Could you more clearly define what you mean by "ganged". Do you mean grouped as one object?

Are you sure you want a fixed layout epub and not a reflowable epub? I like fixed layout, but it doesn't work great on a small screen such as a smartphone.

Mike Witherell
Inspiring
July 9, 2025

Yes, "ganged" (old print word) = grouped

 

An earlier book had photos sprinkle throughout and reflowable was a pain, causing me to look to fixed, but not firmly fixed in the direction.

Mike Witherell
Community Expert
Mike WitherellCommunity ExpertCorrect answer
Community Expert
July 9, 2025

Your own suggestion to go individually-placed for print and grouped for epub is an ok idea, but I would further choose to prepare two separate InDesign documents: one for print and afterward do a Save-As and make one for epub-export. Epub argues for at least a little bit of purposeful building/retinkering in favor of that output.

Mike Witherell
Inspiring
July 9, 2025

Thanks!

 

Is there any reason not to gang in both?

 

I plan for the ebook to be a fixed layout because of the images - correct?