How many days does it take to print a book?
Our Book Printing Process
Short Run Printing is the Best Way to Print 25 - 5,000 Books
The flowchart below provides an outline of our production timeline. With over forty years of experience, we've perfected the art of printing high-quality books. We utilize top-of-the-line digital printers, capable of printing up to 160 sheets per minute. So if you want premium, custom books at affordable prices, get a custom online quote or call us at 360-623-1323 to discuss your book printing project.
What is the Fastest Way to Print My Book?
Your binding style will be the biggest factor in determining how long it will take to print your book. Perfect bound books take between 10-15 business days to print. Hardcover books take between 5-6 weeks, and spiral bound books take between 3-4 weeks. Please allow additional time for proofing and shipping.
We offer two main paths for getting your book printed; you can either supply PDFs of your cover and interior, or you can utilize our book design services. If you supply print-ready PDFs, we will print your book using your exact file specifications, giving you the fastest turnaround time. If you would like Gorham Printing to design your cover and/or interior layout, allow 1-2 additional weeks for consultation and design.
This is one of the most commonly asked questions when a customer places an order for a book. While our standard production time for softcover books is 10-15 business days once your proofs are approved, there are many factors that can impact the time your project is in our shop.
How you submit your files and the binding style of your book are the major variables that impact turnaround times.
Print-Ready PDF Orders
The fastest way to get from file submission to printed books is to design your cover and interior and submit print-ready files. Once you’ve created an account and generated a quote to match your file specifications (trim size and page count, plus the quantity you’d like printed), you can finalize your order with a credit card for half of the estimated order total right through our website. Then you can use our file upload tool to submit your print-ready files.
Once we have your files, we check them for potential printing problems then prepare your proof. If your files meet all of our requirements and we can proceed right to proof prep, we’ll have your proof ready to go in 3-4 business days. If you opted for an online proof, you can download and review the proof immediately. If you upgraded to a printed proof, we’ll mail an unbound proof to you via USPS Priority (1-3 business day transit time for most locations).
Design Services
If you opt to hire Gorham Printing for design services, the time between file submission and proofing is a bit longer. Depending on the complexity of your design and the components you’re hiring us for, the process can take anywhere from 5 days (Assisted Cover Design only) to 2 weeks or more (Level 3 Interior Design plus a Custom Cover, for example). Once design is complete, you’ll receive your proof in the format you’ve selected on your order.
Production Times
Once you’ve given us permission to proceed to production by submitting a signed proof form, your order will enter the production queue. Production times vary by binding style and quantity.
Most softcover orders for quantities under 100 typically take 5 business days until they are ready to ship. Orders of 500-1000 typically take 10 business days. Orders over 1000 can take up to 15.
Spiral bound books take 15-20 business days until they are ready to ship. Hardcover books take 6-7 weeks.
What if I need my book sooner?
Give us a call! Our production times are standards based on our experience and typical volumes, but we may be able to coordinate a compressed production window for clients who have events fast approaching. Call us as soon as you know you need books for a specific date, and we will work backwards to determine the date we’ll need your final approval in order to guarantee a specific shipping or pick up deadline.
We do not charge extra for in-shop rushes, but you may need to pay for expedited UPS shipping if our present volumes will not allow for the turn around time your shipping deadline would require.
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