Frequently Asked Questions
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Price per book
Book sizes
Types of Bindings

Paper options
Cover design
Artwork and photographs
Manuscript preparation
Proof copies
Marketing help
Copyrights
ISBN/EAN numbers
Privacy and Security
Payment Terms
Free account sign-up

Affiliate accounts
Corporate accounts
Satisfaction guarantee
Page Numbering
What do you print
Software questions
Self Publishing Facts
Shipping information
Order Tracking
Reprints
Minimum number of books
Why POD software

Price per book

The price of your book depends on the book size, number of pages, front cover design and binding style. There are additional charges for photographs in your book. For a quick preview of your costs, click here for a demonstration. At the time you configure your actual order, you will be given a cost based on the options you select. If you want to look at pricing a sample book, go to our pricing page. To get a rough idea, to produce 200 copies of a 200 page book 5 ½ x 8 ½ inches your cost would be $4.92 per book. This price includes a single color cover with a photograph, and perfect bound. Tennessee residents will have sales tax added to their final billing. You can estimate shipping charges to you area by clicking this link.

Book sizes

We offer four standard page book sizes: 4¼" x 7"; 5½" x 8½ "; 6" x 9"; and 8 ½" x 11". We have clearly marked the page size with templates for each size of book. Cover templates are also available for the type of binding you select. After you select the size of book you want to publish, it is recommended that you print a copy of the template for the book size you plan to publish and make sure your copy area will fit within the shaded area. You will just center the pages in the shaded area and we will shift them left or right to compensate for the binding edge margin.

Types of bindings

We offer several binding options for your book. Perfect Binding; Double Wire; Plastic Wire; Plastic Comb; Saddle Stitch and 3-ring binding. We also offer 3 hole punching for customers who just want the pages printed. Our 3-ring binders are also sold separately for those who want a custom binder for their book.

Paper options

Our standard text paper is 60# acid-free Accent Opaque Warm White (also called smooth opaque off-white). Most bookstore quality books are printed on this type of paper. We do offer, however, 60# smooth white paper as an option at no additional cost. Cover stock is 12pt cover stock with liquid lamination, UV coating at no additional cost. With $0.25/Book extra cost, plastic lamination is still available as an optional choice for your cover finishing.

Cover designs

The cover for your book is a very important selling tool. You can have a great story to tell, but if the cover fails to draw attention, the book will not sell. All large book publishers and distributors look for an attractive cover and book title. Good designs are what make buyers reach for the product.

Instantpublisher.com customers have three choices to make in cover design. The first, a black and white design printed on white cover stock can be designed in your Microsoft Windows-based program and can be the first and last page of the copy you upload to the web. This means that page 2 and next to last page will be blank unless you want printing on the inside front and inside back cover. If you have a black and white photo, you can place a low resolution copy in your text document and email a high resolution EPS or TIF file, referencing your order number.

The second selection for cover design would be one of Instantpublisher.com's full color designs. If you chose this selection on your order, you will be given a screen to complete the information you want imprinted and the cover design you selected.

The third choice is customer full color design front cover. You will be given a screen for your copy and email address for the cover information. Customer full color photo or art designs can be printed on your front cover. All photographs for the cover should be scanned and saved as EPS or TIF files at 300 dpi. Instantpublisher.com also offers custom cover design services at an affordable price if you need help.

Each binding style has its own template. The perfect binding is used for paperback books and is the standard book style we offer at no additional charge. This binding is great for novels and short stories. The base cost includes your design printed in black ink at no additional charge. Additional ink colors are available for an additional charge. Instantpublisher.com has a number of full color cover designs that can be personalized with your wording.

Line art for the front cover should be scanned at 600 dpi. If you elect to have Instantpublisher.com provide an ISBN number and EAN bar code, the placement of the ISBN bar code should be taken into consideration when your design is submitted. The bar code must be printed in black ink and placed on a white background area measuring 2 3/8 x 1 3/8 inches. The white space should be at least 7/16 inch from the bottom of the cover printing. Instantpublisher.com will e-mail you your ISBN number and EAN bar code so you can position it with your back cover art. The ISBN number has to be printed on the copyright page within your book.

We use a liquid lamination (UV Coating) 12 point cover stock that is very durable and gloss for extra protection. At an extra $0.25 per book cost, you can select plastic lamination as an optional choice. Please refer to the cover templates for the size of book you plan to publish. The center spine on a perfect bound book is determined by the number of pages in your book. If the cover is the wrong size, you will have to correct it and resubmit because it will not fit your book. When you enter your book on the pricing information screen, a template will be generated for the size of the book, number of pages, and the binding style you select. Please use this template when you design your cover to ensure that your cover is the proper size.

Artwork and photographs

Black ink line art (click here for an example) either within the text or as a cover will be printed for no additional charge. Our process utilizes a Hewlett Packard LaserJet printer driver with a maximum resolution of 600 dots-per-inch (DPI), which produces acceptable quality for most line art and photographs. If in doubt, print your document from your library viewer (utilizing the 'Direct Print' option) to a Hewlett Packard LaserJet or compatible printer and view the quality. Please note that all text pages are printed with black ink only. Color photographs are not available within the text area. For cover art, all photographs should be scanned and sent as EPS or TIFF 300 dpi files. A full color photo design on the front cover (Customer Full Color Cover Design) is priced according to the size of the order. See the pricing chart here for more information.

Instantpublisher.com can print from any Microsoft Windows-based software. However, many windows-based word processing programs do not accept high quality photograph scans like the graphics programs: QuarkXPress, Adobe Illustrator or PhotoShop. If your cover design contains photographs and you want high quality printing, you will have to design the cover in one of the three programs listed above. Windows program Microsoft Word will accept photos within the text; however, when printed the quality is limited to 600 dots-per-inch. You can quickly tell the quality by printing the file to your Windows based printer.

Manuscript Preparation

The best way to produce a book is go to a bookstore and look at as many page designs as possible. Your book should start with a title page, followed by the copyright page. The title page typically includes the title, subtitle, name of publisher and author. The copyright page must contain Copyright © followed by the year and name of who the copyright is filed under. Example: title page and copyright page. One frequently quoted source is Strunk & White's "The Elements of Style" at http://www.strunkandwhite.com If you have questions about type for your text pages, you might look at http://www.adobe.com/type/ for ideas. Your cover can optionally be full color, but all content pages will be printed in black ink only.

Listing the publisher (your name) and printer on the copyright page is standard in the book publishing industry. The book would be printed by Instantpublisher.com.

All books are priced by the number of pages. Many books will have special pages such as table of contents: foreword or introduction: glossary or index. There again, you are the publisher and have full control of how the pages will look and in what order they appear in you book. Do not use too many fonts, especially on the same page and never use all caps.

Proof Copies

The proof will be printed on 8 1/2 x 11 inch paper, one page to a sheet. The cost is $30.00 for text and cover. The proof will be mailed within 3 days after the order is received and production will continue when your approval is received. Please keep in mind that the pages are going to appear exactly as submitted, but we are happy to provide the proof feature.

Marketing Help

Instantpublisher.com is the only paper book publisher that will list your book on the internet free of charge so the first 20 pages can be viewed by book brokers from around the world. We will list by title, author and then make available the first 20 pages. If a large bookstore chain or book broker becomes interested in your work, they will contact us and we will in turn pass the information on to you. We have an active e-mail list of several thousand bookstores, book brokers and large publishing houses that we will send new listing to every Friday. We are not only helping our customers find sales but are helping large book publishing houses find talented writers.


Copyright

You have to have the copyright information printed on the second page of the book. The area must say Copyright ©2001 John Doe, All Rights Reserved. If you have an ISBN or Library of Congress number they must also appear on this page. Just refer to any book in a bookstore and you will see the copyright along with the ISBN number. For more information contact http://www.loc.gov/copyright/


ISBN/EAN numbers

The International Standard Book Number (ISBN) is the 10 digit number on the back of a book. This number identifies the publisher and the book title. Booksellers use this number to order, price and keep track of inventory. An EAN bar code is your ISBN transferred into an OCR scanable image. Instantpublisher.com can provide both the ISBN and the EAN bar code for your book. Click here to see an example ISBN/EAN number. Please remember that Instantpublisher.com can assign an ISBN number to your book. You must purchase an ISBN number before your book is submitted for print so you can enter the ISBN number on the second page and on the outside back cover. Instantpublisher.com has a flat fee of $75 to print the ISBN number and the EAN bar code on your book. Visit our ISBN number request page by clicking on the button below. Please remember that if you have Instantpublisher.com provide your ISBN number, Instantpublisher.com is the publisher of record of your book. However, if you want a different publishing company as the official publisher of record, you will have to obtain an ISBN number in your company name from R.R. Bowker.


Privacy and security

The Instantpublisher.com software encrypts all files before they are sent from your computer to our production facility. The facility is highly automated so no unnecessary people view any of the material that is submitted. We have a number of firewalls to prevent unwanted visitors to our site. Credit card numbers are not stored. After the job has been shipped, the card number is erased. If a customer wants to reorder from their library, they have to reenter the payment information. All personal information is kept strictly confidential. We do not share your name, address or other personal information with outside parties.


Payment Terms

At the end of the ordering process, the account holder is asked to enter their credit card information. Instantpublisher.com currently accepts Visa, and MasterCard payable in US currency. A check can be mailed but will delay printing until payment is received. One half the billed amount will be charged to your credit card at the time the order is entered. The balance will be charged along with shipping charges when the order is ready to ship. Corporate accounts have 30 days to pay in full after the order is shipped.

Free account sign-up

It costs nothing to open an Instantpublisher.com account. Anyone with Internet access can do so from their home or office. Click here to open an account.


Affiliate accounts

We have a very strong affiliate program that offers many features that small printers cannot offer at the same price. Each affiliate can get a 20% commission on business they refer simply by putting an affiliate link to us on your website. There's no cap on how much you can earn. When one of your referrals registers with Instantpublisher.com, you'll get a 20% commission on their net sales during the first 30 days after they register - after that you'll receive 8% for the balance of the affiliate agreement. Net sales are the total amount paid to Instantpublisher.com less shipping and taxes. All it takes to become an affiliate is to complete the free registration for your affiliate link and you're in business. Click Here to Register! Please note, that only customers passing through the affiliates qualifying link to Instantpublisher.com will qualify for commission. Affiliates who apply for the qualifying link do not qualify for commission on their personal books.


Corporate Account

If you are a business, you may be eligible for a Corporate Account. As a Corporate customer, you would have an open credit account, giving you 30 days from the date the order is shipped before payment is due. Corporate members will receive a statement by e-mail and payment can be made by Mastercard , Visa or by company check. Click here to apply for a Corporate Account.


Satisfaction guarantee

Instantpublisher.com guarantees that every book printed will be exactly as submitted or your money will be refunded or the books reprinted at no cost. Our software will let you preview your order before it is printed with 100% accuracy. You get to select the size, cover design and binding for your book. After the order is placed, you will receive an order acknowledgement by e-mail to confirm what you selected. You can use the Instantpublisher.com web site to track the progress and shipping method of your order.


What do you print

Instantpublisher.com doesn't publish letterheads, business cards, or flyers. We only print books, manuals, and a few items such as bookmarks, book dust covers, postcards, and posters to help you advertise the books printed by us. Please e-mail for quantity and prices.


Software questions

Our software works with all Microsoft Windows Applications. Here is a partial list of the most popular applications: Quark Xpress; Corel Word Perfect; Microsoft Publisher; Adobe Photoshop; Microsoft Word; Microsoft Outlook; Freelance Graphics; Adobe Ilustrator; Visio Professional; Corel Draw; Notepad; Microsoft Excel; Microsoft Powerpoint; Lotus l-2-3; Microsoft IE; Adobe Photoshop; Microsoft Binder; Netscape and many, many more! If your software is not listed, but will print to a window's based printer, it will work with our software.


Self publishing facts

  • Control - You have complete control of your book design and where it is sold without dealing with a third party.

  • Sole Ownership - As a self-publisher, you own all rights to the book and are in the position to set your own price with all profits coming to you.

  • Big Profits - If a large publishing house contracts to publish your book, you will receive only 5% to 15% royalty on each book sold. As a self-publisher, you can receive 50% to 200% profit.

  • Publishing Time - Large publishing houses take months to complete your book for sale in book stores. Instantpublisher.com will complete the finished product in only a few days.

  • Special Interest Books - Large publishing houses do not have an interest in special interest books. However, in many cases, books dealing with education, special how-to books, or books on religion have a great sales appeal to the general public. Large publishing houses are very selective in the manuscripts they choose to finance.

  • Local Interest - Large publishers are not interested in local interest books. However, books with interest in a certain region or community sell very well and can raise thousands of dollars for the author.

  • Family Books - Making money is not the only interest of many authors. Telling a family story or just getting their words in print for the next generation is very important.


Shipping information

Most of our orders are shipped by UPS; however, we do provide shipment by FedEx and commercial truck. We assume shipment by UPS in our estimated freight cost example. Please call or email us for freight estimates for orders to be shipped by carriers other than UPS. Freight will be charged to your account when the books are actually shipped. We do not add any additional handling charges to the freight charges on your order and, in fact, pass along to you any discounts our freight carriers give us. At the time the books are shipped, you will receive an e-mail with the shipping information.


Order tracking

You can view your order status at any time by going to your library with your customer number. When the order is shipped, you will be notified by e-mail with the tracking number of the carrier.


Reprints

Instantpublisher.com can reprint your book from another publisher as long as you own the copyright or a copy of certification or letter of transfer is submitted with the order from the previous publisher. You will have to handle the reprint just like a new order with Instantpublisher.com and submit your order through our web site.


Minimum number of books

Instantpublisher.com has a minimum book order of only 25 copies. The price is based on the number of books you order, so larger orders reflect a smaller price per book.

Why POD Software

For many years authors could select a word processing program such as Microsoft Word, type their manuscript, and send to a printer. The problem is that the publisher had to have the exact same version of the software and also all of the typestyles that the author selected or the book text pages would not be exactly as submitted. Instantpublisher.com programmers have been working for years to develop software that would be used as a printer driver, and work with all Microsoft Window-based programs. POD (print on demand) software will print your book to our web site exactly as the material would print on your printer because POD works as a printer driver. All you do is download our FREE POD and when you are ready to submit your manuscript, you select the www.instantpublisher.com printer and click 'Print' from within your application. Your manuscript will be printed to our site where you can view the exact document, select from many book binding and print options - all giving you an exact price per book before any order is placed. POD leaves no room for error from your computer to our digital printing machines.