Working with spreads that will be split into pages for perfect binding
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Tagged: bleeds, pages, perfect binding, splitting spreads, spreads
- This topic has 8 replies, 3 voices, and was last updated 6 years, 4 months ago by Jon Coyle.
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April 25, 2017 at 7:46 am #93895Jon CoyleMember
I am creating a magazine that will be perfect bound, which means exporting to a pdf as individual pages with bleeds on all sides. However, when I am creating the document, I need to work in spreads. So, while working in spreads, I don’t have bleeds along the spine because one of the pages bleeds would bleed over to the other page.
My current workflow is to create spreads but only have the bleeds set up on three sides (not the inside) and then when everything is finalized, split the spreads into pages and adjust all images and graphics along the spine to have bleeds on all four sides of the page. This is time-consuming. Is there a way to work in spreads and have bleeds set up on all four sides of each page, but not have those inside bleeds display while the pages are set up in spreads so that it is an accurate representation of what the final printed magazine will look like?
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April 27, 2017 at 1:16 am #93906Wolfgang BöhmMember
Short answer: You don’t need to do this. Just set up a document as spreads (with bleed on all four sides), design your stuff, and export as individual pages for print. Done.
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April 27, 2017 at 7:49 am #93915Jon CoyleMember
My issue is that if I export to pages from spreads that had bleeds on all four sides, then the exported pages will not have graphics that extend to the bleed marks on the inside edge. For perfect binding they cut each page individually and it needs to have bleeds on all four sides.
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April 27, 2017 at 7:53 am #93916Jon CoyleMember
The reason I’m splitting the document into individual pages in InDesign is not because I didn’t know you can export to pages from spreads. It’s so I can extend the graphics to bleed off of all four sides of the individual pages before I export.
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April 28, 2017 at 1:28 am #93924Wolfgang BöhmMember
No, they don’t cut the pages individually. The printer will impose the pages and print them as spreads (just in a different order), fold them and bind them. So they don’t need a bleed on the spine wich they will remove anyway so this is really nothing you have to concern yourself with.
Really the ONLY binding technique I can think about where this could become an issue is wire binding. But in that case designing across the “spine” is probably a bad idea anyway.
If for some reason you have to this anyway, don’t use a spread document, use single pages and arrange your spreads manually with some gap between them.
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April 28, 2017 at 7:58 am #93937Jon CoyleMember
Thanks for your response, Wolfgang. I just spoke to my printer and he confirmed that in perfect binding, the sheets are cut individually, the same way they are in wire binding. This is the method our previous printer used as well. He said he has heard of large runs of books that are hundreds of pages and being printed in quantities of thousands, in which the signatures are set up using spreads and then the edge is cut.
You could make the argument that the inside edge of each page will be hidden in the spine and so it’s not a huge concern, but the printer said that it’s best to be safe and set up the bleed.
Setting up a gap manually is an interesting suggestion, but isn’t really an option because I often use images that cross the spine. If I left the bleeds, I wouldn’t be getting an accurate visual as far as whether they are lining up.
Again, I appreciate your response.
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April 28, 2017 at 11:05 pm #93950Wolfgang BöhmMember
OK, this is quite a surprise. Seriously, in my 15+ years as a professional print media designer I’ve never come across a printer who would work that way. But if your printer does it that way, well who am I to judge. Still seems odd to me because it would mean a lot more work and a weaker binding. Thanks for the update.
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November 14, 2017 at 10:57 am #99610Shannon HortonMember
Hi Jon, I ran into a similar problem and found a great solution here:
https://creativepro.com/breaking-up-pages-with-the-page-tool.phpLong story short – the “Page Tool” can allow you to move over a page in a spread so that you can maintain bleed on all four sides of the pages.
This has been a life saver for me. Hope this can help you as well. -
November 21, 2017 at 10:43 am #99799Jon CoyleMember
That’s perfect, Shannon. Exactly what I was looking for. Thanks
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