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Trim and Font concerns

My book consists of many full bleed pictures and my primary concern is the trim.  In the material I read, blurb instructs me to not attempt to compensate for the 1/8" trim.  Is this good advice?  I have made sure nothing of a critical nature is near the edges but I am more concerned with white space showing up beyond the actual picture.  Is there anything I can do to insure this doesn’t happen?

Secondly,  I am concerned with my fonts.  On the PDF output test my TrueType font looked badly aliased and very pixelated.  Is this common on the PDF?  Will this be the actual output from the printer?  Should I print the test PDF on my home printer?  Will it be an adequate test compared to the printers used to print my book.

A side question:  If I choose a B/W option for my book but include a color cover, will the cover be B/W or color?  I would hate to have to spend almost double the money just to get a color cover when the rest of the book is in B/W.

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Posted by
voidgere
Sep 20, 2009 11:59pm PDT
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voidgere
 

I’ve done quite a few books and have yet to have any problems with full-bleed pages. The key is to make sure your image goes right to the edge of the page, you must not try and leave an 1/8" gap. To get a good result you need to let Blurb trim approximately an 1/8" from your image. Their advice to make sure there is nothing critical near rthe edges means nothing critical in your photo, not that the photo should not be near the edge.

The local PDF print is low resolution for proofing only, I’ve seen the same issues as you when proofing but have not had any problems with the text (or photos) in any of my books. Printing on your home printer is not a good indication of the quality of the printed book, just a way of proofing text and checking layout.

The 5" x 8" B&W text book can have a coloured cover. No other book sizes are available with a B&W option.

…..Tony
Posted by
tfrankland
Sep 21, 2009 12:59am PDT
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tfrankland