Foundry Press Books made well, from manuscript to press

Foundry Press

Books made well, from manuscript to press

Latest Articles

The Two-Millimetre Problem: Getting Spine Width Right When Paper Won't Sit Still
Craft & Production

The Two-Millimetre Problem: Getting Spine Width Right When Paper Won't Sit Still

You sign off a spine at 18.4mm. The finished copies arrive nearer 20mm and your title now wraps around the edge like a bad wallpaper job. This is why spine width drifts, what printers mean by tolerance, and how small presses can specify, test and artwork a spine that survives real production without a reprint.
Four Blacks, One Press: A Practical Guide to Ink Builds and Fragile Type
Craft & Production

Four Blacks, One Press: A Practical Guide to Ink Builds and Fragile Type

Black is not a single setting you can leave on auto-pilot. This is a working guide to 100% K, rich black builds, registration marks and the small-type decisions that separate a crisp book from a muddy one.
The Millimetre Margin: Why Your Book's Trim Size Is a Production Decision
Craft & Production

The Millimetre Margin: Why Your Book's Trim Size Is a Production Decision

Trim size looks like a design choice, but it is really a manufacturing spec. A few millimetres can change how many pages fit on a sheet, how much paper you waste and what a bookseller thinks when they pick your book up. Here is how to choose a format that suits the manuscript, the printer's sheet and the shelf.
Six Copies Before the Launch Party: A Legal Deposit Reality Check for Small Presses
Trade & Sales

Six Copies Before the Launch Party: A Legal Deposit Reality Check for Small Presses

Legal deposit is one of those publishing obligations that feels optional until a library request lands in your inbox. Here’s how UK small presses can budget copies, postage and admin without derailing the launch.
Covers Under Glass: A Pre-Press Audit for Shopfront Conditions
Craft & Production

Covers Under Glass: A Pre-Press Audit for Shopfront Conditions

A cover that looks sharp on a studio monitor can wilt in a bookshop window. This is a practical pre-press audit for foil, uncoated stock, dark inks and spine type before you sign off artwork.
The 37 Millimetres That Can Sink a Cover: Getting Barcodes Right Before Print
Craft & Production

The 37 Millimetres That Can Sink a Cover: Getting Barcodes Right Before Print

A back-cover barcode is not artwork. It is a data block with a very short temper. Here is how small presses can get the ISBN, EAN symbol and UK price information right before the cover goes to press.
The Provenance Paragraph: What 'Printed in the UK' Really Buys You
Trade & Sales

The Provenance Paragraph: What 'Printed in the UK' Really Buys You

That short line on the copyright page looks like housekeeping, but it is also a production claim and a sales signal. Here is how small presses can word it precisely, check a printer's story, and use UK provenance honestly without turning it into a badge of honour.
Ink, Paper, Panic: A Small Press Guide to Proofs That Actually Catch Mistakes
Craft & Production

Ink, Paper, Panic: A Small Press Guide to Proofs That Actually Catch Mistakes

Laser proofs, inkjet dummies and wet proofs each catch a different kind of mistake. Here is how UK small presses can mark up pages properly, check what digital proofs cannot show, and avoid signing off on a print job they will regret.
Print Runs Without the Hangover: Working Out How Many Copies You Actually Need
Trade & Sales

Print Runs Without the Hangover: Working Out How Many Copies You Actually Need

Everyone tells you to print more because the unit cost drops. Nobody tells you what that discount costs in storage, cash and quiet panic. Here is a working method for sizing a print run at a UK small press — including the sums worth doing before you ring the printer.
The Letters You Didn't Licence: Auditing Typefaces Before Your Book Goes to Press
Craft & Production

The Letters You Didn't Licence: Auditing Typefaces Before Your Book Goes to Press

A typeface can look like a harmless design choice until the PDF leaves your laptop and the licence question lands on your desk. This practical UK guide walks through embedding rights, print versus ebook permissions, cover artwork and the pre-press font audit that keeps small presses out of trouble.
The Quiet Page That Sells Your Book: A Working Guide to the Colophon
Craft & Production

The Quiet Page That Sells Your Book: A Working Guide to the Colophon

A colophon is not legally required, which is exactly why a good one stands out. Here is how UK small presses can use the last page to record type, paper, binding, printer and edition details — without turning the book into a design manifesto.
Ask Before You Upload: Ten Preflight Questions for UK Printers
Trade & Sales

Ask Before You Upload: Ten Preflight Questions for UK Printers

A PDF is a proposal, not a print job. These ten questions will help UK authors and small presses pin down paper, colour, proofs, tolerances and reprint costs before the file leaves the desk.
Grain, Bulk and the Bottom Line: Specifying Book Paper That Earns Its Keep
Craft & Production

Grain, Bulk and the Bottom Line: Specifying Book Paper That Earns Its Keep

Paper is not a neutral backdrop to the text; it is a production decision with a price, a spine width and a reader attached. This is a practical UK guide to choosing book paper without turning the quote into a guessing game.
Stitched, Splined or Staple-Gunned: Choosing a Binding That Survives Real Readers
Craft & Production

Stitched, Splined or Staple-Gunned: Choosing a Binding That Survives Real Readers

Binding is the decision that quietly determines whether your book lies flat in a cookery class, sheds pages in a rucksack, or still looks sharp after a decade on a shelf. Here's how the five main methods stack up on cost, gutters and page counts — plus the questions worth asking your printer before you commit.
Your Book Has a Birth Certificate. Most Publishers Throw It Away.
Trade & Sales

Your Book Has a Birth Certificate. Most Publishers Throw It Away.

The colophon — that quiet note at the back explaining how a book was made — has almost vanished from UK publishing. It shouldn't have. Done well, it's the cheapest piece of craft signalling a small press can buy, and a direct answer to the anonymous slab that arrives from a print-on-demand queue.
Ninety Days, No Fantasy: A Small-Press Route from Final Draft to First Print
Craft & Production

Ninety Days, No Fantasy: A Small-Press Route from Final Draft to First Print

A practical week-by-week plan for UK authors and micro-presses who want a realistic 90-day production window, with the usual slip points, buffer rules and pre-press locks that keep a first print run on track.
What UK Indie Bookshops Actually Want from Small Presses: A 2026 Trade Checklist
Trade & Sales

What UK Indie Bookshops Actually Want from Small Presses: A 2026 Trade Checklist

Independent booksellers are not gatekeepers for the sake of it. They are buying with tight shelves, tighter cash flow and real readers in mind. Here is what UK shops say small presses need to get right before pitching.
Beyond the Recycled Logo: An Honest Guide to Greener Books in 2026
Sustainability

Beyond the Recycled Logo: An Honest Guide to Greener Books in 2026

Sustainability in book production is now part of the brief, not a badge on the back cover. This practical guide covers paper certifications, UK printers, cost and quality trade-offs, and how to write a colophon that says what you actually did.
Hot Metal, Cool Covers: Inside the UK's Letterpress Comeback
Craft & Production

Hot Metal, Cool Covers: Inside the UK's Letterpress Comeback

Letterpress is no longer just a heritage demo. In 2026, UK small presses are booking foundry time for covers, limited editions and author gifts — and the results can be quietly spectacular. Here is how to commission it without wasting money, paper or patience.