iPress Printing — Melbourne, Australia
Calculate cover dimensions, spine thickness, and bleed sizes instantly — for softcover, hardcover, and saddle-stitched books across all standard sizes.
BookSpec calculates every dimension you need to set up your artwork file correctly, including spine width based on paper thickness and page count.
Cover wraps around spine. Spine width calculated from paper caliper × page count.
Board wraps add to cover dimensions. Includes hinge gap (spine break) and turnover allowance.
No spine width — cover and text are the same size. Stapled through the fold.
No more guessing or manual calculations. BookSpec handles all the maths so your artwork is print-ready first time.
Spine width is calculated from the paper's caliper (thickness per page) × page count, including board thickness for hardcovers.
Supports perfect bound softcover, case bound hardcover, and saddle-stitch — each with its own dimension rules and bleed requirements.
Choose from A4, A5, square, landscape, and more standard book sizes, or enter your own custom width and height.
Coated, uncoated, silk, and gloss stocks — each with the correct caliper value used to calculate an accurate spine.
Save any result with a name for future reference. Pull up saved specs instantly without re-entering all the details.
Download a formatted spec sheet as a PDF to share with your designer or keep as a job record.
Four inputs. Instant results. No spreadsheet needed.
Select softcover (perfect bound), hardcover (case bound), or saddle stitch. This determines which dimensions are calculated and how the spine is treated.
Pick a standard size like A4 Portrait, A5, Square 210mm, or enter a custom finished page size. Dimensions are shown in millimetres.
The number of pages (not leaves) and the text paper type drive the spine width calculation. For hardcovers, choose a cover board thickness too.
BookSpec outputs the full cover spread size, spine width, text art size, and all bleed dimensions — ready to hand to your designer or set up in InDesign.
Name and save the spec to your account for later, or download a PDF spec sheet to attach to your job ticket or send to a client.
BookSpec uses calibrated caliper values for each stock to ensure spine widths are as accurate as possible for print production.
| Paper type | Caliper (mm/page) | Typical use | Binding |
|---|---|---|---|
| 100gsm Gloss Coated | 0.085 | Photobooks, catalogues | Softcover Hardcover |
| 130gsm Gloss Coated | 0.105 | Premium photobooks | Softcover Hardcover |
| 170gsm Gloss Coated | 0.135 | Art books, prestige | Softcover Hardcover |
| 90gsm Uncoated | 0.100 | Novel, text-heavy books | Softcover Hardcover |
| 120gsm Uncoated | 0.130 | Journals, workbooks | Softcover Hardcover |
| 115gsm Silk | 0.095 | Brochures, mixed content | Softcover |
| 80gsm Bond / Offset | 0.090 | Booklets, manuals | Saddle Stitch Softcover |
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