From file to book

Many people assume our production process is fully automated. And in many ways, it is. But printing and binding are still very much hands-on. Every machine is operated by our production team, and every book is carefully bound, trimmed and finished by hand. Because we produce everything in-house, we can also check every order to make sure it meets our quality standards.

Step 1

You place your order. What happens next?

If you've selected our extended file check, your order is sent directly to our customer service team. They carefully review your file for margins, resolution, page size, bleed, borders and much more. Once everything looks perfect, your order moves on to our production queue.

Step 2

Next, your order is assigned to the most suitable printer. We look at the size, finishing options and paper stock to determine the best production method. Depending on your choices, your order will be printed on one of our three production lines: our high-volume Canon printers, our Ricoh printers for specialist finishing, or our large-format flatbed printers in the Sign department.

Our production queue is designed for maximum efficiency. Orders with the same paper stock and finishing options are grouped together and printed in batches. This reduces paper changes, keeps our printers running efficiently and allows us to produce your order as quickly as possible.

Step 3

Your printed order comes off the press and is sorted onto the correct production carts. All print jobs are trimmed to size, but the next step depends on the binding method you've chosen.

For Wire-O bound books, the entire book must be trimmed to its final size before the holes are punched. Once the wire has been inserted, the book can no longer be trimmed. That's why every book is carefully checked for white borders before moving on to the next stage.

For perfect bound books, only the binding edge is trimmed at this stage. The remaining three sides are trimmed after binding, giving the finished book its clean, professional edges.

Step 4

After trimming, your order moves to the correct binding station.

Wire-O books first pass through our punching machines, where the holes for the wire binding are punched with precision. The front cover, pages and back cover are then assembled, the metal wire is inserted, and the book is pressed into place. The result is a sturdy book that opens completely flat. Fun fact: one of our experienced production team members can bind a Wire-O book in just a few seconds.

Perfect bound books head straight to our perfect binder. This machine can produce up to 360 books per hour, automatically creasing the cover, applying the glue and attaching the cover to the book block in around 10 seconds. Once the books are bound, they move to our three-knife trimmer, where all three open sides are trimmed with exceptional precision. This ensures every book has perfectly even edges and a clean, professional finish.

Step 5

Once your books are bound, trimmed and gathered together, they move to our finishing stations. Here, every order is carefully inspected before it continues to the next step. We check everything, from white borders and print quality to the binding and finishing, to make sure every product meets our quality standards.

When an order passes its final inspection, we take a photo of it and move it on to our sealing machines, where it's prepared for packing.

Step 6

Time to pack!

Your order has been printed, finished and thoroughly checked. Now it's ready to leave our production facility.

If you've chosen collection, your order will be waiting for you at our production location. (Just remember to collect it within two weeks.)

If you've selected delivery, we carefully pack your order in sturdy boxes before it's collected by PostNL later that day. That way, your print arrives safely and as quickly as possible.