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Hand Holding Color Swatches

Design, typesetting and printing

Printed books require typesetting of the text in association with other standard page elements (e.g. running heads, page numbers) and additional features (eg tables, figures, boxes, lists) in a balanced, clear and aesthetically pleasing way. Maria uses gold-standard industry Adobe InDesign to prepare typographically appealing books and other documents of any size, from single sheets such as business cards, leaflets and six-foot vinyl display banners, to three-dimensional objects such as ceramic or fabric promotional items . She can also arrange print and delivery of any material she works on. The typeset documents she produces can be published conventionally (in a printing house) or digitally via print-on-demand (POD).

INTERIOR PAGES - DESIGN, LAYOUT & TYPESETTING

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​​​Maria ensures that the interior designs of each book meet industry expectations and suit the specific demands of the content genre and intended readership, addressing factors such as the dimensions of the book, paper weight, heading structure, presentation of illustrations, and so on. Consistency is assured within the document, or across multiple documents, through the use of bespoke pallettes of paragraph and character styles.  Complex and feature-rich documents, with illustrations, tables, boxes, quotes and multilevel headings require multiple styles and colour considerations, with meticulous attention to layout to balance different elements on individual pages. 

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Maria deals with all types of documents in the same way:​

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  • Adds HTML-like 'tags' during editing in Word for different styles and features of the text, for seamless cross-platform transfer and to 'match up' with bespoke styles created in InDesign.

  • Sets trims, gutters, bleeds, headings and display layouts according to print-industry standards and the specific purpose of the text (e.g. straight-reading texts have different requirements from educational texts).

  • Deals with any visual "nasties" such as widows, orphans, bad line breaks, over-long/short pages.​

  • Puts no limit on the number of proofs (PDFs) shared with a client for feedback, and does not charge per se for proof amends.

  • Creates all required front matter, end matter and cover content as required by the specific document (e.g. copyright page, lists of contents/figures/tables, author bios, glossaries, appendices, reference lists, indexes).

  • Note that indexes are compiled from the very final page proofs.​

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PDFs created by Maria in InDesign can be sent for conventional printing or prepared for digital platforms (e.g. POD and e-books). For e-books, Maria can convert PDF files back into Word and then add the required formatting and codes. For traditional printing, she will do the 'print-buying' to generate multiple quotes, and liaise with the chosen printer to on their technical requirements, timescales and delivery options.

COVER DESIGN (front, back and spine)

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Maria offers advice on book formats, sizes, paper types, cover materials and bindings, even suggesting unusual formats if they happen to be better for displaying the content (such as loose-leaf binders). She collaborates as closely as required with her clients on the creative aspects of the covers, bearing in mind both the textual content, genre and intended audience, to produce full-cover wraps for printed documents, or other cover formats for digital/online documents. Note that spine widths can only be calculated when the final page count and paper weight are known. She incorporates all necessary features such as logos, branding, ISBN strips, QR codes, descriptive blurb, straplines,  pricing details, and publisher/author information. 

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​PROMOTIONAL MATERIAL

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Maria is happy to help with branding and to create materials for events like book launches and festivals, for advertising and promotional purposes (including social media), packs for agents, press releases, and author or corporate web copy. Other supporting and branded materials include advanced information sheets (AIs), business cards, leaflets, posters, display banners and event invitations, and she can supply a huge range of branded merchandise (such as t-shirts and mugs) through third-party manufacturers.

EXAMPLES OF DESIGN WORK

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To follow

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