Any nice and easy method to create...

Hi!



I'm working on a small catalogue for a small event. And its high time I start creating the cover.



I know that in inDesign, the best easiest method to get to pages beside each other (for a front and back stretching design)is to make a 3 page document. The first page stands alone, but the next two are right beside one another.



Other than that, I don't really have an idea for how to begin making an appropriate cover design. Any suggestions? For one, any way to simply start with a two page spread instead of having them split apart?
Any nice and easy method to create...
Usually, a cover is one page, not two. A cover with a spine is printed

as a single piece of material, back cover on the left, spine in the

middle, front cover on the right (open a book and flatten it pages down

on the table to see what I mean). The easiest way to set up a cover with

a spine is to calculate the page size (back + spine + front x height),

make a new document, and divide that one page into two columns with

spine width = column gutter.



--

Kenneth Benson

Pegasus Type, Inc.

www.pegtype.com
Any nice and easy method to create...
Wow, thank you for the great response!! :)

Nina,

I noticed your InDesign method for creating a spread... If you change page numbering to start at ''2'' (Pages panel) and InDesign will create a spread for you-without the need to ignore an extra page.

Urszula

What size your document and how many pages and what stock is it being printed on?

If it's A4 (210 mm x 297 mm) then the cover will be 420 x 297 mm wide - the front cover is on the right and the back cover is on the left.

If it's a saddle stitched book (folded and stapled) then there is no need for a spine. Usually you would saddle stitch up to about 80 pages (depending on the stock of paper)

If it's a perfect bound, then it has a spine. This means that pages are printed in bundles of 16 or 32 and stacked on top of each other, the cover is then glued to the body. Sometimes it's threadsewn (use wire to keep the binding lasting longer).

The spine width is dependant on a few things. It depends on the amount of pages you have and the weight of the stock and the type of stock.

So if it's been perfect bound with a spine you need to talk to your printers. They will bind a blank book using the paper that you use for the body to measure the exact spine width.

With this information you can do the cover properly.

So if you have again an A4 book and it needs a cover. Then the first step is to create a new document. Insert 420 wide and 210 height. If you have your spine width then include it in the width. So say it's 10mm spine, then 420 + 10 = 430.

The next step in the new document dialogue box would be to create 2 columns. And give it a width of 10 mm. Now you a visual on the spine for the cover.

You will need to leave about 7 mm to the right and left of the spine, as this will be glued to the book and will have a fold mark, so you don't want any type to be on the crease of the fold (look at any book with a spine). Simply draw a guide at 420+10+7 or 437 on the x and y co-ords. Then draw another guide at 420 - 7 = 413.

So now you should have the spine width clearly marked with the purple margin lines. and you have the ''no-type area'' marked with blue (considering you have blue for the colour of your guides).

Now all you have to do is lay out the cover on the spread - front cover on the right and back cover on the left side.

If you need to have inside covers, then another another page (or drag your page from the panel to the New Page to duplicate what you've done). Erase any artwork you have on there and start the inside of the cover.

Remember the left side is the Inside Front Cover and the Right Side is the Inside BACK cover.

It goes

Back Cover | Front Cover

Inside FC | Inside BC

(think about it )

The things to be wary about the inside covers are

Make sure you don't put text too close to the spine, it will get lost in the spine and won't be able to read it.

Do not put any colours, images text on the spine on the INSIDE only (fine for the outside). The glue will not stick to the ink and the cover will just fall off eventually. Leave the spine area free of any ink.