Soft Back Book
Ten sizes, UK printed, and the one album that works in quantity.
Not every collection needs a flush-mount album or a coffee-table book. Printed in the UK on FSC-accredited paper, the Soft Back Book runs from 36 to 364 pages and from a single copy up to three thousand in A4 or A5, or two thousand in the other sizes, which makes it the one album in the range that works as well for a whole membership as it does for one person. It is the format behind most club season reviews, heritage copies for wider family, retirement gifts where everyone needs one, and event books printed for attendees.
Ten sizes are available: A4 (297 × 210mm), A5 (210 × 148mm), Square (210 × 210mm), B Format UK (198 × 125mm), B Format US (203 × 127mm), B5 (250 × 176mm), Crown Quarto (246 × 189mm), Demy (216 × 138mm), Pinched Crown Quarto (248 × 171mm) and Royal (234 × 156mm). Every size except Square can be made portrait or landscape, and the specification is identical throughout: same press, same papers, same binding, same page range. Run length is the one difference: A4 and A5 print up to three thousand copies, the remaining sizes up to two thousand.
Every book is printed on an HP Indigo 100K B2+ digital offset press, in full colour throughout or with a full colour cover and black-only inner pages, which suits a written history or a records book and costs less per copy. Inner pages are silk or gloss at 130, 150 or 170gsm, or uncoated at 90, 100, 120, 140 or 170gsm. Heavier stock gives the book more substance in the hand; uncoated suits documentary and archive material, silk suits colour photography.
Covers are silk, gloss or uncoated at 200, 250, 300 or 350gsm, printed on the outside only or inside as well, which is worth doing where the inside covers can carry an endpaper image, a dedication or a team list. The outer cover is laminated matt, gloss, soft-touch or anti-scuff matt, with spot UV or raised metallic foil where you want a little more. Laminate can be left off, but I would not usually recommend it: an unlaminated cover can crack along the spine and mark with handling.
The binding is PUR perfect binding, not the standard EVA hot-melt glue used in most bound books. PUR (polyurethane reactive) adhesive stays flexible rather than brittle once cured, so pages resist cracking and yellowing over years of handling and lie flatter when opened. It also bonds more securely to a wider range of coated stocks, meaning less risk of pages loosening or falling out with repeated use, a meaningful difference for a book meant to be handled and shared for years.
| Copies | 100 pages | 150 pages | 200 pages |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 copy | £230.00 | £279.00 | £329.00 |
| 3 copies | £243.00 | £297.00 | £351.00 |
| 5 copies | £254.00 | £314.00 | £374.00 |
| 10 copies | £293.00 | £365.00 | £437.00 |
| 25 copies | £403.00 | £517.00 | £631.00 |
| 50 copies | £603.00 | £798.00 | £993.00 |
| 100 copies | £827.00 | £1,107.00 | £1,388.00 |
| 250 copies | £1,639.00 | £2,260.00 | £2,882.00 |
| 500 copies | £2,910.00 | £4,051.00 | £5,193.00 |
| 1,000 copies | £4,241.00 | £5,983.00 | £7,724.00 |
| 2,000 copies | £6,676.00 | £9,378.00 | £12,080.00 |
| 3,000 copies | £9,095.00 | £12,758.00 | £16,421.00 |
