Typesetting Process
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1: File preparation
Please make your manuscript as complete and final as possible before submitting it. Have the text edited and proofread, and ask anyone who needs to review it to do so now. Corrections are easier to manage before typesetting begins.
2: Typesetting
We begin by preparing sample pages for your approval. We typeset professionally in Adobe InDesign. We build custom scripts to improve accuracy and efficiency. The video shows a script we developed for the complex layout of a chumash.
3: Proofs and final checks
You and your proofreader check the PDF proof and mark corrections in Adobe Acrobat Reader. Return the annotated PDF so we can apply the approved changes in InDesign. Please follow our PDF-markup instructions, including the guidance on spaces when inserting or deleting words.
Preparing the manuscript
Send the complete manuscript as one Word file. This helps keep all the material together and in the correct order. Typesetting begins once the manuscript is ready. Please discuss indexing and bibliography preparation with us in advance so we can agree on the timing.
Use paragraph styles consistently to identify headings and other recurring elements. This helps us understand the structure of your book and makes the handover to InDesign smoother. The video below explains how to use paragraph styles in Word.
For a book that includes images, please visit this linkfor instructions on how to prepare your text correctly.
Typesetting and proofs
Once you approve the sample, we typeset the full manuscript and send you a PDF proof. You and your proofreader can mark corrections directly on the PDF using the free Adobe Acrobat Reader.
Images, illustrations and preliminary pages, such as the title page, copyright page and preface, may be incorporated later. Please discuss these with us in advance so we can agree on the sequence of work.
Before marking corrections, read our PDF-markup instructions and watch the accompanying video. Accurate markup helps us apply your corrections efficiently.
We also recommend our guide to the proofreading process and proofreading checklist.
Proofreading and final checks
ProofRight technical review
When you tell us the book is complete and ready for balancing, we run our ProofRight technical review and send you an editable Word report. Review the proposed corrections, approve the changes you want and return your decisions. We apply the corrections you approve. You are charged only for corrections you approve, under the agreed correction terms.
The review provides an additional check for typos, inconsistencies and reference problems. It does not replace professional editing or proofreading. We can also review a Word manuscript before typesetting; please discuss this with us at the start.
Balancing and approval
If we are creating your index, you review the Word draft before balancing. Bibliography preparation can also be completed at this stage.
Once corrections are complete, we balance the pages to align the depth of facing pages. We then update the index’s final page references and run ProofRight again. If you prepare the index yourself, we run ProofRight once more after your index is incorporated. We prepare the print-ready PDF after the index, final checks and your approval are complete.
If you are working with an independent indexer, the balanced proof can now be sent to them. An index using entries marked in Word is generated for each draft.
Once the book is final, we can also prepare your Kindle edition, adapting notes, references, the index and bibliography for reading on screen.
If your proofreader finds an average of more than three mistakes per page across more than ten pages, please ask them to pause and contact us before continuing.
