If you prefer to create your own page layout, we have listed a variety of the most common software. We have rated each type of software according to its performance.

If you are interested in purchasing inexpensive software to write your children's book, we would suggest trying ebay.

Page Layout

Fonts
Choosing font styles for your book is very important for both the appearance and for transferring files for printing. Children's books are commonly set in a slab serif font, because of their clean straight lines.  Some common Slab serif fonts are New Century Schoolbook, Classic SSK, and Clarendon.  

It is important to ensure that all fonts being used are resident in your Windows font folder. This includes both bold and italicized versions of each font if they appear on your pages. Simply using the bold or italicize commands on the toolbar may not necessarily ensure the font is available. For example, Microsoft Word will manufacture its own version of a font if it is not already installed on your computer. If this is done, the bold font will appear to be two images side by side when printed on a high quality digital press. The italicized versions may not print at all.

Copyright Page 
Copyright, ISBN, CIP, and publisher's name can be placed on the page directly after the title page. This page is commonly known as the copyright page. If you have decided to produce your own page layout, we will check to make sure all the necessary information is included on this page. For more information on copyright / ISBN and CIP click here. 

Scanning
In order for illustrations to be added to your book, they must first be scanned. There are many brands of scanners available on the market. Even the most inexpensive scanner will be able to produce the high quality images needed for printing. Properly setting your resolution will determine whether your images will be blurry, or print quality. Print resolution is measured in dots per inch (DPI). The more dots used to make up the image, the higher the quality of the image.

For best results, illustrations should be scanned at high resolution (300 DPI) in either the TIFF or JPEG file format. If you are planning to enlarge the size of your illustration to be printed, it would be advisable to scan your illustrations at 600 DPI. Some scanners automatically default to 72 DPI between uses so be careful. Illustrations scanned at 72 DPI would not be considered acceptable for printing. Higher resolution is not necessarily better. A resolution over 600 DPI will only increase your file size (sometimes dramatically) and cause your computer to run more slowly. 

Cover Design

As with all books, we will provide a professional cover design at no additional cost. Our designers invite your input in the process and will work closely with you to create an outstanding design for your children's book. For complete information on our cover design process, click here.

Sending a File

Files which exceed 5 megabytes in size could either be burned onto a CD (or placed on a USB drive) and sent by regular mail, or sent through our FTP site. Our FTP site is an excellent way to send large files quickly and easily.