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A5 book printing

A5 (148 × 210 mm) is the usual size for novels, poetry and notebooks. We print it as a paperback, hardcover, spiral book or layflat, from one copy.

See sizes and prices
01
From one copy
02
Paperback, hardcover, spiral, layflat
03
File check before you pay
A5A5A5148 mm210 mmA phone, for size
Drawn to scale

Every size and price

Prices for one piece, including VAT. Books with the fewest pages; more pages cost a little extra per page.

A5 books you can print

Paperback book
Paperback book

Novels and poetry with a soft cover, up to 200 pages.

Your design, 5 sizes
From €14.99
Hardcover book
Hardcover book

A hard cover, up to 400 pages, for longer books.

Your design, 7 sizes
From €18.99
Spiral-bound book
Spiral-bound book

Notebooks, journals and planners that lie flat.

Your design, 4 sizes
From €7.99
Lay-flat photo book
Lay-flat photo book

Small photo or sketch books with spreads that open flat.

Your design, 5 sizes
From €24.99

A5 compared to other book sizes

Writing guides and self-publishing platforms often use trade sizes. We print A5.

  • A5

    Millimetres
    148 × 210
    Compared to A5
    -

  • UK B-format paperback

    Millimetres
    129 × 198
    Compared to A5
    2 cm narrower, 1 cm shorter

  • European trade paperback

    Millimetres
    135 × 215
    Compared to A5
    1.3 cm narrower, 5 mm taller

  • US digest, 5.5 × 8.5 in

    Millimetres
    140 × 216
    Compared to A5
    8 mm narrower, 6 mm taller

  • US trade, 6 × 9 in

    Millimetres
    152 × 229
    Compared to A5
    4 mm wider, 19 mm taller

A5 is a little wider for its height than any of these. A PDF made for one of them loses 5 to 10% at the top and bottom (we warn you above 2%). Set the page size in your document to A5 and let the text reflow.

Font size and margins for A5

Starting points for most books. The inner margin, at the spine, is a few millimetres wider because a glued book doesn't open fully.

  • Novel, memoir

    Font size
    10.5-11.5 pt serif
    Line spacing
    13-15 pt
    Margins (inner, outer, top, bottom)
    20, 15, 15, 20 mm

  • Poetry

    Font size
    11-12 pt
    Line spacing
    15-16 pt
    Margins (inner, outer, top, bottom)
    22, 18, 20, 25 mm

  • Non-fiction, thesis

    Font size
    10-11 pt
    Line spacing
    13-14 pt
    Margins (inner, outer, top, bottom)
    20, 15, 18, 20 mm

  • Notebook, planner (spiral)

    Font size
    8-10 pt for labels
    Line spacing
    line every 6-8 mm
    Margins (inner, outer, top, bottom)
    20 mm at the wire

Serif fonts like Garamond or Georgia read well at these sizes. Sans-serif fonts look bigger, so go half a point smaller.

Page count and spine

250-350 words per page

At 11 pt with these margins, a 60,000-word novel comes to 170 to 240 pages. A paperback takes up to 200 pages, a hardcover up to 400.

Count the extra pages

Title page, copyright page, contents and blank pages add 6 to 10 pages. Poems usually get a page each, so 50 poems make 80 to 100 pages.

Spine width

An A5 paperback has a spine of about 12 mm at 100 pages and 19 mm at 200. The product page gives the exact cover size, so finish the inside first.

A5 book prices by page count

One copy, A5 portrait, with the least expensive cover and paper.

Per copy, incl. VAT, without shipping. The two bindings compared: paperback or hardcover.

Setting up an A5 PDF

  1. 1

    Page size 148 × 210 mm

    Start in A5 rather than shrinking an A4 document later. In Word that's Layout > Size > A5, with mirrored margins. The Word guide has every setting.

  2. 2

    3 mm bleed for images to the edge

    The page in your PDF is then 154 × 216 mm. Pages with only text don't need bleed.

  3. 3

    Photos at 300 dpi

    A full-page photo with bleed needs 1819 × 2551 pixels. The minimum, 150 dpi, is 909 × 1276.

  4. 4

    The cover as one spread

    Back, spine and front side by side in a separate file, at the size the product page gives for your page count. More in how to make a print-ready PDF.

Common mistakes in A5 books

  • An A4 document scaled down to A5, which turns 12 pt text into about 8.5 pt.
  • An inner margin so narrow that words disappear into the spine.
  • Page numbers closer than 10 mm to the edge. After trimming they look cut off.
  • A chapter that starts on a left-hand page because a blank page is missing.
  • Body text in grey or a mixed colour instead of black.

How it works

  1. Upload your file

    Choose a product, a size and options, and add your PDF or photo. We check it right away and show you a preview, before you pay.

  2. We print it

    We print your order in the Netherlands on the paper or material you chose, from a single piece. No minimum order, no account needed.

  3. We bring it to your door

    We ship it to every country of the EU, with tracking. The checkout shows the delivery date for your address.

Questions

What size is A5 in centimetres?
14.8 × 21 cm (148 × 210 mm), half of A4. With 3 mm bleed on each side, a page in your PDF is 154 × 216 mm.
Is A5 the same size as a paperback novel?
Close. Many European novels are 135 × 215 mm and a UK paperback is 129 × 198 mm, so A5 is slightly wider.
Can I turn my A4 Word document into an A5 book?
Yes. Change the page size to A5 in Word and let the text reflow. Scaling the PDF instead shrinks 12 pt text to about 8.5 pt.
When will my A5 book arrive?
The checkout shows the expected delivery date for your address before you pay.
How much does it cost to print an A5 book?
A 100-page A5 paperback costs from €41.59. You see the price of your book as soon as you upload.

More ideas and guides

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