Printing Your Book in Color đ
Weâre back from the Writer MBA conference, where we had a great time meeting authors, showing off some of the beautiful books created with Vellum, and answering questions about how they were made.
One question we answered a few times was: how do you print in color?
Whether itâs for a special edition or a memoir full of photographs, printing in color can make a big difference to the impact of your book. Want to learn how to do it? Keep reading!
Settings in Vellum
By default, Vellum will convert the images in your print edition to black and white. To change this, open Print Settings, find the Images section, and choose Include Images in Color. Any color images youâve added will remain in color in your PDF.
Printer Settings
Youâll also need to enable color at the service that prints your book. At Amazon KDP, you can do this in Print Options, where youâll choose between Standard and Premium color options.
Though Premium is higher quality, Standard printing is âideal for books with a high page count,â and will be more cost-effective for a novel-length book.
The Cost of Color
Printing in color will almost always be more expensive than printing in black and white. At KDP, for example, printing costs for a 6 Ă 9, 300-page book can look like this:
| Black & White | $4.60 |
| Standard Color | $9.10 |
| Premium Color | $20.50 |
Note that these costs are based on the total number of pages in your book: it doesnât matter how many of them are in color. Thatâs because, at most print-on-demand providers, color is an all-or-nothing proposition.
If your book only has a few key pages in color, you may want to try Bookvault, which charges by the color page. (And while youâre there, be sure to look into their incredible Bespoke options!)
Whichever service you choose, youâll want to keep in mind these increased costs when you consider pricing for your book.
We hope this information helps! When youâve published something in color that you want to share, let us know!