M&K Publishing Company

The Mothership

Printing specifications & production coordination

M&K Publishing is the company behind The Harbor. Years of manufacturing and production work help the village promise clear expectations.

This is where you learn what an accurate book manufacturing quote needs.

There is no instant quote and no invented price.

Manufacturing and freight depend on specifications, quantity, timing, destination, and the right production route.

The specifications that decide everything

Six answers turn a book into a manufacturable product.

If you do not know them yet, that is perfectly normal. We will work them out with you.

Trim size
The finished width and height of the book. It shapes page count, paper use, shipping cost and how the book feels in a hand.
Page count
The final number of pages after layout, including blanks. Most binding methods need the count to divide evenly, so this must be settled before a quote.
Binding
Perfect bound, saddle stitched, case bound or spiral. Each one suits a different page count, purpose and budget.
Paper
Weight, shade and finish for the interior, and the stock for the cover. Paper changes the look, the thickness and the shipping weight.
Color
Black and white, black plus one color, or full color throughout. Color pages are the single biggest influence on interior cost.
Finishes
Matte or gloss lamination, soft touch, foil, spot gloss, embossing, French flaps. Lovely, and each one needs its own specification.

Interior and cover supplied as separate print-ready PDFs.
Correct trim size with bleed and safety margins where artwork runs to the edge.
All fonts embedded, and images at print resolution rather than screen resolution.
Color set up for print, with black text built as true black.
Cover built to the spine width that your final page count and paper produce.
A final proof read and approved by you before anything is manufactured.

Not there yet? Print-ready file preparation, cover design and interior layout all live in The Story House.

What the product is, and who it is for.
Trim size and final or estimated page count.
Binding, paper and color preference, or a request for our recommendation.
Quantity, and any second quantity you would like compared.
Where it ships, in how many places, and by when.
Whether files are finished, in progress, or still to be made in the Story House.

Bring what you have. A quote gets more accurate as the specifications settle, and we will tell you plainly what is still missing.

Mothership guidance

Specifications
Settle trim, page count, binding, paper, color, quantity and finishes before manufacturing is priced.
Project estimate after specifications are reviewed
Production Strategy
Choose a responsible production route for the work, budget, timing and destinations.
Project estimate after specifications are reviewed
Technical Preparation
Prepare and check files against the final manufacturing requirements before proofs are ordered.
Project estimate after specifications are reviewed
Publishing & Distribution Guidance
Understand publishing accounts, identifiers, production handoffs and realistic ways the finished work can reach people.
Project estimate after specifications are reviewed

Create the book in The Story House. Prepare it for production aboard the Mothership. Move it into the world through Harbor Station.

M&K Publishing also prints outside the Harbor at getabookprinted.com.