How Long Does it Take to Print a Board Book?

Let’s estimate your turnaround time

As an offset overseas printer, a question our boardbookprinting.com team is often asked is “How long will it take to print my board book”?

Regardless of where you are in the board book journey, it’s never too early to calculate your turnaround time, as this will allow you to manage expectations with your customers, and build in a little breathing room.

The answer of “how long” depends on a number of factors. In this blog, we’ll walk you through the stages of printing and the typical time frames you can expect in the 4 key stages.

Pre-Press
Physical Bound Proofing
Production
Shipping

Let’s start with #1: Pre-Press (1 week)

You’ve signed off on your board book quote and are now ready to get your project rolling. Pre-press begins once we’ve received your print-ready artwork and a 50% deposit on your order.

Note: the time spent in pre-press really depends on the print-readiness of your artwork. Our board book printing specialists will review your files and answer your questions, but we are not book formatters. If you are not experienced in book formatting and preparing your board book files for print, we strongly recommend hiring a professional to save you time and improve the quality and sell-ability of your book.

Assuming your files are print-ready, pre-press takes about 1 week.

#2: Proofing (2 weeks)

All our quotes include one physical bound proof. A physical bound proof is digitally printed and intended to give you an idea of what your book will look like when printed. Note that the quality on our offset press will be even better than the physical proof.

Proofing is a critical stage. This is the time to check formatting and review your copy. Proofing gives us both peace of mind that your book is going to print beautifully. This is also the stage to make any last edits to your files before we send your book to press.

The time spent in Stage 2 Proofing really depends on you. We recommend you proof, proof again, then ask family and close friends to review. This typically takes 2 weeks.

#3 Production (3 weeks)

Once you approve your proof, we send your files to print. The production time is heavily dependent on size and features. Not all books are printed and assembled in the same way.

Generally speaking, a standard sized board book with up to 28 pages of 40pt or 60pt stock and gloss or matte finish will take 3 weeks to print.

Awesome add-ons like pop ups, mirror sheets, touch and feel sensory fabrics, etc. can add a little more time. Your quote will include a pretty accurate estimate or you can book a call with our printing experts for more detailed timing.

#4 Shipping (6-8 weeks by sea | 1-2 by air)

The quote you received from us includes the $ price/book, and includes all costs. This means we include the cost of a physical proof, shipping your product by sea, delivery to your door, taxes, duty and customs in your quote. Some printers quote delivery to port vs your door and don’t include logistics costs. We know how important an accurate costing is in determining your retail price. For this reason, we provide an all-in price so you won’t face any unpleasant surprise invoices that eat up your profit margin.

You can expect shipping by sea to take 6-8 weeks and air 1-2 weeks.

Need your board books faster? Shipping an entire order by air can be expensive so we offer split shipment! We can send a portion of your order by air and the rest by sea (for an extra fee).

Calculate YOUR turnaround time!

When you break your turnaround into these 4 stages; Pre-Press, Proofing, Production and Shipping it’s easier to get a sense of your project timeline.

Please remember, these are estimates only and don’t allow for extra breathing room, like issues with your files or unexpected delays for things like weather, global supply chain issues, machinery, port strikes, etc.

We strongly recommend you add a buffer in each of the four stages to avoid disappointment.

If you have any questions, or want help backward scheduling your board book project, book a call with us! Our printing team is happy to provide guidance.