Magazine & Journal Printing

Issue after issue — the same colour, on the same date. That is the whole craft.

Finished Size
Number of Pages
Binding Style
- Saddle Stitch ( Centre Pin )
- Perfect Binding
- Case Binding ( Hardcover )
- Not sure — please advise
Cover Paper
Inner Paper
Cover Finish
Quantity Required
File status
- I have a ready file ( PDF, AI, CDR, 300 DPI JPG / TIFF )
- My file needs checking or small fixes
- I need ColorAura to design it

Get your price

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No payment. No sign-up. Delivery is quoted separately — it depends on your city and the weight of the job.

Terms and Conditions
FREE delivery

Magazine & journal printing for publishers, institutions and brands — issue after issue with the same colour, the same schedule, dispatched across India. Configure your spec above and get a guaranteed quote within 10 working hours.

Print type

4-colour offset and digital

Sizes

A4, A5, A6, 210 sq, 148 sq, custom

Pages

8 to 128 (multiple of 4)

Binding

Saddle stitch, perfect, case, wiro

Cover paper

Art card 250–350 gsm, textured, kraft

Inner paper

Maplitho 100, art 130–200, textured 130–210

Cover finish

Matt, gloss, soft-touch, spot UV, foil, emboss

Minimum order

100 pieces

Dispatch

3–5 working days from proof approval

GST

12%, HSN 4901

How this works

Four steps, no account needed

Step 1

Send the specification

Use the form above, or send it on WhatsApp. Not sure about binding, paper or page count? Say so — advising on that is part of the job.

Step 2

Get an exact price

We quote your exact specification: paper, printing, finishing, binding, packing and freight, itemised. Not a range.

Step 3

Approve the digital proof

Send artwork; we check it, flag anything wrong, and send a proof showing trim, bleed and page order. Nothing prints until you approve.

Step 4

Printed and delivered

3–5 working days from approval, with a GST invoice and an e-way bill.

Specification

Everything about this product

Sizes

Size	Trim size	Inches	Typically used for
A4	210 × 297 mm	8.3 × 11.7 in	Company profiles, product magazines, annual reports
A5	148 × 210 mm	5.8 × 8.3 in	Pocket magazines, price lists, event journals
A6	105 × 148 mm	4.1 × 5.8 in	Mini magazines, instruction journals, inserts
Square	210 × 210 mm	8.3 × 8.3 in	Look books, photography, interiors and lifestyle brands
Square	148 × 148 mm	5.8 × 5.8 in	Compact look books, menu journals, gift inserts
Custom	Up to 340 × 480 mm	—	Any trim size within our press sheet — quoted the same way

Pages and binding

Binding	Page range	Minimum quantity	Printed spine
Saddle stitch (centre pin)	8 – 48 pages	100	No
Perfect binding (glued)	48 – 300 pages	250	Yes
Case binding (hardcover)	64 – 400 pages	100	Yes
Wiro / spiral	20 – 200 pages	50	No

Page count is always a multiple of 4, cover included — one folded sheet carries four pages. 8 to 128 pages can be specified on this page; above 128, choose “More than 128 — tell us”.

Printing method by quantity

Quantity	Press	Why
100 – 250	Ricoh digital production	No plate cost. Short runs are cheaper and faster this way.
250 – 500	Digital or offset	Whichever is cheaper at your page count and paper. We tell you which we used.
500 and above	Heidelberg sheet-fed offset	Lower cost per copy, better ink density, accurate spot colour.

Cover paper

Stock	GSM	Finish
Art card	250 / 300 / 350	Coated, smooth
Fine textured	250 / 300	Felt or laid surface, uncoated
Kraft (khaki)	300	Natural brown, visible fibre
Same as inner pages	—	Self cover — no separate cover stock

Inner paper

Stock	GSM	Finish
Maplitho / uncoated	100	Natural, matt, writable
Art paper	130 / 170 / 200	Coated, smooth
Fine textured	130 / 170 / 210	Felt or laid surface, uncoated

Cover finishes

Finish	Adds to turnaround	Notes
Matt lamination	—	The default. Reduces scuffing, mutes colour slightly.
Gloss lamination	—	Lifts colour saturation. Shows fingerprints on dark covers.
Soft-touch / velvet	+1 working day	Suede feel. Marks more easily than matt — best on lighter covers.
Matt lamination + spot UV	+2 working days	Gloss varnish on selected areas only. Needs a separate 100% K mask file.
Foiling	+2 working days	Metallic or pigment foil. Needs a die. Supply artwork as 100% K vector.
Embossing	+2 working days	Raised impression. Needs a die. Minimum stroke 0.5 mm.
No finish	—	Uncoated covers scuff. Only advisable on textured and kraft stock.

Note. Top-bound (calendar-style) journals, gatefold covers, French folds, die-cut covers, tabbed dividers and belly bands are all possible but are not on this form — choose “Custom size — tell us” and describe it, or send the spec on WhatsApp.

Inner stocks

Stock	Caliper	Feel	Best for
Maplitho / uncoated 100 gsm	125 µm	Natural, matt, uncoated. Takes a pen.	Text-led journals, manuals, editorial. Photos read quieter.
Art paper 130 gsm	104 µm	Light, smooth, slight sheen.	Inner pages of 64+ page magazines where weight and postage matter.
Art paper 170 gsm	136 µm	Substantial without being stiff. The default premium inner.	Most product magazines and company profiles. Our recommendation.
Art paper 200 gsm	160 µm	Stiff, close to card.	Short high-value magazines and look books, 16–24 pages.
Fine textured 130 gsm	169 µm	Felt surface, uncoated, bulky for its weight.	Brand books, invitations, architecture and interiors.
Fine textured 170 gsm	221 µm	Noticeably thick and tactile.	Premium brand books. Not for fine photographic detail.
Fine textured 210 gsm	273 µm	Card-like. Very few pages feel like many.	Short-run presentation journals, 8–24 pages.

Cover stocks

Stock	Caliper	Feel	Best for
Art card 250 gsm	200 µm	Coated, smooth	Saddle stitch up to 32 pages
Art card 300 gsm	240 µm	Coated, smooth	The standard cover. Saddle stitch and perfect binding.
Art card 350 gsm	280 µm	Coated, stiff	Perfect binding, heavier books, covers that must not curl
Fine textured 250 / 300 gsm	325 / 390 µm	Felt or laid, uncoated	Brand books. Foiling and embossing sit beautifully on this.
Kraft 300 gsm (khaki)	240 µm	Natural brown, visible fibre	Craft, food, sustainable and artisan brands

GSM is weight, not thickness. A 170 gsm textured sheet is 221 microns thick; a 170 gsm art paper is 136 microns. Same weight, 60% more bulk. This is why textured stocks make a book feel much thicker at the same page count — and why they change your spine width. Calipers above are typical values; actual caliper varies by mill and batch.

Sample kit. A folded set of every stock above, printed with the same image on each so you can compare like with like. Free within Gujarat, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh. Ask for it on WhatsApp.

Binding	Pages	Opens flat	Printed spine	Use it for
Saddle stitchWire stitched through the fold	8 – 48	Yes	No	Company profiles, event journals, short magazines, price lists
Perfect bindingSpine milled and glued	48 – 300	No	Yes	Product magazines, brand books, magazines, annual reports
Section sewnSignatures thread-sewn, then glued	64 – 400	Yes	Yes	Photography books, coffee-table magazines, images across the gutter
Case bindingHardcover over a sewn or glued block	64 – 400	Partly	Yes	Brand books, anniversary volumes, presentation pieces
Wiro / spiralPunched and wire-bound	20 – 200	Fully	No	Manuals, workbooks, sample folders

Spine width chart

Perfect binding needs a spine wide enough to take glue. Under 3 mm it will not hold and the book must be saddle stitched instead. All values in millimetres, and they include a 300 gsm art card cover.

Total pages	Maplitho 100	Art 130	Art 170	Art 200	Textured 170
48	3.2	2.8	3.5	4.0	5.3
56	3.7	3.2	4.0	4.6	6.2
64	4.2	3.6	4.6	5.3	7.1
72	4.7	4.0	5.1	5.9	8.0
80	5.2	4.4	5.6	6.6	8.9
96	6.2	5.3	6.7	7.8	10.6
112	7.2	6.1	7.8	9.1	12.4
128	8.2	6.9	8.9	10.4	14.2

How to read it. Find your total page count in the first column, then your inner stock. That number is your spine width. Total cover width = (2 × trim width) + spine. These are calculated values — we confirm the exact spine in writing once paper is fixed, before you finalise cover artwork. On perfect-bound and case-bound jobs keep content 8 mm clear of the gutter; a glued spine swallows the inner edge.

Setting	Value
Bleed	3 mm on all four sides
Safe area	5 mm inside the trim line
Gutter margin	8 mm on perfect binding and case binding
Image resolution	300 DPI at placed size, not native size
Line art and logos	Vector, or 1200 DPI
Colour mode	CMYK. Convert from RGB before sending.
Maximum total ink	300%
Rich black for large areas	C40 M30 Y30 K100
Body text black	100% K only — never a four-colour build
Minimum rule weight	0.25 pt
Minimum reverse type	7 pt, out of a single colour
Page order	Single pages in reading order, 1 to n. Not printer spreads.
Page count	A multiple of 4, cover included
Preferred format	PDF/X-1a. PDF/X-4 if you need live transparency.
Also accepted	Packaged AI and INDD, CDR, 300 DPI TIFF or JPG at final size
Fonts	Embedded or converted to outlines
Maximum upload	100 MB per file on WhatsApp or email. Larger: send a Drive or WeTransfer link.

Cover files

Send the cover as a separate file from the inner pages.

Binding	Cover supplied as
Saddle stitch	Four single pages: front cover, inside front, inside back, back cover
Perfect / case binding	One flat spread — back cover + spine + front cover as a single page, 3 mm bleed all round
Spot UV, foil or emboss	One extra page at the same size, artwork in 100% K vector on white, clearly named

Proofing

Proof type	Cost	Time	What it shows
Digital proof	Free	Same working day, usually	Content, imposition, trim, bleed, page order. Not exact colour — no screen can show that.
Physical press proof	Chargeable	+2 working days	Actual colour on the actual stock. Worth it on a launch magazine or a critical brand colour.

What we check before printing. Missing bleed, images below 300 DPI at placed size, RGB or stray spot colours, unoutlined fonts, spreads supplied where single pages were needed, page count not a multiple of 4, content inside the gutter on perfect binding, total ink over 300%. We fix what is safely fixable at no charge and tell you exactly what we changed. Anything that needs a decision, we ask. Nothing goes to plate until you approve the proof in writing.

Set your document to the “with bleed” size and keep everything important inside the safe area. All values in millimetres.

Size	Trim	Document with bleed	Safe area	Perfect-bound cover spread
A4	210 × 297	216 × 303	200 × 287	426 + spine × 303
A5	148 × 210	154 × 216	138 × 200	302 + spine × 216
A6	105 × 148	111 × 154	95 × 138	216 + spine × 154
Square 210	210 × 210	216 × 216	200 × 200	426 + spine × 216
Square 148	148 × 148	154 × 154	138 × 138	302 + spine × 154

Reading the cover spread column. Take the figure shown and add your spine width from the Binding & Spine tab. A 96-page A4 magazine on 170 gsm art paper has a 6.7 mm spine, so the cover document is 426 + 6.7 = 432.7 × 303 mm, built as one flat spread: back cover, spine, front cover, left to right.

Ready-made templates

Layered templates in AI, INDD, PSD and PDF — with trim, bleed, safe area and spine on separate locked layers — are available for every size and binding above. Ask for the size and binding you need on WhatsApp and we send them the same working day. A downloadable template library is being published shortly.

Turnaround

Stage	Time
Price against your specification	Stated when we reply
Digital proof after artwork received	Same working day, usually
Printing and finishing	3 – 5 working days from proof approval
Add for soft-touch lamination	+1 working day
Add for spot UV, foiling, embossing or case binding	+2 working days
Delivery	1 – 3 days across Gujarat, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and MP by road; rest of India by courier or transport

The 3–5 day clock starts at proof approval, not at order. If a proof sits unapproved for three days, the job moves three days.

Delivery coverage

Region	Cities we deliver to regularly
Gujarat	Surat, Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Rajkot, Bharuch, Anand, Gandhinagar, Jamnagar, Navsari, Valsad
Maharashtra	Mumbai, Pune, Nashik, Nagpur, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Thane
Rajasthan	Jaipur, Udaipur, Jodhpur, Kota, Ajmer
Madhya Pradesh	Indore, Bhopal, Ujjain, Gwalior, Jabalpur
Rest of India	Delivered by courier or transport, quoted per job

Delivery is quoted separately because it varies by city and by weight — a 5,000-copy magazine and a 250-copy journal do not cost the same to move. Freight is stated on the quote before you approve it, never added afterwards.

Tax and documents

Item	Detail
GST	12%, HSN 4901. Quotes are stated before tax.
Invoice	GST invoice against your GSTIN — fully claimable as input credit
Dispatch	E-way bill issued with every consignment
Payment	Bank transfer, UPI or cheque. Terms confirmed on the quote.

Questions

Magazine and journal printing, answered

What is the minimum order?

100 pieces. Below 500 copies the job runs on our Ricoh digital production press — no plate cost, so short runs make sense. From 500 upward we move to Heidelberg offset, which is cheaper per copy and gives better ink density at that volume. You do not need to choose; we select the press and tell you which one we used.

Why must the page count be a multiple of 4?

A journal is printed on folded sheets, and one folded sheet carries four pages — two on each side. There is no way to produce 18 pages; you would have a loose half-sheet. If your content runs to 18 pages, expand to 20 or trim to 16.

Saddle stitch or perfect binding?

Page count decides it more than taste. Under 48 pages saddle stitch is stronger, opens flat and costs less. From roughly 48 pages the fold is too thick to stitch cleanly and perfect binding takes over, which also gives you a printable spine. Between 40 and 56 pages either can work and the paper decides — check the spine width chart in the Binding & Spine tab. Under 3 mm, perfect binding will not hold.

How long will it take?

3–5 working days from proof approval, plus 1–2 days for soft-touch lamination, spot UV, foiling, embossing or case binding, plus delivery. The clock starts at your approval, not at your order.

Will I see a proof before you print?

Always, and the digital proof is free. It shows content, imposition, trim, bleed and page order, and nothing goes to plate until you approve it in writing. A digital proof does not show exact colour — no screen does. If colour is critical, ask for a physical press proof on the actual stock; that is chargeable and adds two days.

Can you match our exact brand colour?

Yes, if you give us the Pantone reference — we match on the sheet under standard viewing light. Where a colour sits outside the CMYK gamut, which is true of most strong oranges, some deep blues and every metallic, four-colour process cannot reach it. We say so and print it as a fifth spot colour instead. That adds a plate and a pass, which we quote separately rather than approximating quietly.

What if my file has problems?

We check every file before it runs and fix what is safely fixable at no charge — missing bleed, RGB images, unoutlined fonts, spreads supplied instead of single pages. We tell you exactly what we changed. Anything needing a decision, we ask first.

Do you print for customers outside Gujarat?

Yes. We print in Surat and deliver across India. Gujarat, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh go by road in 1–3 days; the rest of India by courier or transport, quoted per job. Specification, proof, approval and dispatch all run on WhatsApp and email, so you never need to be in Surat.

Why is there no price on this page?

Because a magazine price depends on size, page count, two different papers, binding, finishing and quantity together, and those interact — doubling the pages does not double the cost, and a 300 gsm cover behaves differently on perfect binding than on saddle stitch. A single printed number would be wrong for most real briefs. Send the specification and you get the real number, itemised.

Can I get paper samples before deciding?

Yes. The sample kit is a folded set of every stock listed in the Paper & GSM tab, printed with the same image on each so you can compare like with like. Free within Gujarat, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh. Designers specifying for a client: we can send it to the client with your details on it.

Send us the specification. We will send the exact price.

Use the form at the top of this page, or send it on WhatsApp. If you are not sure about binding, paper or page count, say so — advising on that is the job, not an extra.

Specifications

Finished Size	A4 — 210 × 297 mm, A5 — 148 × 210 mm, A6 — 105 × 148 mm, Square — 210 × 210 mm, Square — 148 × 148 mm, Custom size — tell us
Number of Pages	8 Pages, 12 Pages, 16 Pages, 20 Pages, 24 Pages, 28 Pages, 32 Pages, 36 Pages, 40 Pages, 44 Pages, 48 Pages, 64 Pages, 80 Pages, 96 Pages, 128 Pages, More than 128 — tell us
Binding Style	Saddle Stitch ( Centre Pin ), Perfect Binding, Case Binding ( Hardcover ), Not sure — please advise
Cover Paper	Art Card 250 GSM, Art Card 300 GSM, Art Card 350 GSM, Fine Textured 250 GSM, Fine Textured 300 GSM, Kraft 300 GSM ( Khaki ), Same as inner pages, Not sure — please advise
Inner Paper	Maplitho / Uncoated 100 GSM, Art Paper 130 GSM, Art Paper 170 GSM, Art Paper 200 GSM, Fine Textured 130 GSM, Fine Textured 170 GSM, Fine Textured 210 GSM, Not sure — please advise
Cover Finish	Matt Lamination, Gloss Lamination, Soft-touch / Velvet, Matt Lamination + Spot UV, Foiling, Embossing, No finish
Quantity Required	100, 250, 500, 1000, 2500, 5000, Other quantity — tell us
File status	I have a ready file ( PDF, AI, CDR, 300 DPI JPG / TIFF ), My file needs checking or small fixes, I need ColorAura to design it

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Magazine & Journal Printing

Four steps, no account needed

Send the specification

Get an exact price

Approve the digital proof

Printed and delivered

Everything about this product

Magazine and journal printing, answered

Send us the specification. We will send the exact price.

Specifications

Alternative Products

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