How to Make a Stapled Booklet

Here at instantprint, we believe that everyone can make amazing print to show off their business. Whether you use Microsoft Office or Adobe there are tons of cool tools to help you create a stunning booklet design no matter your skill level. We’ve put together some handy instructions to help get you started.

How to Make a Stapled Booklet in Word

Microsoft Word is a great piece of software to use if you’re just getting started with design and, what’s more, plenty of people already have access to it. Follow these steps to create an eye-catching booklet for your business:

Setting up Your Stapled Booklet

The first thing you’ll need to do is set up your booklet template. To do this:

1. Go to Layout > Page Setup 
2. Increase all Margins by 3mm (or 0.118 inches) to account for the safety area
3. Go to Size and choose your paper size from the drop-down menu and add another 3mm (0.118 inches) for the bleed area

Top Tip: Keep all important text and images within your safety area so they don’t get trimmed off when printed.

Inserting Images

Once you’ve set your stapled booklet up, it’s time to add images. Try to use images with a resolution of 300dpi or more to get the best from your design. Here’s how to add images:

1. Go to Insert > Pictures 
2. Select the picture you want to include and click Insert
3. Resize and rotate the image by dragging the corners
4. If you want text to fit round your image, right click the picture, go to Wrap Text and select the option you want

Inserting Textboxes

If you want text to be positioned in specific areas, the easiest way to achieve this is by creating textboxes:

1. Go to Insert > Text Box and select the style of box you want
2. Move your text box by clicking and dragging it into place
3. Resize your text box by clicking and dragging corners

Once you’ve got your box where you want it, you can type in it like normal.

Inserting Borders

To add borders to your booklet:

1. Go to Design > Page Borders
2. Select the options you want in Setting, Style, Colour, Width and Art

Save Your Artwork

Save your artwork as normal, but then also save it as a PDF to embed text and images ready to send to us. To do this:
1.    Go to File > Save As
2.    Name your file and click the drop-down menu to select file type
3.    Select PDF and press Save

How to Make a Stapled Booklet in Publisher

Publisher is similar to Word, but it is design-specific, so it can be better for creating booklets.

To set up a booklet up in Publisher, follow these steps:

Setting up Your Own Booklet Design

To get a booklet layout:

1. Go to Page Design > Page Setup 
2. Set Paper Width and Paper Height to desired dimensions – include an extra 6mm on both as your ‘bleed’ area
3. Set Margins of at least 3mm and keep all images and text within them

Inserting Images

To get pictures on your Publisher booklet:

1. Go to Insert > Pictures
2. Select the image you want and click Insert
3. Position your image by clicking and moving it
4. Resize your image by dragging the corners
5. Right click the image and select Wrap Text if you want text to be positioned around your picture

Inserting and Placing Textboxes

To use text in Publisher you have to insert a textbox. To do this:

1. Go to Insert > Draw Textbox 
2. Use your mouse to draw textbox, shape and reposition it
3. Go to Format to change the colour and style of the box and your font

You get a lot more options to play with in Publisher compared to Word, like drop capitals, columns and text direction. Experiment a bit to find what’s right for you.

Creating Borders

You can use borders to draw attention to text boxes, or your whole booklet. To add them to textboxes:

1. Right-click the textbox and select Format Textbox
2. Choose a Line border for your box
3. Select Fill to give the box a colour

Inserting Extra Pages

To add pages to your booklet:

1. Go to Insert > Page > Insert Blank Page
2. Set up margins as above and then add your text and images

Saving Your Booklet

Save your booklet as normal, but then save a version as a PDF ready to send to us. To do this:

1. Go to Save As
2. Select PDF from the drop-down menu and press Save

How to Make a Booklet in InDesign

InDesign is a great tool if you are ready to step up your designing game, as it is a specialist piece of software. To get started designing a booklet, follow these steps:

Set up your Page Layout and View

1. Select File > New Document
2. Choose your size under Document Pre-Set details
3. Add 3mm to your Margins
4. Pick the number of pages you want – you can find the minimum and maximum number of pages we print on in the corresponding FAQ section on the product page
5. Tick Facing Pages then create your document

Inserting Pictures

1. Go to File > Place and pick the image you want – try to use images with resolution of 300dpi or more
2. Resize the image by dragging the corner handles (hold down Shift to keep constraint of the image)
3. Select the image and drag it to put it in position

Inserting Textboxes

1. Select Type in the Tools Panel (icon is a Letter T; shortcut key is T)
2. Click and hold where you want the text to appear and drag diagonally to create textbox
3. Type your text in the box and choose colours, fonts and sizes
4. Choose the Select tool to move and resize the box

Pro Tip:

With InDesign you can create a non-rectangular text box too:

1. Select the Frame tool then click and drag diagonally to create your shape. (Icon is a crossed-out rectangle; shortcut key is F.)
2. Choose the Type tool and click inside your shape to change it to a text frame
3. Position your frame using the Select tool 

Creating Borders Around Textboxes

To add a border to a textbox:

1. Click in the textbox 
2. Go to the Control Bar and tick the Border box
3. Hold the Option/Alt Key on your keyboard and click the Paragraph Border option on the control panel
4. In the Border tab of the box that has opened you can customise your border type, colour, corner size and shape

Top tip: Make sure the ‘Preview’ checkbox is ticked in the dialog box, so you can see the changes you’re making live in your paragraph.

Save Your Artwork

1. Before you save your artwork, untick the Facing Pages option in File > Document Setup
2. Go to File > Export
3. Select Adobe PDF as your file format
4. This will then trigger the Export PDF Window, where you can set the file up for print
5. Save your artwork as a PDF with the settings: PDF/X-1a:2001

If you’re unsure about what booklet type is best for you, contact our customer service team at office@instantprint.co.uk. Alternatively, you can get in touch with us on live chat or over the phone. 

For more help with setting your artwork up for print, contact your personal artworker on pa@instantprint.co.uk after placing a blank order without artwork.