Submit Your Own Design
DIY Design: Photoshop & Custom Layouts
Are you designing your own photobook? Whether you’re using Photoshop, Canva, Lightroom, InDesign, or other software, we’ve got you covered. Below, you’ll find the essential specifications, guidelines, and templates to ensure your book is printed exactly as you envisioned.
If you choose not to use the Studio22 Online Creator Software—our free, user-friendly tool for designing your book—you can submit your design using your preferred software, provided it adheres to our file submission guidelines.
Compatible Software
The following applications are examples of the popular alternatives:
- Photoshop, Canva, Lightroom, Illustrator or InDesign
File Submission Guidelines
Coffee Table Books:
(Espresso, Cappuccino and Latte)
✅ Submit as a single PDF with individual pages.
Page 01 starts on the Right
Page Size & Resolution:
📌 Each page must be set to the exact size at 300dpi.
Examples:
• Espresso A5 Landscape: 210x148mm at 300dpi
• Espresso A4 Landscape: 210x297mm at 300dpi
• Espresso A3 Landscape: 420x297mm at 300dpi
• Espresso 20×20: 200x200mm at 300dpi
• Espresso 30×30: 300x300mm at 300dpi
✅ Minimum 3mm bleed.
Please be mindful of your gutter. As pages increase in number, the book becomes thicker and the gutter will rely on wider margins to ensure the design elements are not hidden in the gutter.
#1 TIP: Consider your margins and avoid placing text too close to the edge of a page.
Premium Albums:
(Alpha and XW Albums)
✅ Submit as JPEGs
Page 01 starts on the Left
• Alpha Range: Spreads, using 01-02, 03-04, 05-06 for page numbers (always include the leading zero).
• XW Range: Individual pages using 01, 02, 03 for page numbers (always include the leading zero).
Page Size & Resolution:
📌 Each page must be set to the exact size at 300dpi.
Examples:
• Alpha 8×12: 8×24 inches at 300dpi
• XW30: 10×15 inches at 300dpi
✅ Do NOT add bleed to your pages—use our safe zone guidelines instead.
Please be mindful of your gutter. Although the gutter is very small in a lay flat album, you should avoid placing certain features in this fold.
#1 TIP: Although your margins will remain constant throughout all albums, consider this important space, and avoid placing text too close to the edge of a page.
IMPORTANT NOTICE: PRINT-READY FILES
Print-ready files submitted under the “Own Design” / “DIY Design” option are processed in the same manner as files created using our online software. These files are not individually inspected or reviewed by a designer before printing.
Once submitted, print-ready files are sent directly to our production workflow for imposition and printing. Only major errors, such as incorrect page sizes, may be detected at this stage. Studio22 assumes no responsibility for undetected errors, including but not limited to layout issues, image resolution, colour inconsistencies, or typographical errors.
If you are not 100% confident in your file setup, we strongly recommend using our File Inspection Service. This service ensures that your files meet our printing requirements and helps prevent potential printing issues.
By submitting print-ready files, you acknowledge and accept full responsibility for the accuracy and quality of the submitted artwork.
Cover & Page Safe Area Guidelines
✔ Covers: Design should extend past the guidelines to wrap around the edges.
Covers must be submitted separately in JPEG format.
✔ Pages: Avoid placing text or important details too close to the edges.
Templates & Helpful Resources
🎨 Download Photoshop templates for your chosen book size and format:
📌 Top Tip: Zoom in and review your file at 100% scale before submitting to catch any errors!
Additional Services & Fees
🚀 Need help? If your files don’t meet the guidelines, or if you are not 100% confident your submitted files will print as needed, our design team can assist. Please request this service, we are not able to inspect files for errors during imposing and printing.
💳 Design Fee: Standard hourly rate applies for file adjustments.
Have Questions?
📧 Feel free to contact us or give us a call. For advanced design and technical inquiries, please email us and allow a reasonable response time for thorough support.
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- Cover Guidelines – Bleed or “Safe Area”:
Our templates include guidelines which we treat in the same as a “safe area”. On covers, it is vital to over lap the guidelines to allow the design to wrap over the cover. See example below:
Page Guidelines – Bleed or “Safe Area”:
Guidelines on individual pages should not be treated as cut lines (Please do not change page sizes or add crop marks to the pages). Avoid placing small, detailed images or text close to the edge of the page or guideline. Our recommendation is to allow the image to overlap the page edge and guideline (see example 1 below), or stay within the guideline with ‘breathing space’ away from the page edge (see example 2 below).
Example 1.
Example 2.
Colour Correction:
If colour correction is required, we would need the files submitted prior to layout. We are not able to offer colour correction to pages that are already designed – once submitted, files are printed as “Print-Ready”, without any alternation.