best rpg print size?

[Moon-Lancer]

what is the standard print size of a wtc book? is it A4? Also do you like this size and is their a better size that you prefer?

I wasen't sure the right forum for a question like this.

 

[Mark Hope]

It's not A4, that much I am certain of - A4 is taller and narrower than the WotC books. I think that it's US letter standard (or something like that?)

I suppose that I would prefer it to be A4, but that's just because I live in the UK and it would be less hassle when it comes to printing. No other reason, really.

 

[thalmin]

As a retailer, I really prefer US Letter size, or whatever WotC uses. Shorter, pamphlet sized books get lost in the racks and are best displayed bookshelf style - spine out.

As a player, again letter size works fine. Any printouts I carry are on that sized paper, as is my character notebook or GM notebook.

 

[kenobi65]

The cover dimensions of a WotC hardcover book (I have Complete Champion in front of me)are 8 1/2" wide and 11 1/8" tall. This is slightly bigger than standard U.S. "letter size" paper (8 1/2" by 11").

 

[Moon-Lancer]

i measured and wtc books and they are not 8.5 and 11 (letter).

I also find that what i thought was a4, is actually 8.3 x 11.7

I also have found that the us may have used 8 x 10.5 a while ago

wotc seems to be (8 1/4 or 8 3/16) X (10 13/16) (player handbook 3.5)

if this is my first book, and i don't have a publisher yet, what is the best size to use? 8.5x11? at the moment this is what we are dzn'ing for, but i want to make sure now if their is a better size to use that other publishes would be willing to publish at, that we dzn the book using that size. I also want to take into account shelf space on books stores and other factors.

so whats your favorite publishing size? and why?

when I'm talking about size, I'm talking about the size of the pages, and not the covers. as if their is a size F up, its better that its the cover and not the content.

 

[Plane Sailing]

A4 is my preferred size. Why? Because I love maths:

The ISO paper sizes are based on the metric system. The square-root-of-two ratio does not permit both the height and width of the pages to be nicely rounded metric lengths. Therefore, the area of the pages has been defined to have round metric values. As paper is usually specified in g/m², this simplifies calculation of the mass of a document if the format and number of pages are known.

ISO 216 defines the A series of paper sizes based on these simple principles:

* The height divided by the width of all formats is the square root of two (1.4142).
* Format A0 has an area of one square meter.
* Format A1 is A0 cut into two equal pieces. In other words, the height of A1 is the width of A0 and the width of A1 is half the height of A0.
* All smaller A series formats are defined in the same way. If you cut format An parallel to its shorter side into two equal pieces of paper, these will have format A(n+1).
* The standardized height and width of the paper formats is a rounded number of millimeters.

Other interesting info here:

http://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/~mgk25/iso-paper.html

Cheers

 

[PapersAndPaychecks]

If you don't have a publisher, why are you concerned? Surely your publisher will want raw text and format it him/herself.

If you're writing it for self-publication, then 8.5" x 11" or A4 both work well.

 

[Moon-Lancer]

well i'm shooting for a mix. High end publisher (hopefully), with my own art and formating, so i need to know a good size. I think I'm going with 8.5x11, and not worry about it. I was just wondering if their was a better format.

 

[jmucchiello]

well i'm shooting for a mix. High end publisher (hopefully), with my own art and formating

A high end publisher really will not use your formatting. In fact, even small publishers will have their own set of standards and no matter what you give them, they will convert what you give them to their preferred format.

Really, spend this time making sure the writing and the mechanics are true. Page layout is not the writer's job and is certainly not his concern. You are going to lose sales over the writing. Not over choosing A4 instead of US Letter.

 

[thalmin]

In the US, most of the rpg hardcovers are the same size as the WotC books, for whatever reason. Distributors use boxes just the right size to ship such books. Books that are larger in either dimension still get shipped, but in larger boxes to fit other products as well. Books shipped in a proper box don't get damaged in shipping as much.
But again, I am noting what seems to be the standard in the US. ymmv