How much does it cost to print a book in the UK?

There is no single figure, because every book is is bespoke. Quantity is the biggest lever: the same book costs far less per copy at 500 copies than at 50. The number of pages comes next, then format and page size, paper choice, binding and finishing. A 300-page perfect bound novel and a 48-page saddle stitched storybook are different projects entirely, which is why there is no published price list. Send us your specification and we will produce a no-obligation quotation.

What binding types are available?

Saddle stitched (FST) up to around 80 pages depending on paper weight, perfect bound (PUR) from 2mm to 50mm, wiro bound for pages that need to lie flat, and casebound hardbacks. All binding happens in our own bindery, and we will advise which suits your pages, stock and budget.

What quantities can you print?

Short runs and long runs. Digital on the HP Indigo 7900 is usually the economical choice up to around 500 copies; our Heidelberg litho presses take over above that. Tell us the quantity you have in mind and we will advise which route it should take, or price both.

Which paper stocks can I choose?

All the paper we use is FSC® certified and responsibly sourced. Coated stocks (silk or gloss) are the traditional choice for image-led books; uncoated stocks are a capable and popular choice for text and illustrated work. Recycled options are available in both.

Where can I get a book I've written printed?

Here, without a platform in the middle. Send us your print-ready file, or the working artwork, and tell us the format and quantity you have in mind. Our pre-press team will check it, you approve a proof, and your book is printed and bound in Exeter and delivered anywhere in the UK and worldwide.

How is my book delivered?

Our delivery is fast and tracked nationwide via DPD or pallet services for larger projects. Delivery is quoted as part of your order.

Book Printing Services Sustainably Printed and Bound in the UK

Name: Book Printing
Brand: Ashley House
Rating: 4.7 (41 reviews)

We print and bind books for publishers, businesses and authors across the UK, from our own print works in Exeter, Devon.

Paperbacks, hardbacks, children’s books and photo books, printed sheet-fed on the HP Indigo 7900 digital press or our Heidelberg litho presses, and finished in our dedicated in-house bindery.

Tell us about your book and we will advise on format, paper and binding before you commit to anything.

Book Formats

The Crackd recipe book cover, a yellow hardback with full colour food photography.

Alice the Palace Postwoman by Denise Beaumont, illustrated by Helen Wallace, a landscape hardback.

Evelyn Crosskey

“Professional, efficient, and helpful from the first enquiry. The team were very patient and supportive of someone new to publishing and absorbed changes without drama. The finished product is of a high quality and has fantastic ecological credentials. I can’t thank the team at Ashley House Printing enough!”

Book printing for publishers, businesses and authors

Whoever you are making a book for, the service works the same way: a real person looks at your brief, advises on the quantity, format, stock and binding that will suit it, and sees it through the press and the bindery. Most of the books we produce are bespoke, designed around the content rather than fitted to a template, and that is the point of coming to a specialist.

It is a different model from the instant-quote platforms. There is no configurator and nothing to upload before you have had a conversation. We offer expert book printing with advice built in: our pre-press studio checks your artwork, you approve a proof before anything is printed, and the finished books are bound in-house by the same team, under the same roof.

Three copies of The Busy Bumblebee by Jane McPherson overlapping, watercolour covers on textured stock.

A sustainable book printing company, family-run from Devon, since 1986

Ashley House is a book printing company in the full sense: the presses, the bindery and the people are in one building in Exeter, and has been family-run since 1986.

Pre-press, proofing, printing, binding, finishing and fulfilment all happen in-house, so one team is accountable for your book from file to delivery.

Our environmental credentials are part of the same story. We are a Carbon Balanced Printer through the World Land Trust, FSC® certified and ISO 14001 accredited, we run on 100% green energy, and carbon balanced paper has been our standard since 2014 at no extra cost to you.

If sustainability sits in your brief, our eco-friendly printing page carries the full detail.

Corner of a perfect bound book, cream text pages visible along the square fore-edge.

We’re FSC® Certified and ISO 14001 Accredited

Looking through Fern plants up into a forest canopy on a sunny day.

Hardback book printing

A hardback says the book is meant to be kept. We produce casebound hardbacks for art books, photography collections, cookery books and commemorative editions, with covers finished in-house: matt, gloss or soft touch lamination, spot UV varnish, foiling and embossing.

Lay-flat binding is available for photography and image-led work where a spread needs to open and lay completely flat.

We print hardback books on recycled and FSC® certified stocks too, in coated and uncoated finishes, with no change to how the edition looks or lasts.

Paperback book printing

Perfect bound (PUR) paperbacks are the working format for novels, memoirs, poetry and guides. Our bindery runs perfect binding from a 2mm to a 50mm spine, so the same format covers a slim volume of poetry and a long novel.

Standard page sizes such as A5, A4 and 210mm square keep the cost of a run down; bespoke sizes are there when the design calls for them.

Most paperbacks pair a heavier cover stock with lighter text pages. A self-cover book, the same stock throughout, suits shorter publications. Recycled and uncoated papers are popular choices here too, and every stock we hold is FSC® certified.

Perfect bound spine of Becoming the Forest, title printed along the square back edge.

Children’s book and board book printing

Picture books and storybooks rely on exceptional print reproduction, with every illustration faithfully matching the artist’s original colours from the first page to the last.

Children’s books run digitally on the HP Indigo, or litho for larger quantities, on coated or uncoated stocks to suit the artwork, saddle stitched for lower page counts or perfect bound for longer storybooks.

Board books are priced individually. High Emotions, the illustrated storybook below, shows the standard we work to.

Short runs make sense for authors and small publishers testing the market; larger orders bring the unit cost down when a title takes off.

Harry the Hippo by Nick Leader, illustrated by Sophie Jones, a landscape softback children's book.

An internal spread of perfect bound book 'High Emotions'

Printing your book: self-publishing and short runs

If you have written a book and want it printed properly, you do not need a platform in the middle. Send us a print-ready PDF, or working files from InDesign, Illustrator or Photoshop, and our pre-press team will check them before anything reaches the press. You approve a proof, we take it through press and bindery, and your artwork and copyright stay yours.

Short run digital printing on the HP Indigo 7900 keeps small quantities economical; digital is usually the right choice up to around 500 copies, and our litho presses take over beyond that. Our guide to self-publishing a book with Ashley House walks through the process step by step, and the case for printed books is worth a read if you are weighing printed books against digital-only.

Vanish the Cat by Martin Orrell and Susan Clare, a square casebound hardback with a white cover.

Printing and finishing for publishers

For publishers, the value is in the manufacturing. Our dedicated bindery and finishing department handles binding, laminating and specialist finishes.

Our in-house fulfilment department can store and distribute a title on your behalf. A repeat order is handled by the same team that produced the first run, so the quality is consistent, edition to edition.

A piece of advice we give every publisher at the design stage: books are made up in multiples of four pages, so a page count planned in fours avoids paying for blanks.

Close-up of the Cloth Monkey hinge, green endpaper joining the page block to the case.

Case bound book opened to show the sewn spine and premium print finish.

Specialist books we produce

Alongside trade and consumer titles, we regularly produce art books and portfolios, coffee-table and photo books for creative projects, cookery books, yearbooks, and workbooks and textbooks, wiro bound where pages need to lie flat in use. For booklets, catalogues and lookbooks, see our brochure printing instead; they are made differently and priced differently.

If you’re unsure which option is right for your project, give us a call on 01392 202320 and we will be happy to advise you.

Crackd recipe book opened at a recipe, full bleed food photography facing the method.

Why print your book with Ashley House?

Family-run since 1986
Short and Long Runs: HP Indigo digital and Heidelberg litho presses in-house.
Carbon Balanced Printer: through the World Land Trust.
DPD Tracked Delivery: Nationwide, quoted with your order.
High-quality: Vibrant and precise printing.
Excellent Customer Service

Eco Kamasutra, a square casebound hardback printed white and yellow on a green cover.

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The level of Ashley House’s eco-credentials paired with beautiful print is hard to come-by. The teams’ service, support, and attention to detail goes beyond that of all other printing companies we’ve worked with.

We want to say a big thank you to the Ashley House team for printing yet another fantastic set of brochures for us, they truly are beautiful and the print quality is superb!

Really great service from the Ashley House team! They print and deliver in good time and are brilliant at keeping us well informed. We would definitely recommend.

We just had our brochures delivered and they are lovely, a big thank you to the team for making such a lovely job of proofing and printing our AW Look Book. Flawless and friendly service as ever!

We can’t recommend Ashley House too highly – they have been our printers of choice for many years now. We love the fact that they take a huge pride in the quality of their print.

Absolutely thrilled with the cards, they are amazing! I will definitely be recommending your services to fellow illustrators and artists.

Thanks so much for the excellent service as always – all perfect. And the packaging, wow! So much care and attention.

We receive great service from the team at Ashley House. They offer advice and guidance on any project; they’re professional, friendly and always competitively priced.

We were very impressed with the quality, service and the great consideration they have of the environment with the inks and papers they use. We will definitely be recommending them to everyone!

Ashley House have been printing our marketing materials for a number of years and we are always extremely happy with the quality of the work. The final printed postcards are always delivered quickly and efficiently.

Thank you so much for your hard work, friendliness and beautifully eco-friendly print this year. It has been lovely working with you, as always.

We choose a printing company based on quality, attention to detail, service and great value. The team at Ashley House exceed our expectations every time.

I continue to be very impressed with Ashley House’s impeccable service and attention to detail. Ashley house are a trusted extension of our team here, I cannot recommend them highly enough.