Book Printing: What Is a Dummy?

estimated reading time: 6 minutes

What is a Book Dummy?

When planning to have a new book printed, it can be difficult to visualize how the finished book will look and feel based solely on a digital file. How thick will the book be? How will the pages feel in your hands? Will the cover weight be as substantial as you envisioned? Will the book open and handle the way you expected?

A Dummy can help answer these questions before your books go into production.

In book printing, a "dummy" is essentially a blank version of the book you plan to print. It is assembled and bound using blank paper to replicate the planned construction of the finished book.

Because the pages are blank, the purpose of a dummy is not to review the printed content. Instead, it allows you to evaluate the book's physical characteristics, such as the binding, the feel of the pages, the heft of the cover, the book's width and height, and its overall thickness.

A Book Dummy Is an Unprinted Physical Prototype

The goal of creating a book dummy is to closely represent the physical construction of your finished books. Although the pages and cover will contain no printed text or images, they are assembled and bound in the same manner as your actual books will be.

For example, if you are planning to print a 230-page 6" x 9" perfect bound book with 70# pages and a 12-point cover, a dummy can be made using the same page count, size, page thickness, cover stock, and binding method. This gives you an actual physical object that you can hold and examine.

What Features Can a Dummy Help you Evaluate?

Because a dummy is intended to replicate the physical construction of a book, it can help you evaluate several important characteristics before printing, including…

Overall Book Thickness

One of the most useful things a dummy can show you is the approximate thickness of the finished book.

Paper thickness varies considerably from one stock to another. Two papers with the same basis weight can have different calipers, and therefore produce books of different thicknesses.

A physical dummy makes it much easier to see how substantial the finished book will feel and how much space it will occupy on a shelf or in a box.

Book Size and Proportions

A dummy also lets you see the physical dimensions of the book.

A book that looks perfectly proportioned on a computer screen may feel different when you hold it in your hands. Creating a full-size dummy allows you to evaluate the relationship between the height, width, and thickness of the book.

This can be particularly helpful when deciding between different finished sizes.

Paper for the Interior Pages

A dummy can help you examine the paper selected for the book.

You can handle the paper, feel its thickness and stiffness, and see how the pages behave when the book is opened and the pages are turned. For books that will be written in, such as workbooks and study guides, this can be especially useful.

A dummy can also give you a better sense of how the selected paper contributes to the overall feel and weight of the book.

Cover Stock

The cover is another physical characteristic that is easier to evaluate with a dummy.

The dummy allows you to examine the cover to determine if it is substantial enough for the intended use of the book. Also, if the finished book will receive a laminate, the dummy can be laminated as well so you can better visualize the overall construction of the cover.

Binding

Perhaps most importantly, a dummy allows you to determine whether your selected binding is appropriate for how the book will be used.

Different binding methods give books very different characteristics. A perfect bound book, for example, has a different feel and opening behavior than saddle-stitched, spiral coil, or wire-o bound books.

Handling a physical dummy will help ensure you have made the proper binding choice.

A Dummy Is Not a Proof

One point that can sometimes cause confusion is the difference between a dummy and a proof copy.

A dummy is unprinted. Its purpose is to evaluate the physical construction of the book.

A proof copy, on the other hand, is printed. Its purpose is to evaluate the actual printed content before the full production run.

For example, a printed proof allows you to check things such as:

• Text and image placement
• Colors
• Cropping and bleeds
• Page sequence
• Typography
• Overall appearance of the printed pages

A dummy cannot show you how your artwork, photographs, or text will look because the pages are blank.

If you want to evaluate the physical characteristics of a book, a dummy is useful. If you want to evaluate the printed content, you'll need a proof. Most printing proofs are provided as a PDF, but you can also request a hard proof if you believe it to be necessary for your project.

What Is a Hard Proof?

A hard proof is a physical printed sample produced from the actual artwork files for your book.

Unlike a dummy, a hard proof contains the text, images, graphics, and other elements that will appear in the finished book. It gives you an opportunity to review the printed pages before approving the entire production run.

A hard proof can be particularly valuable for books with important color reproduction, detailed graphics, photographs, or other elements that need to be evaluated in physical form.

When reviewing a proof, you might look closely at things such as:

• Text and typography
• Images and graphics
• Colors
• Page layout
• Page order
• Margins and other design elements

It is important to understand, however, that a hard proof and a production book may not always be produced using exactly the same equipment or process. For example, it is cost prohibitive to produce a one-off proof on an offset printing press, so the proof is usually created on a digital press. Consequently, a hard proof should be viewed as a representation of the final printed piece rather than an absolute guarantee that every aspect of the proof and the actual production run will be identical.

When Should You Consider a Dummy?

A dummy can be particularly helpful when you are producing a book for the first time or when you are uncertain about its physical construction.

For example, you may want to request a dummy if you are deciding between different paper stocks, finished sizes, cover weights, or binding methods. It can also be useful when the book's final thickness is important to you.

A dummy is generally less important when you already have experience with the same type of book and are comfortable with the physical characteristics of the paper and binding you have selected.

Your printer can also help you determine whether or not a dummy would be useful for your particular project.

Bottom Line: A Dummy Helps You Make Decisions about your Book's "Physicality"

A dummy is a practical tool for evaluating the physical characteristics and construction of a book before going to print.

Its greatest advantage is turning something you have been imagining into something you can actually hold and feel.

A dummy does not replace a printed proof, because the two serve different purposes. A dummy helps you evaluate the physical book, while a hard proof allows you to evaluate the printed book.

Ready to Print your Book?

As a full-service commercial printer, Color Vision has been producing affordable, high-quality books for over four decades. So if you have questions about the best way to produce your book, we're always happy to help.

Call us at 800-543-6299 to discuss your project with one of our book printing specialists, or request a quote through our online Quote Form to get the process started.

Whether you're planning to print 50 books or 5000, we can help you determine the most practical and cost-effective approach for your project.