From the front cover to the very last page, yearbooks are designed to be treasured — a time capsule that students can look back on fondly and enjoy year after year. If you're thinking of getting a custom yearbook printed, here are several design tips to help you make it outstanding (even if you're not a graphics genius).
Choose the right printing method
The first choice you make in designing a yearbook has nothing to do (directly) with design at all, but rather the printing method. Depending on the scope of your yearbook project, you may want to choose either digital printing or offset printing. Which is best? It depends on your specific needs:
- Choose digital if you want smaller batches. Digital printing is best if you want to add a personalized touch to your yearbook. You can customize spreads and nameplates and all it takes is a PDF upload.
- Offset printing shines when it comes to big print runs. With an unmatched per-copy cost and premium materials, this is what you'll want if you're printing more than 500 yearbooks.
Deciding on the right trim size and layout
Many yearbooks are 8.5 x 11”, which is the perfect combination of photo quality and easy readability. At OnPress Book Printing, we offer design templates for Microsoft Word, Adobe InDesign, and more, covering margins and bleeds, so even if you're not a graphics wizard, you can still lay out a yearbook like a pro. Bleeds help prevent unwanted white gaps at the edges of your images after trimming, and safe margins keep your text from being cut off.
Cohesive color management
When it comes to capturing high school or club memories, sharp, vivid colors are a must. To keep colors crisp and bold page after page, OnPress uses G7-certified printing. This means that our printers are certified to the highest standard of color consistency across spreads and lots, ensuring that whether it's the first yearbook or the 500th, the colors look just as clear and consistent.
In order to make sure your yearbook features the best possible result, keep these design tips in mind:
- Convert your images to CMYK (not RGB) to match the printing press' output
- Use true black for text — not registration black — to avoid muddy black coloring
- Pack your files “clean,” meaning no comments or embedded fonts
- Save images at 300 PPI or higher
Personalize with print-on-demand options
For yearbooks that want each trophy, club, or student section to feel as unique as possible, digital printing supports personalization at scale. This can include inserting the name of a student or team player on a cover, making each yearbook unique!
Choosing paper stock and binding
Choosing paper stock and binding is just as important as all of the other facets of your yearbook design. We recommend using interior paper that is 80-100 lbs. Using gloss helps make photos look more vibrant, but if the yearbook is text-heavy, we recommend choosing matte printing instead. Gloss makes photos appear brighter, while matte features less glare and a more refined image. Meanwhile, soft-touch is a more velvety and premium look.
For binding, we use perfect binding for softcover yearbooks, while hardcover binding adds greater durability to the book. We recommend using softcover with glossy pages for affordable bulk printing of 200 or fewer copies. For deluxe editions (think honors or staff profiles), we recommend hardcovers with a soft-touch finish.
Designing your yearbook cover
Not sure how to design your cover or lay out the interior of the yearbook? Not to worry, the team at OnPress is here to help. We offer professional cover design and interior layout services starting at $599 for covers and $399 for interiors.
If you'd rather do it yourself, we offer free cover templates you can download. Be sure to match the trim size you're using, and use Adobe Illustrator, Adobe InDesign, Canva) to lay out the template accordingly. Don't forget that the spine width shifts depending on page count!
Prepress review and proofing
Last but not least, you'll be glad to know that we offer a free prepress review on every upload. Our printing specialists will check for bleeds, color modes, fonts, and appropriate resolution, then flag the issues if we find any. These issues can include low-resolution photos, unembedded fonts, and more. This gives you the chance to make quick tweaks before your yearbooks head off to the printing presses. The prepress review is handled digitally, but you can also choose a hard-copy proof instead. This adds a little more to the cost, but saves you the embarrassment of having a blatant mistake show up front and center! Once the proof is approved, we start the printing process.
Ready to get started? Whether you work one-on-one with our design team or do it yourself using our templates, OnPress Book Printing is here to help make your yearbook printing experience second to none. The end result is that you'll have a yearbook that's so much more than just a printed product — it's a story. See a snapshot caught in time of laughter, growth, inside jokes, big wins, and bittersweet goodbyes.
Designing a yearbook with care means choosing the right materials, adding personalized touches, and paying attention to the layout and color. In following these design tips now, you're doing much more than preserving memories — you're giving people something they'll hold onto for decades, and maybe even show their own children one day!
Ready to make your school or club's yearbook unforgettable? Contact us today to get started