So you’ve finished writing and illustrating your 32 page children’s book. Now you want to get it printed so you can hold the physical copy in your hands and sell it to young readers. But how much will it actually cost?
In this comprehensive guide, I’ll break down the exact cost to print a 32 page full color children’s book in 2024. Whether you use print-on-demand or professional offset printing, you’ll know what to budget for manufacturing costs.
As a professional children’s book printing manufacturer, I’ll also give some pro tips to reduce expenses so you can set your own retail price and still make good royalties on each copy sold.
Calculating Average Cost to Print On-Demand vs. Offset Print
When self-publishing a book, authors have two main options to physically print their manuscripts:
Print On-Demand (POD)
POD printers create single book copies when an order comes in. This means you don’t pay for any copies upfront, just when someone buys your book. However, POD tends to be more expensive per unit.
Popular POD printers include:
- Amazon KDP Print
- IngramSpark
- Lulu
Offset Printing
Offset printers produce books in bulk by taking your file and printing on large presses. This requires paying for hundreds or thousands of copies upfront. But offset printing offers a lower per unit cost at higher quantities.
Top offset printers include:
- Brodart Books
- McNaughton & Gunn
- Bang Printing
So how much exactly will your 32 page children’s book cost to print at reasonable quantities using each model in 2024? Here’s a comparison:
Print-On-Demand Costs
For a typical trim size of 8.5” x 8.5”, here are POD prices for 32 page children’s books:
- 50 copies: $5.87 per book
- 100 copies: $4.41 per book
- 250 copies: $3.99 per book
These rates are generally consistent across various popular POD companies when you choose a hardcover or paperback with full color interior printing.
Shipping fees and author copies are extra. Taxes may apply as well.
Offset Printing Costs
For offset printing, the per unit rate drops as you print more copies.
Here’s a look at estimated rates for 32 page children’s books:
- 250 copies: $5.52 per book
- 500 copies: $3.97 per book
- 1,000 copies: $2.86 per book
- 2,500 copies: $2.05 per book
These prices include free shipping within the continental US if using a domestic printer. Additional charges apply for author copies, storage fees, and delivery outside the US.
Key Takeaway
Print-on-demand tends to make sense for new authors testing the self-publishing waters. But offset printing offers significantly lower per unit pricing at scale, reducing manufacturing costs. Even after paying for shipping and storage, higher print runs via offset can boost profit margins.
What Impacts Pricing For 32 Page Children’s Books
Whether printing on-demand or offset, several factors determine your total manufacturing costs:
Page Count
More pages means a higher production expense overall. Extra pages increase the amount of paper, ink, binding materials, and labor required to print a book.
However, up to 48 pages can still use a single large press sheet with clever layouts. Past 48 pages often requires two press sheets per book, elevating costs.
Color vs. Black & White
Full color artwork throughout a book comes at a premium versus black and white interior printing with a color cover.
Full color artwork requires four ink passes on press – cyan, magenta, yellow, and black (CMYK). This slows printing compared to single pass black and white ink.
Hardcover vs. Paperback
Hardcover binding has thicker boards and spine materials compared to paperback thermally bonded spines. The rigid casewrap also takes more time to apply a book’s outer cover imagery.
Trim Size
Books sized 8.5” x 8.5” or smaller can batch efficiently on printing press sheets, reducing waste and cost per unit.
Oversized books may not fit as cleanly per sheet. Large formats also require bigger cuts of paper and ink to cover increased print space.
Print Integrity
Specialty options like spot UV coats, foil stamping, and embossing add both material expenses and production time to any print job.
While these can make your book stand out, they come at a premium price over standard printing.
Pro Tips For Lowering Your 32 Page Children’s Book Printing Costs
Here are some pro tips to cut costs when taking your book to print:
Compare Printer Rates
Rates can vary widely across different printers. Spend time getting quotes from several vendors when moving to production.
While comparison shopping, weigh options for domestic printers vs. overseas suppliers too. Overseas printers have drastically lower labor costs but longer lead times.
Set Optimal Page Count
If possible, edit your book to fit 16, 24, or 32 pages. These numbers work elegantly for printing press sheet sizes to minimize waste.
Or if extra story length demands it, aim for page lengths just under 48 or 64 pages to lower costs by using one less physical press sheet per book.
Consider Black & White Pages
If full color isn’t essential for interior pages, use spot color art combined with black & white. This can reduce printing rates substantially while still creating beautiful layouts.
Print More Copies Upfront
It’s tempting to do short print runs when self-publishing to test sales. But printing a minimum of 250+ copies can drop your per unit rate tremendously.
Buy Author Copies in Bulk
When ordering your own author print copies from printers, you typically pay full retail costs. But some printers offer author discounts if ordering copies in bulk rather than piecemeal.
Setting Your Retail Price For Profitability
When self-publishing a 32 page picture book, you’ll generally want to price between $10-$25 to align with major publisher rates.
Common pricing thresholds in this range include:
- $9.99 or $10.99 – Value price point that seems more attractive psychologically than pricing at $11 or higher in increments.
- $12.99 – Typical mass market children’s book cost. Hits a midpoint price that conveys more value than budget pricing.
- $14.99 – This positions you more as a specialty children’s book. It enables better profit margin if your printing cost is low enough.
- $19.99 – Premium indie picture book pricing, yet still ultimately affordable for grandparents and relatives gifting books. Allows for solid royalty at mid-to-high print runs.
Where you ultimately land depends partly on your printing methods and costs:
POD Retail Pricing
Since print-on-demand has high per unit costs, you’ll need to price your 32 page children’s book above $12.99 when selling printed copies.
In most cases, $14.99 or higher works better to earn 10-20%+ royalties on each sale.
Offset Print Retail Pricing
By printing 250+ copies via offset, your manufacturing rates will drops below $5 per unit.
This creates flexibility to retail between $9.99 up to $19.99+ and still pocket great margins.
Ultimately the market will determine what pricing works long term at adequate sales velocity. But the above thresholds guide common retail pricing for 32 page picture books.
Recap and Next Steps For Lower Cost Printing
Taking your book to print can be daunting. But understanding precise printing costs per unit and at different quantities helps immensely when budgeting your self-publishing expenses.
To recap key points in this guide:
- Print-on-demand costs more per book, but has lower upfront investment. At mid-tier quantities, rates drop to around $4 per copy.
- Offset printing requires higher initial outlay, but offers lower rates at scale – often 50%+ cheaper than POD.
- Numerous production factors also impact pricing like page count, paper quality, ink colors, and binding.
- When setting retail price, POD books need $14.99+ price points for profit. Offset printed books can sell for under $10 per copy.
Next, request quotes from multiple printers to compare rates. Providing PDF print-ready files also gets more accurate pricing.
Finally, use tips above to drive down costs further before setting your margin goals and retail price point.
Now that you know precisely what to expect when printing a 32 page picture book in 2024, you can confidently move ahead with publishing your children’s book creation!