Important design tips - please read carefully!

Whether or not your software has Queensberry resources built in, please read our specifications to remove confusion and doubt. For example we set limits to the number of pages, and our print options vary between products. These are things that your software may not control for. Please also check that the page dimensions match our specifications or your design will not fit the product.

We recommend setting up the album order in Workspace before you design the layouts. That will clarify your thinking, and there’ll be less chance of designing an album we can’t make, or of submitting files in the wrong format. Don’t worry — you’ll be able to save the design for later, edit most details (except the size and page type), or even delete the album.

Pages versus layouts (spreads). When you do order the album you’ll need to state the number of pages required. Each page is two sides, and the number of pages required will be one less than the number of layouts! That’s because the left side of the first layout isn’t a page, it’s part of the book cover. Same with the right hand side of the last layout. For example if you have 20 layouts to upload you’ll specify 19 pages in Workspace.

Do not put important subject matter (e.g. faces) in the centre of the layout. That’s good practice even in Panorama Flushmount albums, where the prints are creased, not cut at the spine. But Classic Flushmounts have a small (2mm) gap at the spine (gutter), as do matted albums. Q Books are perfect bound.

It’s also good practice to keep important details away from the edge of the layouts. That’s because albums are guillotined in construction and will lose a couple of millimetres from the edge of the print. That’s even more important if you’re ordering digital copies, as the layouts will be scaled down, meaning the lost image area can be greater. Think like a magazine layout artist and allow for bleed!