A5 Hardback Art Book Printing for Danielle Fretwell’s Gallery Exhibition

A5 Hardback Books
Cover Printed onto 170gsm Silk
Matt Lamination to outer
Wrapped over greyboard case
2x 4pp End Papers Printed onto 170gsm Uncoated
56 inside pages onto 170gsm Silk (10mm Spine)
Four colour print throughout
Trimmed, collated and case bound

“Thanks for the clarification and reassurance Mike, all makes sense!"

This stunner of an A5 hardback catalogue was made to do one job brilliantly: show oil paintings with real punch. The combination of smooth 170gsm silk pages and four-colour print gives the artwork crisp edges and confident colour, while the high-impact endpapers set the tone the second you open the cover.

And the format matters: A5 is gallery-friendly — easy to read during the show, then compact enough to take home (or on the tube) without feeling like you’re carrying a brick.

Helpful links while you’re here: our hardback book printing service, artist catalogue printing, and the hardback artwork set-up guide

About the Book

Created for Danielle Fretwell’s exhibition at Alice Amati London Art Gallery, this is a compact, casebound artist catalogue designed to support the show and live on as a keep-forever piece. It balances clean captioning and biography text with a lively rhythm of full-bleed images, double-page spreads, and works framed by generous white borders — the kind of pacing that keeps people turning pages.

Print Specification & Materials

This was produced as A5 casebound hardbacks, with a 170gsm silk cover finished with matt lamination and wrapped over greyboard for that proper gallery-shop durability. Inside, the book uses 170gsm silk for the main pages — a smooth, slightly sheened stock that helps fine detail stay sharp and colours stay clean across image-heavy spreads.

The endpapers are printed on 170gsm uncoated, which gives a different tactile note as you open the book — and in this case, they’re used for maximum impact.

If you’re planning something similar, it’s worth ordering paper samples early and using our instant quote tool to sense-check formats and quantities for upto 20 copies or our Printed Project Builder for bespoke jobs and over 20 copies.

Key Spec Summary

• Format: A5
• Binding: Casebound (hardback)
• Cover: 170gsm silk, matt laminated, wrapped over greyboard
• Endpapers: 2 × 4pp on 170gsm uncoated
• Text pages: 56pp on 170gsm silk (10mm spine)
• Print: Four colour throughout

Design Details

A few details make this one sing:

• Confident opening move: those bold endpapers land like a “curtain up” moment — a strong first impression before the first artwork page.
• Layout variety with purpose: mixing full-bleed spreads and generous white borders lets different paintings breathe in different ways, and stops the book becoming visually monotone.
• A5 done right: the smaller format doesn’t shrink the work — it concentrates it. With tight reproduction on silk, the images still feel vivid and intentional.

The Client’s Print Journey

The project started with an initial quote request and a clear gallery deadline, followed by a few rounds of page-count and paper refinements to get the feel just right.

A key moment was deciding against anything “shiny” and moving to our house silk — a solid middle ground that keeps images crisp without looking overly glossy.

We also flagged a few pages with missing bleed, and the gallery team quickly re-exported and resent corrected files before production.

Delivery-wise, we stayed hands-on with tracking updates, and when the shipment split into multiple boxes, we made sure the team knew what had arrived and what was still en route.

How Ex Why Zed Helped

This is the bit we love: turning “gallery-ready” from a vague idea into a clear, practical plan.

• We guided stock choice to hit the brief: sharp reproduction without an overly shiny page feel.
• We caught small but important artwork issues (bleed) early, before they became expensive problems.
• We kept proofing calm and clear, especially around spreads and pagination — so sign-off felt confident, not stressful.
• We stayed responsive around dispatch and tracking — because deadlines don’t end when the book leaves our doors.

If you’re prepping files now, these two are worth bookmarking: hardback book set-up and setting 3mm bleed

Takeaways for Your Next Hardback Art Catalogue

• If colour and detail matter, choose paper that supports it. A smooth silk stock is a strong choice for painterly work when you want clean edges and confident colour.
• Use endpapers as a design “hit”. They’re not just functional — they can set mood instantly and make the book feel considered from page one.
• Vary your pacing. Mix full-bleed spreads with white space and smaller framed works to keep attention moving.
• A5 can be a feature, not a compromise. It’s comfortable in-hand at an exhibition and easy to take away, which often means it gets read more.
• Proofing isn’t just checking typos. Check bleeds, pagination logic, and how your spreads are supplied — it’s the difference between “fine” and flawless.