A5 Booklets
4pp Cover onto 300gsm Uncoated
36pp Inside pages onto 120gsm Uncoated
Full colour print throughout
Trimmed, collated and staple bound
La Crypte Prismatique is a compact fantasy graphic novel from 3rd3y3 press, written and illustrated by Stephane. It follows a cloaked adventurer down into a strange crystal crypt, all told in punchy, wordless panels and a tight three-colour palette. Our team printed the book as an A5 stapled booklet on uncoated stock so the soft touch of the paper matches the retro, underground-comic energy of the artwork.
La Crypte Prismatique drops readers straight into a glowing cave world. A lone character, lantern in hand, descends into a twisting crypt filled with monsters, staircases and armies on the march. There’s no dialogue; instead, the story unfolds through clear, cinematic panels and repeated motifs like moons, torches and swirling paths.
The palette is deliberately limited: hot pink capes and creatures, teal accents and deep charcoal backgrounds, with an off-white base that keeps the pages easy on the eye. It feels like something discovered at the back of a comic shop – strange, charming and instantly collectible.
We produced La Crypte Prismatique as an A5 booklet with a 4pp cover on 300gsm uncoated stock and 36 inside pages on 120gsm uncoated. Full colour printing throughout gives plenty of depth in the shadowy cave scenes while keeping the bright pinks and yellows vivid.
The choice to skip lamination on the cover was made very early. Stephane wanted a “retro look” and understood that unlaminated uncoated stock would show some creasing and open up the fibres along the spine. In the hand, that decision pays off: the cover feels soft and tactile, and as it flexes and “bounces”, it quickly takes on the character of a much-loved, often-read comic.
Staple binding keeps the booklet slim and lightweight. It also lets the double-page spreads lie fairly flat, so those long staircases, battle scenes and full-bleed panels can be enjoyed across the gutter without losing details.
The cover hits you first: a rich raspberry red field, a dark cave-shaped frame and a bold, hand-drawn logotype. At the foot of the cave stands the hero, staff raised, torchlight cutting through the black – a perfect preview of the journey inside.
Open the book and you’re met with a patterned interior cover in midnight blue, filled with repeating creatures and symbols. This leads into a simple title page on a natural-toned ground, setting the tone before the first sequence.
Inside, almost every page uses a cream background with a tidy border. That frame helps contain the action and reinforces the illusion that you’re reading something from a different era. The panel layouts shift from tight horizontal beats to sprawling double-page set-pieces: winding staircases, armies massing in the dark, a dramatic skyburst as the hero rides forward with a flaming sword. The restricted palette means every splash of pink or green really pops against the muted cave walls.
Stephane contacted us with a “hopefully print-ready PDF” of La Crypte Prismatique and a clear vision: an A5 stapled booklet, 300gsm uncoated cover, 120gsm uncoated text, full colour throughout and 75 copies. Crucially, he specified no lamination to keep the retro feel, even if that meant visible spine creases.
We downloaded the artwork, preflighted the file and confirmed that the chosen specification would support the look he was aiming for, reassuring him that unlaminated uncoated stock would in fact enhance the rustic aesthetic. We then supplied a detailed quote and moved on to invoice and proofing.
Once the final PDF proof was ready, we sent Stephane an online link explaining how to check trim lines and spreads. After carefully reviewing the pages, he replied with a simple, decisive “Approved and paid”, and we pushed the project straight onto press in time for his September schedule.
Our main job on La Crypte Prismatique was to honour the artwork’s atmosphere. We kept to uncoated stocks throughout so there was no unwanted shine over the moody cave backgrounds. That also meant the off-white tone of the pages could come through, supporting the retro comics vibe Stephane had in mind.
We confirmed that saddle stitching was a strong choice for a 36-pager like this – thick enough to feel substantial, but still happy to open flat for panel-to-panel reading. We also flagged the importance of safe margins around the page borders, as there is always a touch of movement in printing and binding, especially on stapled booklets.
On the technical side, our preflight checks ensured the heavy black areas and limited colour palette would reproduce cleanly on uncoated paper, without crushing detail. The proofing stage gave Stephane the reassurance that his “print-ready” file truly was ready, and our production team handled the rest.
