Hardback Art Catalogue Printing for Makiko Nakamura Exhibition

A4 Case Bound Books
Cover onto 170gsm Silk
Wrapped over greyboard case
2x 4pp End Papers Printed onto 170gsm Uncoated
38 inside pages onto 170gsm Uncoated (9mm Spine)
Four colour print throughout
Trimmed, collated and case bound

This is a prestigious A4 hardback catalogue — the kind of book that’s meant to sit confidently on a gallery counter and still feel special months later. Our favourite touch is the full-bleed, wraparound cover image, which acts as an immediate hook: it’s pure artwork first, then the title lands quietly on top.

Inside, the heavyweight uncoated pages make the whole thing feel high-end as you flick through, and our HP Indigo digital press delivered the sort of clean, faithful colour that lets textured artwork reproduce with real authority.

If you’re planning something similar, it’s worth exploring our hardback book printing options, and using our Printed Project Builder to sanity-check budgets early on (links below).

About the Book

Makiko Nakamura Exhibition is an A4 hardback art catalogue made for fans of Makiko’s work and visitors to the John Martin Gallery. The pacing is calm and gallery-like: plenty of white space, a clear grid, and artwork given room to breathe.

From the photos, you can see that restraint working hard — single artworks sit centred on the page with neat captions, and the typography stays understated so the reader’s eye always returns to the work.

Print Specification & Materials

This project was produced as A4 casebound (hardback) books, built for repeated handling and long shelf-life. The cover is printed on 170gsm silk and wrapped over greyboard, giving crisp detail and a smooth, refined surface. The inside pages are 170gsm uncoated, with four-colour print throughout, plus two sets of 4pp printed endpapers on 170gsm uncoated.

That inside stock choice is doing a lot: uncoated gives the catalogue a tactile, “real paper” feel, and at 170gsm it has a weight that signals quality the moment you open it. The trade-off is physical: with rigid, heavyweight leaves in a hardback, you can get a slight pull as the pages want to close — it’s the classic balance between premium heft and how a casebound book naturally behaves.

Key spec summary

• Format: A4 casebound hardbacks
• Cover: 170gsm silk, wrapped over greyboard case
• Endpapers: 2 × 4pp, printed on 170gsm uncoated
• Text: 38pp on 170gsm uncoated (9mm spine)
• Print: four-colour throughout
• Finishing: trimmed, collated and case bound

Design Details (what makes it work)

• Cover as artwork-first hook: the wraparound, full-bleed image grabs attention without shouting — it feels like you’re holding an object from the exhibition rather than a “brochure”.
• Quiet typography: the title sits cleanly on top of the patterning, letting texture do the talking.
• Gallery pacing inside: generous margins, single works per page, and consistent caption placement create a measured rhythm that suits an exhibition context.

The Art Gallery's Print Journey

This started as a request for short-run catalogues with options for a Colorplan cover or cloth cover. From there, the conversation quickly moved from perfect bound into hardback territory — because cloth covering and foiling only make sense on a proper casebound build.

We quoted both routes, then provided a hardback template and guidance on how to supply the files (cover spreads, single pages for text, plus separate endpaper files if needed). When the cover file came in slightly small against the template, we flagged it early and explained exactly what to adjust — including moving hairlines behind the artwork and allowing extra space around the edge.

It’s a good example of where a quick, practical bit of preflight support saves a lot of back-and-forth later — especially with hardbacks, where wrap dimensions and hinge areas really matter.

How Ex Why Zed Helped

• Options-first quoting: we priced up different cover approaches early so the client could choose between “simple and smart” vs “premium and traditional”.
• Hardback file set-up support: we supplied templates and explained the running order of pages for casebound books in plain English.
• High-fidelity colour on Indigo: ideal for artwork where texture and subtle shifts matter — the finished pages stay crisp and controlled even with complex surfaces.

Enjoy Reading More About Makiko

https://jmlondon.com/artists/makiko-nakamura/

https://www.instagram.com/makikonakamura67/?hl=en

Takeaways for Your Next Hardback Art Catalogue

• Let the cover be a single, confident gesture. Full-bleed wraparound artwork can do more than any headline — especially for exhibition print.
• Use heavyweight uncoated when “feel” matters. It gives instant perceived value, and suits caption-led layouts beautifully.
• Expect a little page pull with rigid stocks. If you want ultra-flat opening, you may need to soften the sheet choice — but if “premium heft” is the priority, this trade-off is often worth it.
• Hardbacks live and die on templates. Build your cover file from the template from day one, and keep hairlines on a separate layer behind the artwork.