Children's Book Printing — Picture Books and Story Books, Hardback or Paperback

Stapled zines and booklets are with you in 3 working days, perfect bound books in 5 and hardbacks in 7, counted from approval of your print-ready artwork, with free tracked UK delivery. Lead times depend on run length and print spec — longer litho runs and premium cover finishes take longer — so if you're working to a hard deadline, tell us the date and we'll confirm we can hit it before you commit. On runs of 1–20 stapled or perfect bound copies we check your artwork thoroughly and send it straight to print; 21 copies and over, and every hardback, get a PDF proof to approve first.

For authors exploring children’s book printing from AI-created artwork, the biggest opportunity lies in using the technology to unlock ideas rather than shortcut the craft. Our guide to illustrating a children’s book with AI showed how creators can generate early visual concepts, compare different aesthetics and establish a more consistent cast of characters and environments. It is particularly useful for writers who know the atmosphere they want but need support translating that vision into imagery. The hot take is simple: AI can accelerate ideation dramatically, but the most compelling books still come from thoughtful curation, strong art direction and a sharp eye for what belongs on the printed page.

In our ChatGPT children’s book printing guide, we looked at how those digital ingredients could be organised into a book that is genuinely ready for production. From shaping a manuscript into page turns to preparing images at the right resolution, the article unpacked the details that separate a promising draft from a polished printed object. We also covered the factors that influence pricing and finish, including format, extent, paper stock, binding style and print quantity. With our file-checking support, paper advice, flexible order options and experience printing illustrated books, we helped authors make confident choices and avoid the common stumbles that can appear between screen artwork and a finished book in hand.

We deliver your whole print run to you by tracked courier, free to one UK address, and we can split it across several addresses if you need copies in more than one place. We ship worldwide too, at the courier’s cost price.

We don’t store books or post them out to your readers one by one, so if you’re selling online, you’ll send those orders out yourself.

Our house papers come in a silk, gloss or uncoated finish.

For an example of a children's book with a gloss cover, check out Pouch's Magical Worry Cheeks. This also has gloss lamination to really make the cover jump off the shelf.

For a more subtle matt cover and silk finish, take a look at our case study of Nana Duck.

The numerous offspring of Ex Why Zed staff love their board books so we know these well but at present they are not something we are able to produce.  If you check the back cover of any of them, they are all currently printed in China.

As a cost and time saving alternative, we can print you a wire stitched, perfect bound (softback) or case bound (hardback) the children's books.

For Stapled Books>>>

Any portrait size up to A3 (420x297mm).

Any landscape size as wide as A4 (210x297mm).

Any square size up to 297x297mm.

For Perfect Bound Books>>>

Any portrait or landscape size up to A4 (210x297mm).

Any square size up to 295x295mm.

For Hardback Books>>>

Any portrait or landscape size up to A4 (210x297mm).
On longer print runs (700 copies+) we can increase to around 320x280mm portrait.

Any square size up to 294x294mm.

Wire stitching is a little bit of print jargon for ‘stapling’. To confuse things even more it can also be known as 'saddle stitching'.  Let’s stick with stapling though if that’s easier.

To set-up artwork for wire stitching, visit our dedicated page.

We don’t, but you can go direct to https://www.nielsenisbnstore.com/ who are the UK supplier of ISBNs.

From there you can download the number and/or a barcode to add to your artwork.

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They are — for the specs people ask about most. Every product page shows real prices from real jobs, and our instant calculator prices 1–20 copies on the spot. Everything else is bespoke: size, page count, paper and quantity all move the price, so we quote it properly rather than guess — usually the same working day. Send us your spec and we'll come straight back.

Great question! Check out our recent blog article on the cost of children's book printing for more insight.

Enjoy our recent blog post '10 Ideas to Promote Your Children's Book on Social Media'.

As the proud author of a new children's book you have just printed at Ex Why Zed, you are now looking for ways to get the word out on social media. Well, you've come to the right place! Social media offers a great way to promote your book to the right audience and maximise its impact. Brilliantly, it is also FREE. You have done the hard work of writing the book, getting it illustrated and transforming it into print, now comes the fun bit of showing the world.

Yes, we did and here is our case study of Little Lost Luna.

Creating a children’s book that feels imaginative, age-appropriate and genuinely ready for print starts with getting the foundations right. The strongest projects pair a clear understanding of the reader with memorable characters, a well-paced story and visuals that support the narrative at every turn. Whether you are shaping the manuscript from scratch using the practical advice in how to write a children’s book, exploring the creative possibilities of using AI to illustrate a children’s book, or developing early ideas with ChatGPT as part of the children’s book creation process, the key is to treat writing, illustration and page design as one connected storytelling system. The more carefully these pieces are planned together, the more confident and polished the final printed book becomes.

From there, production choices shape how the book feels in the hand and performs in the real world. Format, paper, binding, cover finish, print quantity and artwork setup all influence both quality and cost, which is why it helps to choose a route that matches the ambition of the project. The sections on this page explore the practical options for bringing illustrated stories to life, from short-run stapled books to more substantial perfect-bound and hardback editions, while our self-published book printing page looks at the wider journey from print-ready files to delivery and professional presentation. With the right creative planning and informed print decisions, a children’s book can travel all the way from first spark to finished copy with far less guesswork and far more magic.

Yes. Order a single test copy so you can check the cover, colours, page order and finish in your hands before committing to the full run.

It depends on the book. Stapled binding suits short activity books, perfect binding works for longer readers, and hardback (case binding) is ideal for picture books that need to survive bedtime after bedtime.

Set the correct trim size and page count, add bleed to any artwork that runs to the edge, and supply the cover and inside pages as print-ready PDFs. A real person checks every file for free before we print.