Printing a Coloring Book Your Family Will Keep
Paper, page order, covers, and the small decisions that make a printed book last longer than a loose stack of sheets.
“Write the vision; make it plain on tablets, so he may run who reads it.”
Loose pages get lost. A book stays on a shelf and comes back out again next year. The difference is mostly in a few small decisions made before you press print.
Choose heavier paper
Ordinary printer paper works, but slightly thicker stock stops markers bleeding onto the next page and takes pencil shading much better. It is the single change that makes the biggest difference.
Print on one side
Printing on one side only means a heavy-handed marker never ruins the picture behind it, and any page can be pulled out and given away without losing another.
Put the easy pages first
Open with simple, open shapes and let the detail build as the book goes on. A child who succeeds on page one will reach page twelve.
Keep the cover and contents
A cover with the book's name and a contents page turn a stack of sheets into something that feels like a real book — which is exactly how it will be treated.