Custom Workbook Printing

Workbook printing is different from printing a book people only read. The pages have to take pen and pencil, open flat on a desk, and survive a semester, a training week or a twelve session program. YourBookPress prints custom workbooks from your PDF in spiral bound (Wire-O), perfect bound, saddle stitch and hardcover formats, from a single proof copy to class sets and corporate training runs, with no minimum order on any binding.

We print student workbooks, course workbooks and companion guides, corporate training workbooks and participant guides, therapy and coaching workbooks, homeschool curriculum, certification prep books and activity books. Configure your workbook in the calculator above to see the exact price for your page count and quantity.

Which binding is best for a workbook?

Spiral binding is the best binding for most workbooks because the pages lay completely flat and fold back 360 degrees, so nothing fights the person writing. Perfect bound gives you a paperback spine for workbooks sold with a course, saddle stitch is the lowest cost choice for short participant guides, and hardcover suits a premium program edition. All four are in the calculator above.

Paper that takes pen and pencil

Uncoated paper is the best paper for a workbook people write in. Our 70# uncoated cream stock absorbs ink and takes pencil cleanly, which is why it is the default for black and white workbooks. Coated paper is smoother and brighter and is the stock for color interiors; ballpoint writes fine on it, while pencil sits on the surface rather than biting in.

Your color choice sets the paper. Black and white interiors print on 70# uncoated. Standard Color runs on 80# coated, the right pairing for workbooks with color diagrams, charts and callouts. Premium Color runs on 100# glossy, for photo heavy workbooks where image quality matters more than handwriting feel. The most common workbook configuration is a black and white interior with a full color cover, which keeps the per copy price low and the pages writable.

We print single sided or double sided. Single sided leaves the back of every page blank for notes and keeps exercises from showing through; double sided roughly halves the page count and the cost. Covers are printed in full color and laminated glossy or matte; matte is the usual choice for a workbook because it does not glare under classroom lighting.

Educational workbook printing: classrooms, class sets and homeschool

Educational workbook printing covers everything students write in: practice books, unit workbooks, reading response books, math drill books, science lab write-up books and test prep guides. Most are printed letter size, spiral bound, black and white inside with a color cover, in a class set shipped to one address.

Classroom workbooks and class sets

Teachers and curriculum leads who have built their own materials print a class set instead of photocopying packets every week. Set the quantity to the class count plus a few spares, order the set to your school, and reorder the same workbook next term. There is no minimum, so a reading group of 8 and a grade level of 300 both work at the same quality, and the per copy price drops as the quantity rises. Class set printing works best when every copy is identical, so finalize the edition before ordering.

Homeschool workbook printing

Homeschool families and co-ops print single copies or small batches of a curriculum they wrote or licensed. A workbook you created yourself can be printed at one copy for each child. If you are printing a purchased curriculum, check the publisher's license first; many permit printing for your own household and some do not.

Tutoring centers, test prep and enrichment programs

Tutoring companies and enrichment programs print branded practice workbooks per student cohort: 25 copies for a summer session, 100 for a semester, a new edition when the syllabus changes. Perfect bound suits a workbook that is sold to families; spiral suits one that is used at a desk with a tutor.

Course workbook printing for online courses and certification programs

Course workbook printing turns a digital course into something a student can hold: a companion workbook with the lesson summaries, exercises and reflection prompts printed and bound, shipped to you for a live cohort or ordered one copy at a time as students enroll. Print the number enrolled, keep the PDF, and reorder or update it for the next intake.

Companion workbooks for online courses and cohorts

Course creators print a workbook per cohort so every participant works from the same edition. Spiral bound letter size is the standard for exercise heavy courses; 7 by 10 or 6 by 9 perfect bound suits a workbook that doubles as a book the student keeps. A color cover with the course name and a black and white interior is the usual configuration.

Certification workbook printing

Certification and licensing programs print prep workbooks with practice questions, answer spaces and self scoring pages. These run longer than a single course workbook, often 150 to 400 pages, and are printed perfect bound when they are sold or spiral bound when they are used in a classroom.

Workshops, seminars and retreats

One day and weekend events print a participant guide per seat: saddle stitched under about 80 pages, spiral bound above that. Order the seat count plus spares to the venue or your office.

Corporate training workbooks and training manual printing

Training manual printing for a company is usually two different books. The training workbook is the one participants write in during onboarding, a sales bootcamp or a compliance workshop: spiral bound, letter size, black and white with a color cover, printed in runs of 20 to 500 per session. The reference manual is the one they read afterwards, which prints well perfect bound with a printed spine so it sits on a shelf or in a desk drawer.

We print both from your PDF with no minimum, so a pilot workshop for 12 people and a rollout for 400 are priced from the same calculator, and an updated edition is just a new PDF. Learning and development teams, franchise systems and safety trainers print a fresh batch per session rather than warehousing boxes that go out of date. For a branded cover, export your cover as a PDF at the final trim size or build it in the cover designer.

Therapy and coaching workbook printing

Therapists, counselors and coaches print client workbooks for structured programs: weekly exercises, reflection prompts, habit trackers and session notes, printed in small batches as clients enroll rather than in a warehouse run. Spiral bound is the usual choice for pages clients fill in during and between sessions; a hardcover edition suits a premium coaching package or a group program keepsake.

Common configurations are 7 by 10 or 8.5 by 11 inches, 60 to 200 pages, black and white on 70# uncoated so the pages take handwriting, with a matte color cover carrying the program name. Group practices print a set per intake; solo practitioners print 10 or 25 at a time and reorder as new clients start. Coaching workbooks sold with a program or on your website print well perfect bound with a spine.

How to print a workbook from your PDF

Here is how to print a workbook, whether you built it in Word, Google Docs, Canva or InDesign.

1. 1

   Design at your final trim size.

   Set the page size to the size you will print, 8.5 by 11 inches for most classroom and training workbooks. Leave real writing space: ruled lines, boxes and margins sized for handwriting, not just a gap. Leave a wider inner margin on the binding side, and keep answer fields inside the safe zone so nothing is trimmed or lost in the binding. See our guides on formatting a book in Word and what bleed is.

2. 2

   Decide single sided or double sided.

   Single sided gives a blank back for notes and stops heavy pencil work showing through; double sided halves the page count. Build the PDF to match: one page per printed side, in order, including any intentionally blank pages.

3. 3

   Export one print ready PDF.

   Export the whole interior as a single PDF at 300 DPI with fonts embedded. Export the cover as a separate PDF at the trim size, or build it in the cover designer after you upload.

4. 4

   Configure and price it.

   Upload the PDF, choose binding, size, page count, color, paper and cover finish, enter the quantity and see the per copy and total price instantly.

5. 5

   Order one proof copy first.

   With no minimum, a single copy lets you check the binding edge, the writing space and how the paper takes a pen before you commit to the set.

6. 6

   Order the set, then reorder.

   Order the class count or cohort size plus a few spares. When the next group fills, reorder the same PDF at the same specs; when the content changes, upload the revised PDF and keep the specs so copies match.

Workbook printing cost

Workbook printing cost is driven by page count, interior color, binding and quantity. Weight does not set the price, and blank pages count as pages, so double sided printing and a tight page count are the two easiest ways to lower the per copy cost. The tables below are exact prices from our calculator for two typical workbooks; enter your own specs above for your price.

Black and white spiral bound workbook: 120 pages, 8.5" x 11", standard black and white on 70# uncoated, matte cover

To print 25 workbooks at this spec costs $10.47 per copy, $261.75 for the set. A class set of 30 or a training run of 100 prices the same way in the calculator.

Color spiral bound workbook: 80 pages, 8.5" x 11", standard color on 80# coated, glossy cover

A 32 page saddle stitched participant guide in black and white costs $5.60 for one copy and $4.88 per copy at 100 copies. Perfect bound workbooks price between spiral and hardcover at the same page count and color; hardcover is the highest per copy.

Ways to lower the cost of printing workbooks:

• Print the interior in black and white with a full color cover.
• Print double sided unless you need blank backs for notes.
• Cut pages you do not need; every blank page is priced as a page.
• Choose spiral or saddle stitch over hardcover for working copies.
• Order the whole class or cohort in one run; the per copy price drops with quantity.

Workbook specifications

Digest (5.5" x 8.5"), A5, Royal, Crown Quarto and Pocket are also available in the calculator. Need a size not listed? Ask through the custom quote form.

Reprints, cohorts and updated editions

Because there is no minimum, you never have to guess a year's demand. Print the copies this term or this cohort needs, reorder the same PDF when the next one fills, and upload a revised PDF when the content changes. Keep the same size, binding and paper across editions so the copies on a shelf or in a classroom match. Programs that sell a workbook with a course often keep a small stock of 25 to 50 and reorder as sales come in.

Frequently asked questions