We offer the complete book printing service from start to finish

Making books better business

We are always happy to talk to you about a forthcoming project, no matter how large or small. We promise not to blind you with technical jargon and will take the time to explain the production route that is right for your book. With over 125 years printing experience, we can offer a level of publishing understanding that no other book printer can match. We will ensure that you feel comfortable with the whole book manufacturing process and that your project runs smoothly and painlessly.

We offer a complete book manufacturing service with the ability to produce superb quality digital printed books which are either black and white text only or black and white with line drawings or halftones on our Kodak Prosper Inkjet or Timson T-Print web presses. All elements of the manufacture are carried out in our factory.

Books with colour content or a large quantity of black and white photographs are printed to a superior quality on our Xerox iGen digital sheet-fed presses.

Mono litho books are printed on the KBA Rapida sheet-fed presses of our sister company in Bodmin with the order being looked after by the team here in King's Lynn.

Covers, jackets, PPCs and plate sections are be produced in-house and printed digitally on one of our Xerox iGen3 presses. If a dust jacket is too wide to be printed on the iGen then these can be printed offset litho at our sister company in Haverhill.

We also stock a large range of papers which can be used on either our sheet-fed or digital presses ensuring consistency of production if a book changes from sheet-fed to digital production during its life-cycle.

We produce over 100 titles a week for customers who range from large independent publishing houses to self-publishers.

In fact, as part of the MPG Books Group, Biddles is the only book manufacturer with such a wide range of presses (digital web and sheet fed) and one of the most comprehensive binderies (from paperback and hardback binding with unsewn (cutback), slotted (slot perforated) or PUR options in the UK.

Our approach

We believe in making our customers feel comfortable with the whole book manufacturing process and ensuring that their production runs smoothly and painlessly. Each project is managed internally by a dedicated production controller who works with you from start to finish.

We aim to keep jargon to a minimum, advising you along the way and pride ourselves on our reputation for being easy to work with, friendly and very receptive to any challenges provided!

Our staff are experts in their respective fields (many having previously worked in publishing) and enjoy finding solutions to meet our customers' needs and we're proactive in getting the job done to consistently high standards of quality.

We also understand the importance of deadlines and can respond quickly to demand. You can even monitor the progress of your job via our online job tracking system — Press2Book.

Quality without compromise

Having combined the latest technology with the traditional expertise of the craft printer for decades, we offer excellent quality and added value to our customers. We hold the BS EN ISO 9001:2008 accreditation, an internationally recognised quality management system standard.

Monitored on a daily basis to ensure our work is consistently in line with our customers' expectations and the standards required by ISO 9001, our quality procedures cover all aspects of our output, ensuring a first-class product on time, every time.


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What we offer at a glance:

Run lengths:
From 100 copies upwards

Book styles:
Paperback
Hardback

Formats:
Inkjet press: 198x129mm up to 246x189mm
iGen presses: 198x129mm up to 297x210mm

Page extents:
Min. 64 pages
Max. 1000 pages

Stock papers:
Available for the inkjet press only:
Holmen Cream 70gsm
Opaque 100gsm
Available for the inkjet and litho presses only:
Opaque 80gsm
White or Cream Bookwove 80gsm
Available for the iGen press only:
Matt Coated 115gsm
Matt Coated 130gsm
Matt Coated 150gsm
Matt Coated 170gsm
Available for the litho presses only:
Arctic Volume 90gsm
Arctic Volume 115gsm

Binding styles:
Perfect binding
Slotted binding
PUR binding

Finishing options:
Matt or gloss laminated cover finish
Wibalin Buckram cloth only*
Dust jackets*
Printed paper cases (PPCs)*
Coloured end papers*
Printed end papers*
Foil blocking on spine and front*
Head and tail bands*
Ribbon markers*
* hardbacks only