Why printed bookmarks are such a good small project
A bookmark is one of the few printed things people use every day without thinking about it. It sits in a book for weeks, travels in bags, gets passed to friends and is often kept long after the book is finished. That makes a custom bookmark a lovely small gift, a keepsake for a book club or reading challenge, a favour for a wedding or baby shower, and a useful giveaway for an author launching a book or a library running a reading event.
They are also forgiving to design. A narrow strip of card needs only a picture, a few words and maybe a ribbon. Still, there are some practical choices that decide whether a bookmark feels flimsy or feels like something worth keeping. This guide covers size, card weight, finishes, tassels and how to plan a set.
Bookmark sizes
There is no single official size, but most printed bookmarks fall into a familiar range.
- Classic tall strip: about 50 mm wide and 150 to 180 mm tall. Fits most paperbacks and hardbacks without sticking out too far.
- Slim: about 40 mm wide. Elegant, good for poetry, quotes or minimal designs.
- Wide or square: a shorter, wider shape that works well for photos or illustrations, but sticks out of smaller paperbacks.
If you are printing for a specific book, measure it. A bookmark that is a touch shorter than the page height and sits about 1 to 2 cm above the top edge is easy to find and does not get bent in a bag.
Printing several to a sheet
Bookmarks are usually printed several to a larger sheet and then trimmed. Choosing a size that fits neatly on a standard sheet keeps waste and cost down. Ask your printer which size makes best use of the sheet before you finalise the design.
Card weight and stock
A bookmark has to survive being slipped in and out of pages hundreds of times. Thin paper creases and dog-ears within days.
| Stock | How it feels | Good for |
|---|---|---|
| Around 300 gsm card | Like a sturdy postcard | Everyday bookmarks and giveaways |
| 350 to 400 gsm card | Thick and stiff, feels premium | Gifts, author merchandise, keepsakes |
| Uncoated or textured card | Natural, can be written on | Book club notes, personal messages, eco-friendly gifts |
Coated card gives the brightest colour for photos and illustrations. Uncoated card has a softer, more bookish feel and takes pen writing well, which suits a bookmark with a space to note page numbers, favourite quotes or "lent to" details.
Finishes that make a bookmark last
Lamination is the most practical upgrade for a bookmark. It protects the print from fingers, tea and the friction of pages. A matte laminate looks calm and is pleasant to handle. A gloss laminate makes photos and bright illustrations pop. A soft-touch laminate gives a velvety feel that people often notice the moment they pick it up.
If you want people to write on the bookmark, laminate only the front, or skip the laminate and choose a thicker uncoated card instead. Most pens will not write on a laminated surface.
Rounded corners
Rounded corners stop the bookmark from catching on pages and dog-earing. They also look softer and more finished. It is a small cost for a big difference in how the bookmark ages.
Tassels, ribbons and holes
A tassel or ribbon at the top turns a printed card into something that feels like a gift. It also helps find the bookmark when it has slipped deep into a book.
- Leave a clear area at the top centre of the design for the punched hole, with no text or important detail within about 10 mm.
- Choose a tassel colour that picks up one colour from the design. A neutral cream, black or gold works with almost anything.
- For children's bookmarks, a short ribbon is safer and less likely to tangle than a long tassel.
Tassels are usually attached by hand after printing, which adds a little time to the order, so plan for it when you have a date to meet.
Designing the front and back
A tall, narrow format changes how a design reads. Text runs in short lines, and images need to be cropped into a strip.
Front
Put the main image or illustration here, with any title or quote in a clear, readable font. Leave at least 3 to 5 mm of safe space inside the trim line, and add bleed if the image runs to the edge.
Back
The back is a good place for a short message, a reading list, a calendar or reading tracker, a website or social handle for authors, or simply the name of the person it was made for. Keep it light enough that it does not compete with the front.
Using photos and artwork on a narrow strip
Most photos are taken in a wide or standard frame, and a bookmark is tall and thin. Cropping a group photo to a strip usually cuts people in half, so choose images that already have a vertical subject: a single person, a tree, a building, a tall flower, a lighthouse or a stack of books. Portrait-mode phone photos are a good starting point.
Check the resolution after cropping. A photo that looks sharp at full size can become soft once only a narrow slice is used and enlarged. As a rough guide, the cropped area should still be around 300 pixels per inch at the final bookmark size. For illustrations and watercolours, scan the original artwork instead of photographing it, so the colours stay even across the whole strip.
Text on a bookmark should be short. A quote of one or two lines reads better than a paragraph squeezed into narrow columns.
Ideas for bookmark sets
Bookmarks look best in sets, and a set is cheap to print once the size and stock are chosen. Each design is simply another position on the sheet.
- Book club: one bookmark per member with the year's reading list on the back.
- Wedding or shower favours: a photo of the couple, the date and a short quote.
- Memorial keepsakes: a photo and a favourite line, handed out at a service or sent to family.
- Author launch: the cover art, a short tagline and the book's website.
- Children's reading challenge: a tracker with boxes to tick after each book.
- Gift add-on: a bookmark tucked into a gifted book, matched to the wrapping. Our guide to printing a coordinated gift set shows how to keep tags, cards and wrapping consistent.
Pairing bookmarks with other printed keepsakes also works well. A family that is making a photo book can print matching bookmarks from the same photos for each relative.
Order custom bookmarks with us
We print custom bookmarks in small and larger runs, on sturdy card with optional lamination, rounded corners and punched holes for tassels. You can mix several designs in one order and keep the same size and finish across the set. Have a look at our custom and online printing options, or tell us about your project with the number of designs, quantity and the date you need them, and we will suggest a card, size and finish that suit it.
