The third edition aims to provide a complete guide to bookmaking, and includes discussion of the fundamental changes that the computer has had on the overall process.

The unchallenged bible of the publishing industry, Bookmaking is the introduction to editing, design, and production for newcomers, acclaimed as the premier text for students as well as a comprehensive reference for experienced hands. First issued in 1965 and revised in 1979, it has now been thoroughly reorganized and updated to reflect the profound changes in the bookmaking process and in publishing practices in the twenty-first century.

The computer-centered method of getting from the author's conception to completed print-or electronic-book has come to dominate publishing, involving not only the setting of type but also the preparation of manuscripts, editing, illustration creation and processing, page makeup, color separation, and preparation for printing. Even more significant than its use for these individual procedures is the computer's role in creating an integrated system that is greater than the sum of its parts.

Covering all the publishing processes up to distribution, Bookmaking addresses the needs of publishing professionals, whether they do the work themselves in-house or have it done to their specifications by outside suppliers. But this new edition is not only about technological change; all aspects of bookmaking have been reconsidered. The text that served the industry for nearly three decades has been updated where appropriate, while still providing the unchanging facts and principles of book craft.