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If you use the online design program Canva to create your products, you’re not alone. Many of our customers use Canva with great results for creating planners, journals, card decks, calendars and more. If you have your Canva designs ready to send to us, here are a few tips and tricks to make sure your files are correctly set up and your printing experience stress-free.

Page Limitations
When you create a design in Canva that has multiple pages, Canva limits you to 100 pages. If you are creating a product that has more than 100 pages, such as card decks or daily planners, here’s what to do:

• Split up your design into multiple files within Canva.
• Send us the files and our design team will merge them into one final print-ready pdf for a small design fee. Please number the PDFs in the order they should be merged.
• We will then send you the final file for your approval before proceeding with setting up your product for printing with us.

Adding Bleed
If your product has color that goes all the way to the edge of the page, you need to be sure that you’ve added bleed to your design. Bleed helps to avoid having unsightly white gaps when you want your design to print to the edge of the paper. Here is how to set up bleed on designs in Canva:

• Click on “File”
• Select “Show print bleed.” A border of broken lines will appear close to the edges of your design. This margin is fixed and cannot be adjusted.
• If you see white gaps around the design edges, adjust your background and design elements to cover the white spaces. Due to the risk of a shift when cutting, make sure you extend the images outside of the bleed line to guarantee your document does not have a white stripe along the side of your page.
• Also, when you’re making those adjustments, know that anything in the bleed area will be trimmed off your print in the finishing process so if you want something to show up on your print, don’t let it creep into the bleed area.

Crop Marks
Crop marks show the printer where to trim (or cut) the paper or card for your product. The size for crop marks is fixed and cannot be adjusted. The time to add crop marks is when you’re ready to download your design and send it for printing.

• After you add bleed to your design, click the Download button on the toolbar.
• On the File Type dropdown menu, select PDF Print.
• Click the box next to “Crop marks and bleed.”
• Click Download.

For more details and information about preparing your files for print, be sure to refer to this article “How to Prepare Your Files for Printing” on our blog.
 
***Why are bleed and crop marks important?
Missing bleed and crop marks seem to be the most popular reason for rejected print files. If your PDF has edge-to-edge printing, then you need bleed. This means the image should be slightly larger than the finished page size so that when we trim to the crop marks, we will cut through the image so that the printing actually prints edge to edge. Without bleed, your page/cover/document will have a white border all of the way around and the color will not print to the edge of the sheet. Print file preparation is extremely important, so even if you're not ready to start printing just yet, be sure to save these instructions to help you down the road.
 
Downloading Files From Canva
Canva provides all you need to download a print-ready file, if you follow these directions:

• Start by clicking the download button in the top right.
• Under “File Type,” make sure “PDF Print” is selected. (Not PDF Standard).
• Make sure “Crop marks and bleed” are checked.
• Download your files in a single-page PDF format.
• Click “Download” to get your files.

If you have any questions about using Canva for printing, or preparing your files to send to us, we’re here to help.

Some authors come to us to self-publish one book. But most authors end up creating multiple books and products, as it’s hard to turn off inspiration (and your audience keeps asking for more!). No matter what kind of books you’re writing – from fitness to finance to fun cozy murder-mysteries – there’s something that everyone should understand early in the process: The benefits of publishing imprints for self-published authors.

What is a publishing imprint?
A publishing imprint is the name assigned to an ISBN. It will be the name listed as publisher on your book copyright or imprint page, on the back cover of your book, and in retail descriptions such as Amazon.

Benefits of creating a publishing imprint
Authors who publish their works under imprints set themselves apart from other self-published authors who have no imprint and are publishing under their own names. Having your book listed with a publisher name that is different than your own creates a level of professionalism that can overcome bias that many still have against self-publishing. Having an "official" name on the back of that book gives it a professionalism that many readers are looking for. It also helps you create continuity with your branding, and gives you more flexibility in marketing and sales.

How to create a publishing imprint
When you work with Vervante, you have the flexibility to choose between using us (Vervante) as your imprint, or creating one for yourself.

Using Vervante as your imprint: If an author uses an ISBN purchased through Vervante, then Vervante will be listed as your imprint. Using Vervante ISBNs and listing Vervante as your publisher adds credibility as we are an established, respected publisher who has been in business for 21 years. Another benefit to using our ISBN is that you, as the author, retain full rights to your ISBN and content (a benefit that many other publishing companies do not offer.) 

Creating your own imprint: If you already have a business brand name and your book is a part of that business, you might choose to create an imprint that is consistent with your business. For example, if your brand is “Fitness International,” and you are writing a series of books about nutrition, health and wellness, your publishing imprint could simply be “Fitness International Press.”

If an author wants to create and use their own imprint, they must purchase their ISBNs directly from Bowker. When you purchase your ISBN directly from them, you can set up the publisher name that will be attached to it. PLEASE NOTE: If you purchase ISBNs from Bowker, you don't need to purchase barcodes as well. There are a number of free barcode generators online that you can use.

An imprint is a great way for self-published authors to brand their works and elevate their credibility by having a professional publishing name associated with their books. If you have any questions about using Vervante as your imprint, or creating your own, please email our team

We're constantly amazed by the clever, unique, brilliant and beautiful books and products our customers create. Today we’d like to introduce you to Manuel Buitrago, fitness professional, weightlifting expert, and self-published author of two books, including “Chinese Weightlifting: A Visual Guide to Technique (2021).” Manuel’s ability to see a need and rise to the occasion to help others through his research and writing is a great example, as well as his insight into what it takes to publish (it’s a team effort!), and being open to learning even the second time around.

Manuel’s story

Q: What inspired you to create this book?

I was on Instagram one day and saw a CrossFit post of a weightlifter performing a snatch in slow motion video. The lift wasn’t perfect from a technical standpoint and the caption read “What do you see?” And the responses from trainers and coaches was interesting because there was no consensus even though everyone was watching the same video.

For example, one person would say the problem is X while another said the problem is Y. And another said the problem was A (which contradicted X) while another said B (which contradicted Y). Most of these issues were symptoms rather than root causes. So, it became clear to me there was an opening in the market for a visual guide to show what is good technique and how to identify technical mistakes.

I learned professional weightlifting in China, which uses a unique weightlifting philosophy to achieve a technical standard. So I figured I could add even more value to the book by proposing Chinese training solutions to overcome these mistakes.

Q: What challenges did you have to overcome?

It was quite a quest to develop this book. First was organizing the 2-day photoshoot at a Chinese sports school (which requires permission and knowing someone). I had to book international flights, local trains, and Chinese car services in advance to make sure the Hong Kong based photography crew, a former national-level Chinese weightlifter, and my colleague and I all arrived on a date that worked for all parties. Given the complexity, we only had this opportunity to film and a limited time per day, so I had to cross my fingers that there were no delays!

The actual organization, writing, and editing of the book was straightforward, however I wanted to offer 6 translations to reach a broader audience (English, French, Italian, Japanese, Spanish, and Portuguese). So, I had to make sure my writing was clear enough to be translated easily into other languages.

The next challenge was organizing professional translators. This is easier said than done because many translation services provide google translations or word-for-word translations that don’t sound authentic. Eventually I was able to find some capable translators and also had bilingual weightlifting friends proofread and edit the texts to ensure accuracy and authenticity. Thankfully I’ve received messages from non-English speakers thanking me for providing a high-quality translation.

Q: Share a high moment or interesting story about creating your book that might inspire other future authors/creators.

A book is rarely a solo effort. One of the best parts of creating a book is the people who help make it happen. The team I organized to produce the pictures worked long hours, ate little, and drank a lot of coffee to maximize our filming time. But there’s a feeling of solidarity when a group comes together and struggles to create something good. Afterwards, we were invited by our hosts to a traditional Chinese meal, which was a great and unexpected celebration that I would not have had otherwise and made the entire experience much more memorable. So, don’t be afraid to ask for help (whether it’s proofreading, editing, graphics, etc.).

Q: Any advice for others?

My book Chinese Weightlifting: A Visual Guide to Technique is my second book with Vervante. I never thought I would write books, mainly because I didn’t think I could come up with an idea (much less write about it for hundreds of pages). But after writing two books, and considering a third, I recall the words from Nobel laureate Albert Szent-Gyorgyi: “discovery consists of seeing what everybody has seen and thinking what nobody has thought.”

About “Chinese Weightlifting: A Visual Guide to Technique”

If your weightlifting progress is stalling, you can’t figure out the cause of your technical mistakes, or have no idea how to fix them, then this book is what you need. Often referred to as the “little black book of Chinese weightlifting,” Manuel Buitrago’s Chinese Weightlifting: A Visual Guide to Technique helps weightlifters and their coaches learn to spot the technical issues that prevent reaching maximum weightlifting performance and excel to their highest potential.

This book is great for:

• Beginner and intermediate athletes who coach themselves
• Experienced athletes who have stubborn habits
• Coaches looking to improve their “eye” for weightlifting technique
• Trainers looking for ways to fix technical errors
• Anyone wanting to learn what to do and what not to do when performing the snatch, clean, and jerk.

Learn more

You can learn more about Manuel’s book on his website, and connect via social media on Facebook or Instagram.