What is creep in booklet printing?
In short
Creep is the way the inner sheets of a folded, stapled booklet sit slightly further out than the outer sheets, so after trimming the middle pages lose a little more at their outside edge.
Creep, sometimes called push-out or shingling, happens because paper has thickness. When sheets are nested inside each other and folded, each outer sheet has to wrap around the sheets inside it, so the edges of the inner sheets stick out slightly beyond the outer ones. The booklet is then trimmed square, and the pages near the middle lose a little more at the outside edge than the covers do.
What it means for your design
Creep is small, but it shows when something sits close to the outside edge:
- page numbers placed tight to the edge can drift closer to the trim towards the middle of the booklet;
- a thin border or frame around each page can look narrower on the centre pages;
- text set right to the outside margin can feel cramped.
The more pages and the thicker the paper, the more creep there is.
How to allow for it
Keep text, page numbers and logos at least 8mm inside the trim on every page of our stapled booklets, and a little more on the spine side. At the page counts we print (8 to 24 pages on 170gsm silk), the 8mm safe area allows for creep. Avoid thin borders that run close to the edge of every page.
Do you need to adjust your file?
No. Supply single pages in reading order with 3mm bleed, and we arrange the pages for printing. You don't need to shift content page by page yourself. Our booklet page count guide explains the full set-up.
Last reviewed