Gutter

The area or margin of a book page that is close the the spine – on the Verso page (left page) this is to the right, On the Recto page (right page) this is closest to the left.

PUBLISHING TIP ‘Gutter Loss’ is a common problem for books that are adhesive bound – either perfect binding or bust bound. This especially applies to books that are glued with non PUR glue e.g. EVA glue. This is because the book will not sit flat (like PUR glued books or saddle-stitched documents. Gutter loss is particularly problematic when images are displayed across the gutter because part of the image – around 3-5mm on both the recto and verso pages – can disappear into the gutter. This can result in strange looking images across spreads. If the design demands an image across two facing pages, the designer can offset the image 3-5mm from the edge of the pages. Then when the document is open the image will smoothly transition or bridge across the spread.