Where to Start

To get started, head over to the Affinity website and click "Get for Individuals". You'll need a Canva account to download and use the app since Affinity is now owned by them. It is free to download and use in exception to some of their offered AI tools. The page layout, vector, and photo editing tools are free!

Document Setup

Click on the green "+" button on the top right. This will bring up the document setup options menu. We recommend the following options for our printing process:

• Units: Inches
• DPI: 300
• Color format: RGB/8
• Color profile: sRGB IEC61966-2.1
• Multi-page: Toggle to work with facing pages/ spreads (recommended)
• Margins: .375" Interior Pages / .375" Softcover Cover / 1" Hardcover Cover
• Bleed: .125"

This workflow has page 1 as the front cover, page 2 as the back cover, and page 3 as the first interior page (starting on the right hand side of the book).

It is important to note that margins can be changed for individual pages after the initial document setup by right clicking the cover pages and selecting "Spread Properties". Then, click on the page and changing the margin size. This is useful for changing the margins of the front and back covers to 1" to accurately gauge a safe printing area for your content.

If you're creating a full image-wrap cover, you'll need to create a separate document for the cover file.

Working in Affinity

Once you create your document, you'll notice many features that you would see in Adobe InDesign. Workflow and tools are very similar so if you're familiar with that program, you should feel right at home.

At the top, there is a mode bar where you can switch between page layout, vector, and pixel. These allow you access to different tools that you would find in Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator. It's like having the 2D creation apps of the Adobe creative suite all in one place with a seamless workflow between them.

For more in depth dives into specific topics, check out Affinity's help page below.