Frequently Asked Questions
The Scout Book is a powerful publishing platform that allows you to make custom notebooks and books.
What exactly is a Scout Book?
The Scout Book is a powerful publishing platform that allows you to make customized notebooks and books. We provide online ordering, design templates, and friendly customer support to make the process easy and fun. Free domestic shipping helps get your project to your door with ease.
We offer Scout Books in two sizes, our 3.5 x 5 in. Pocket Scout Book, and a 5 x 7 in. Mega Scout Book, both of which come standard with 32 pages.
What are Scout Books made out of?
All Scout Books are made with care in the heart of Portland, Oregon. Each order is offset printed using vegetable-based inks, and 100% recycled papers sourced from American mills.
Scout Book covers are made with 18pt Chipboard that contains 85% post-consumer recycled content and 15% pre-consumer recycled content. Scout Book pages are made with 70# text weight paper containing 100% post-consumer recycled content. We power all of our presses and production machinery with renewable energy.
What is the Mark of Quality?
We’re proud of what we do, and we want you to know you’re holding a 100% authentic Scout Book in your hand. That’s why we apply this tiny imprint to each book that comes from our shop. The Scout Books Mark of Quality is printed on the last page of the interior of each and every Scout Book. It’s small, but it’s powerful. Just like a Scout Book.
If you are ordering a Scout Book with custom interior, be sure to leave room for the Mark of Quality on the last page of your book. We’d recommend downloading our design templates, as the interior page templates show the proper location of the Mark of Quality.
What’s the difference between standard pages and a custom page design?
Notebooks with standard pages come with your choice of blank, lined, or dot grid pages printed in black ink.
Custom pages are available for orders of 250 pieces or more. With custom pages, you can design the content for all 32 pages of your Scout Book. The standard option is printing in black ink, but you can also opt for full color pages.
WHAT ARE MY CUSTOM OPTIONS?
Can I use custom ink colors?
Absolutely! Custom ink is available on orders of 250 or more. Please note that it will add a few days to your project timeline, as we have it mixed and tested for your approval. The fee is an additional $115 per custom color, and is charged each time you order a custom color.
Please note that the appearance of a specific ink on chipboard will usually vary from its appearance in a Pantone swatch book.
Not all colors are suitable to be printed on chipboard, but we’re happy to recommend the colors that will work best. Please contact us if you have questions.
Do you offer Scout Books in a larger size?
Yes! Our Mega Scout Books are 5 x 7 in. and are made with the same attention to detail as our Pocket Scout Books.
Can my Scout Book have more than 32 pages? How about less?
32 is the magic number, no more, no less! The way that Pocket Scout Books are produced – from one folded 32-page signature! – means that the interior page count is set at 32 pages. Our larger format, the 5 x 7 in. Mega Scout Books, are made from two folded 16-page signatures, and is also set at 32 pages.
Can I print in color on the pages?
You can!
While most custom interiors are printed in black ink, you can switch that to another spot color, use multiple spot colors, or even print in full color (CMYK)!
Can I print on the inside cover?
Yes! Printing on the inside cover of a Scout Book is always priced as an additional color, with a minimum order of 250 pieces. For example, a Scout Book with black ink printed on the cover and black ink on the inside cover would be priced as a two color job, and a Scout Book with a two color cover and a one color inside cover would be priced as a three color job.
Can you add foil to my Scout Books?
We can! Please get in touch for details and pricing.
Can I change the color of the staples?
Yes! You can change the staple color on all custom orders to gold! This just adds $25 to an order, and can be selected while ordering online. (We’ve offered other staple colors in the past: black, white, red, navy, green, yellow, orange, and pink. These colors are more limited now as we are integrating new equipment and options like Full Colored Pages. Please contact us at [email protected] if you have questions about colored staples for your order).
Can I place an order for a higher volume than what is offered on your site?
Yes, we’d love that! We ask that you please contact us directly at [email protected] to discuss pricing and turnaround for high volume orders.
HOW DOES IT ALL WORK?
How do I order my own Scout Books?
You can order your Scout Books here on our website. If you’d like to better understand the process, check out our How to Make Custom Notebooks page. You’ll want to use our design templates, which you can find right here.
If you’re looking for special order options not available on the website, please contact us directly.
Will I get a proof of my design?
We will always prepare a digital preview for your approval and your production time will begin once we have your approval. We won’t start printing your project without it! We do not provide physical proofs for custom Scout Book orders.
How long before I get my order?
Once your order and artwork are submitted, we’ll create a digital proof within 1 business day. Incomplete or missing artwork may result in a delay as we ask for new files. Any requested changes or new artwork submitted in response to a digital proof will result in the creation of a new digital proof, which may take up to 1 additional business day to create.
Standard production time for Pocket Scout Books up to 5,000 units is 15 business days from proof approval. Standard production time for Mega Scout Books or orders of Pocket Scout Books over 5,000 units is 15 business days from proof approval. Depending on the volume in our shop at the time you place your order, actual production time may be faster.
Orders over 5,000 for Mega Scout Books and 10,000 for Pocket Scout Books, or more complex orders (such as those involving foil, special packaging, colored staples or freight shipping), may require an extended production timeline.
Shipping time is not included in these production times and varies based on destination.
In a hurry? Adding a rush to your order can reduce the turnaround time to 10 or 7 business days for Pocket Scout Books (and 10 business days for Mega orders or Pocket orders over 5,000) for an additional fee.
Please get in touch if you have a project with a tighter turnaround than the options offered in the online ordering system. We will do our best to help make it happen.
Can you send me a sample?
We’d love to! Drop us a line with your shipping address, and if there’s something specific you’d like to see a sample of. We ask that you cover the fees if we are shipping internationally.
Can the Scout Books team design my project?
Scout Books is not currently able to provide more involved design services such as logo development, illustration, or branding.
If you need help with basic logo placement or layout, we are happy to help. Layout fees are $50 per hour with a minimum charge of one hour, and will be billed in 15 minute increments thereafter.
What types of files do you accept?
Our preferred file format for final artwork is a PDF, and we ask that you please outline your fonts. We also accept Adobe Illustrator, InDesign and Photoshop documents. If you’re sending a native file, please be sure to include or outline fonts and also include any linked images.
SHIPPING, PAYMENT, AND POLICIES
What forms of payment do you accept?
We accept all major credit cards and payments via PayPal.
We can also accept a check for custom orders. If you would like to pay with a check, please get in touch with us.
Do you offer free shipping?
For custom orders, our standard domestic shipping (UPS Ground) is free for almost all orders shipping to addresses in the United States. Our free shipping does not apply to custom orders of over 5000 pieces.
Free shipping is also available for Shop and DIY orders over $100.
We aren’t able to ship to PO boxes.
Need your order in a hurry? You can add expedited shipping to your order upon checkout.
Does Scout Books offer other shipping options? What about international shipping?
We do! When you’re ready to check out, you’ll find a variety of shipping options to choose from.
For international orders, our standard shipping is UPS Worldwide Expedited, but we can ship via other methods upon your request.
If you have an account with Fedex or UPS that you’d like us to bill, we can do that, too! Just shoot us an email at [email protected] and we’ll help arrange it.
Once my order has shipped, how long will it take to arrive?
For domestic orders: Depending on where you live, UPS Ground usually takes 3-7 business days to arrive at your doorstep. If you need faster shipping, you can choose from a few options at checkout.
For international orders: Shipping time can vary greatly depending on where you live and the customs policies of your country. Shoot us an email and we can get you an estimate!
Can I return my Custom Scout Books?
Custom orders are specially manufactured to your specifications and are non-returnable. If we make an error in producing your order, we will gladly fix it. Please let us know if you have any questions.
What is your refund policy?
Full cash refunds or store credit are available for 30 days after the placement of an order, assuming no artwork has been submitted and no work has been completed on the order. After 30 days, refunds will be available in the form of store credit.
Partial refunds may be available for orders in various stages of production. A $100 fee will be taken out of the refund if the order is cancelled after proofing but before production. 50% of the order will be refunded if some printing has occurred but it has not passed into the next stage of production. Once the books are completed, no refunds will be available.
Do you have any policies or terms of use?
Good question. There are a few things to keep in mind when placing your order with Scout Books. Check out our Policies page.
Getting started on your design? Use our design templates! If you still have questions, please feel free to contact us!