Margins

Prepress Preparation, Continued Margins Margins act as a frame to keep the readers attention focused on the text. Even margins are monotonous and narrow margins make reading difficult. A well-designed page contains a mass of type pleasingly framed in white space. The margins of a single page layout should have equal left- and right-hand margins with the bottom margin slightly larger than the top margin. When setting opposing pages, the margins that join the pages together, or inner margins, are made narrower than all other margins. When opened, this gutter of white space should equal the width of the extreme left or right margin. The top margin is larger than the outside margins and the largest margin of all is at the bottom of the page. Figure 1-20 shows the margins of a single page and an opposing page layout. Figure 1-20.—Margins with the dimension "E" denoting equal amounts of space. 1-25