Can you scale typesetting to high title volumes?

Yes. Our semi-automated, templated workflow is designed to run at volume, from a handful of titles to thousands of editions a year, without proportional increases in cost or turnaround time.

Do you handle complex layouts such as maths and tables?

Yes. We typeset maths using MathML, handle complex tables, structured XML, and pedagogy markup alongside standard trade and non-fiction layouts.

What happens when an author submits late corrections?

Our correction workflow absorbs late changes in-flow. Corrections are applied against the current composed file, tracked, and verified before the pages are released, without restarting composition from scratch.

What file formats do you deliver?

We deliver print-ready PDF as standard. Where the title feeds into a digital workflow, we can also generate the source for accessible ePub3, structured XML, and ONIX metadata from the same composition.

Finished, typeset titles laid out spine-up, showing their composed covers

Expertise

Typesetting Services

Reliable, scalable production for any volume of titles.

A typesetter composing pages in Adobe InDesign

Overview

Typesetting at Crius Group is a production system, not a craft bottleneck. A templated, semi-automated workflow absorbs author corrections, late edits, and last-minute reflows without breaking the schedule. We cover the full range: trade fiction, non-fiction, educational titles with pedagogy markup, and academic works with complex maths, tables, and structured XML.

Pain points we solve

What makes typesetting hard to scale in-house.

Production capacity that cannot scale with title volume
Late author corrections derailing the schedule
Complex layouts (maths, tables, structured content) that other vendors struggle with

Process

How it works

From: Edited manuscript
To: Print-ready pages

Template setup for the title or series
Semi-automated page composition
Correction cycles absorbed in-flow
Print-ready pages with full version history

Who this is for

Publishers we help with typesetting

All expertise

Manual vs semi-automated typesetting: a practical comparison
Factor	Manual typesetting	Semi-automated typesetting
Speed at volume	Slows proportionally with title count	Consistent throughput regardless of volume
Consistency	Depends on individual typesetter	Enforced by template rules
Late corrections	Risk of rework and schedule slip	Absorbed in-flow without restarting
Complex content (maths, tables)	Handled case by case	Rule-based with human review for exceptions
Audit trail	Varies by vendor	Full version history per title
Multi-format output	Separate file per format	Single source drives print and digital

Good to know

Typesetting: The process of arranging text, images, and other elements onto pages according to a design specification and typographic rules. In publishing production, typesetting turns an edited manuscript into print-ready pages. Modern typesetting uses software such as Adobe InDesign and may be semi-automated using templates and scripts.
MathML: Mathematical Markup Language, an XML-based standard for representing mathematical notation in documents. MathML allows equations to be encoded semantically rather than as images, making them accessible to screen readers, searchable, and reusable in digital formats such as ePub3.

What is semi-automated typesetting?

Semi-automated typesetting uses templates and scripts to apply layout rules (margins, type sizes, paragraph styles, grid) automatically to structured content. A typesetter then reviews and corrects exceptions. This approach is faster and more consistent than fully manual composition, while retaining human oversight for complex cases.

What is the difference between typesetting and desktop publishing?

Typesetting specifically refers to composing text and images into pages according to typographic rules and a design specification. Desktop publishing (DTP) is a broader term covering design, layout, and typesetting using software like InDesign. In a production context, typesetting is the repeatable, quality-controlled stage that turns edited content into camera-ready pages.

How does typesetting feed into accessible ePub3 production?

When typesetting is done from structured content, tagged with headings, body styles, and element types, the same source can generate an accessible ePub3 alongside the print PDF. This single-source approach avoids maintaining two separate files and ensures the ePub3 reflects the final edited, typeset version.

Frequently asked questions

Can you scale typesetting to high title volumes?
Yes. Our semi-automated, templated workflow is designed to run at volume, from a handful of titles to thousands of editions a year, without proportional increases in cost or turnaround time.
Do you handle complex layouts such as maths and tables?
Yes. We typeset maths using MathML, handle complex tables, structured XML, and pedagogy markup alongside standard trade and non-fiction layouts.
What happens when an author submits late corrections?
Our correction workflow absorbs late changes in-flow. Corrections are applied against the current composed file, tracked, and verified before the pages are released, without restarting composition from scratch.
What file formats do you deliver?
We deliver print-ready PDF as standard. Where the title feeds into a digital workflow, we can also generate the source for accessible ePub3, structured XML, and ONIX metadata from the same composition.