From press-ready file to finished book in your hands
MakerForge is the physical bookmaking companion to Imposition Forge. Materials calculation, cutting diagrams, binding structure guides, and a lightweight zine layout tool — everything you need at the workbench.
Fully offline · One-time purchase · No subscription
Everything at the workbench. Nothing you have to guess.
MakerForge fills the gap between “I have my imposed PDF printed” and “I have a finished book” — with practical tools calibrated for small-run, hand-craft, and miniature book production.
Materials calculator
Enter your book spec and get exact quantities for cloth, board, adhesive, paper, and thread — for any edition size. Metric and imperial. Outputs a printable shopping list and cut list.
Binding structure library
Step-by-step assembly guides for 9 binding structures: perfect bind, pamphlet, Coptic, long stitch, Japanese stab, French link, Bradel, full case, and half-cloth case.
Miniature book presets
Dedicated presets for traditional miniature (under 76mm), playing card, credit card, matchbox, and Lilliput formats. Save custom presets for your own formats.
Zine layout tool
A lightweight spread canvas editor for zines and small-format publications. Text, images, shapes. Export to PDF and pass directly to Imposition Forge for the imposition step.
Cutting diagram generator
Generates a printable cutting guide for cover boards, cloth, and endpapers — with annotated dimensions from the materials calculator. A4 or US Letter, printable actual size.
Edition planner
Track your print run — copies bound, edition numbering, colophon text drafting. Simple and focused: how many books are done and how many are left.
Materials calculation that actually does the maths
Enter your book specification and MakerForge tells you exactly what to buy and how to cut it — for any edition size, in metric or imperial.
Reads your .mfx file — link your ManuscriptForge project and page count, trim size, and paper weight pre-populate automatically.
9 binding structures — the materials calculation is different for every structure. Select Full Case Binding and you get board, cloth, thread, and adhesive. Select Pamphlet and you get paper and thread only.
Edition size scaling — change the number of copies and every quantity recalculates instantly. Materials for 1 copy or 500.
Spine width formula is consistent — same paper thickness values as ManuscriptForge and CoverForge. Your cover and your materials will always agree.
Default values, paper presets, and example calculations are all calibrated for small-run craft production — not industrial print runs.
All inputs accept manual entry. The .mfx link is a convenience, not a requirement.
Truly offline.
Fully yours.
No subscription
One-time purchase, lifetime updates.
No internet required
All calculations, guides, and the zine layout tool work offline.
Metric and imperial
All measurements in your preferred units. Switch per session.
Single portable file
One .maker file per project — spec, materials, edition plan, and zine layout.
The Forge Suite
Eight apps. One complete book creation and publishing ecosystem. All offline, all one-time purchase.
The workbench companion for book makers who make books
Fully offline · One-time purchase · No subscription · Windows 11 only at this stage
Windows 11 only at this stage · One-time purchase · No subscription
Also in The Forge Suite bundle →