This article explains how to create page margins with perfect proportions for books, reports, newsletters, or any other document. You can change the margins as you wish in your publication. These suggestions are roughly based on some formal canons of page composition in book design, such as those of JA Van de Graaf and Jan Tschichold.
Adjusting Page Margins in Microsoft Word
Although the technical procedure for adjusting margins varies by application, the principles for selecting appropriate margins are universal. Margins create white space, frame the content of your page, and provide a place to hold the page (and take notes) without disrupting the text.
Do not use the same page margins on all sides. For best appearance, adjust page margins progressively from smallest to largest: inside margins, top margin, outside margin, bottom margin.
Make inside margins smaller than outside margins. When setting margins for facing pages, make the inside margin half as large as the outside margin. If the inside margins were the same, the space between the pages (the gutter) of the spread in a book or magazine would appear too large. Cutting them in half creates visually more even margins on the left and right sides. However, this can also depend on the type of publication.
