A book production method and system are disclosed. The method of book production allows an operator to input preferences for a multi-part workflow. The preferences can be communicated to a printer where the books are printed from a loaded plurality of book parts. There can be a deficient or excess number of loaded book parts in relation to that specified in a print job ticket. The user preferences can dictate how the book printer is to handle any deficiency or excess in the book parts. In such cases, the operator and the book printer can take appropriate action, and the book printer can indicate the status of the print job to the operator.