LAUGHING BEAR
NEWSLETTER 120
March/April 2000; edited by Tom Person; Copyright 2000 by Laughing Bear Press; Estab. 1976; ISSN 1056-0327 P.O. Box 613322, Dallas, TX 75261-3322; 817-858-9515; e-mail: [email protected] http://www.laughingbear.com; Keyword: Laughing Bear; $15/12 issues, $17.50/Canada, £15/UK, Eire, $25/other
The Surviving Small the middle of the run would be Computer To Plate acceptable. Plates for offset printing are Press: Before You Hire Now the question is: Who was made by first photographing each a Printer responsible for the print job being a page and developing the film. Years ago I worked for a com- disaster? Then a graphic artist “strips” the pany that dealt with the Army. One It was me. I got a bid on 4,000 film negatives onto frames. A project was to produce a full color books. I did not specifically say frame is a paper or polyester sheet comic book of tips for maintaining that I wanted 4,000 beautiful, with a hole cut into it for each page the Bradley Fighting Vehicle. usable books nor did I ask the to give the film more support and Since I the only person there with printer how much overage (wasted make it easier to handle, especially any publishing experience at all copies) we’d have to add to the run when there are several pages (and it was minimal at the time), I to get them. mounted (or “imposed”) for print- was chosen to find a printer. I assumed the printer knew ing the book “4 up”, “16 up”, etc. We wanted 4,000 copies of the what I wanted and he assumed he The film images are then trans- prototype book on glossy paper. I knew what I wanted, too. Unfortu- ferred to metal plates. The plate is took a dummy of the book around nately we didn’t get together and coated with a chemical emulsion, to all the printers I could find who compare our assumptions. He and when light is shot through the did color printing and, after the assumed that, as with most comic negative onto the plate, the chemi- bidding was done, we selected one books, some poor registration cals harden in the printing areas who assured us they could handle would be acceptable. I assumed exposed to the light. A water- the short run job and do it right the he’d realize that for a multi-million receptive material that attaches first time. dollar contract nothing but only to bare metal is then applied to When the books came back perfection would do. the plates. from the printer the color registra- This doesn’t mean you have to The offset printing method tion was off by as much as a become an expert in printing to hire uses the oil and water principal so quarter inch in more than half of a printer. But you do need to be- ink sticks where it should and the copies. That means if there was come an expert in communicating washes away where it shouldn’t. a part of a picture that was orange it your printing needs. A mistake can That works well, but it makes print- would have yellow ink bleeding out be costly and put you behind ing plants huge producers of toxic one side of the orange area and red schedule. waste. Even if you submit your coming out the other. The books As soon as you decide to do a book to the printer as a computer looked horrible. book and publish it yourself, start file, the pages are still printed out I took a box back to the talking to printers. The book may and plates made in this way. printer’s salesperson and asked be a year off. You may not even be Computer To Plate (CTP) what happened. He said that sure you can afford to publish a technology is the hottest subject in because of the size of his press the book; but you won’t know anything printing today. With it your com- color would never come out right until you ask. puter file is transferred directly to a on such a short run job. We’d have A printer would much rather printable plate with all the pages to do a run of at least 10,000 to get talk about a project sometime in the imposed and ready to mount on the 4,000 good books. About 3,000 at distant future than have you come press. The reason you won’t find either end of the run would be in a couple weeks before you need CTP in your local print shop yet is ruined because the press would be the finished copies. the machines cost $200,000 to getting up to speed and then slowing down – only the books in (Continued on page 2.) (Continued on page 4.)
News, Information, and Inspiration for Small Publishers since 1976 1 LAUGHING BEAR NEWSLETTER 120
easier. Even if you expect to end way to save money is obviously to Before You Hire a up working with a company in have the press run as few times as Printer (continued) another part of the country, talk to possible by putting as many pages Printers, like everyone else, some local printers. Get a lot of as possible on a single plate. This want to do a good job with the least bids. But also take some time to is called printing “up”. amount of hassle and end up with a learn as you go. It helps to have If a book is printed four up, satisfied customer who ll come ’ some clue of what you’re doing, so that means four pages are printed at back. The best way they can take what one printer tells you and the same time. If the same book accomplish that is to help you to try it out on the next. has 120 pages, it would have be go give them exactly what they need Find someone you can feel through the printing press 30 times. to print your book so it comes comfortable with. A lot of print If you could find a way to print the out looking exactly the way you salespeople promise the world but book eight up, it would only have want it. don’t have any idea what they are to go through 15 times and save There is no one right way to do talking about. A really high or low you 50% on preparation, startup, a print job. While you may think bid is a good sign they don’t. Ask shutdown, and cleanup. what you are asking for is obvious, for samples and references. If they How many pages you can fit the printer doesn t know whether ’ don’t give samples, ask for titles on a sheet of paper obviously has to you are asking for a 7” x 7”, Smyth and look for them in bookstores or do with the size of the pages and sewn, perfectbound book printed the library. the size of the sheet – and the size on blue satin finish paper with full A good printer will be proud of of the printing press. The pages color photographed page numbers their work and you just might find need to fit on the sheet as economi- printed halfway off the page they’ve already done a project ex- cally as possible (with as little corners because you have an artis- actly like you have in mind. space between them as possible) tic vision and lots of money or you Discuss cost cutting measures. because not only do you pay for just don’t realize that such a print If you are doing a small book and wasted paper, you also pay for job is going to cost more than a want to use a special paper, maybe every slice of the blade that cuts house. the printer has another job coming your pages apart and trims off the Start out by explaining to the up with similar paper. You may be waste. printer what you want to accom- able to use some of the leftover Since the page size, sheet size, plish with the book. Bring in sam- paper from that job or tack your press size are so important, it ples of books similar to the one you paper order onto the other and save would be really nice if there was are considering. Ask about the best some shipping costs. and industry standard to go by. way for you to prepare and deliver If the paper requires special There is, sort of. Most books the book to them. Discuss budget, press setup, schedule your press run published have pages 5.5” to 6” whether there will be illustrations, to follow right after the other job so wide and 8.5” to 9” tall. Most bulk how you intend to sell it. Lay out you can save on those charges as paper and press plates are sized to the project and see what they think. well. accommodate those sizes. But to Be flexible. You can still There are four expensive steps find out exactly what a printer is afford to be at this stage. If you to every simple print run. First the using, you need to ask the printer. wait until the book is finished, you press has to be inked and the plate A fraction of an inch in either may find yourself locked into some and paper loaded. Then the press direction will not only affect expensive choices. So bat around starts up and takes a while to get up charges for extra cuts, it will affect ideas early on. The input you get to speed. During that time paper is the number of words on a page, the may well help you better define the wasted as the press isn’t running size of your margins, and the size project for yourself. You’ll have a fast enough to print well. Third, of your illustrations. better idea of number of pages, when the press is shut down, paper Your book will be cut again illustrations, the type of illustra- is wasted as it slows to a stop. when it is bound. The basic eco- tions, page size, binding, and what Fourth, the plate has to be removed nomical page size for a finished it all will cost. It may make the and another loaded. At the end and book is 6” x 9”, but the size when it project easier to complete since sometimes between plates the press is printed is a fraction larger. you’ll know what you are getting has to be cleaned. When the book is bound and all the yourself into. Each time the press has to be pages folded and stapled or glued Talk to several printers. They run to print a plate for your book, don’t have to be local to give you you pay for all those things. The (Continued on page 3.) an estimate and advice, but it is
News, Information, and Inspiration for Small Publishers since 1976 2 LAUGHING BEAR NEWSLETTER 120
printer when they have other jobs regularly contracted out. The stan- Before You Hire a scheduled for those colors. You dard binding is perfectbound. (continued) Printer may have to have all your black That’s where the pages are stacked together and inserted in the cover, printed at one time and the other and glued like a notepad. You can the book needs to be trimmed color printed a week later, but you also have them sewn in signatures square to get rid of any imperfec- will save by not making the printer and then perfectbound. A signature tions in stacking or pages sticking do extra work. It may be that the is a stack of 16 or 32 sheets with out. The size after the book has printer has a press reserved for a four pages each that are all folded been trimmed is called “trim size”, specific color they use often. together and sewed along the fold and that is the size you need to be Consider changing your accent (the spine). The signatures are then aware of for shipping, displaying, color to that one. stacked and glued into the binding. and marketing. It is also the size The cover of your book is usu- This kind of binding is more ex- you need to be acutely aware of ally the item on which you’ll least pensive, but very strong. Cloth when formatting page margins. want to spare expense. If it is full bound books are made with sewn Bleeding is another considera- color, find out from the printer signatures. That is called “Smyth tion in page size. When you want whether they will do it themselves sewn” binding. ink to go out to the very edge of a to contract it out to another printer. You can also use comb binding page, that’s a bleed. The printer is Contracting it out may save you or spiral binding for a cookbook or not able to print to the edge of the money, or you may feel that with any other kind of book you want to page, so to create the effect extra the printer taking a percentage on it lay flat when open. Comb binding margin is left on the page and they it may cost you more than having it uses a plastic spine with teeth that print beyond the edge of the page done somewhere else, but in either curl around and hold the pages to- into the margin. Then the margin is case it could affect your schedule. gether. You can do comb binding cut off and the page looks like it If it is being done somewhere else, yourself with a machine you can was printed to the edge. The mar- the printer will not be able to guar- buy at any large office supply store. gin that is cut off is wasted paper antee when it will be done. If If you are going to sell the and the cut, of course, is an extra that’s the case, have the cover done book primarily to libraries or for charge. For most books the only first so it is ready for the rest of classroom use, cloth binding is best bleeds you’ll find are on the cover. your book. because it is most durable. Next is Color printing is very expen- There are several different Smyth sewn perfect binding. Li- sive. For each color on a sheet of ways to do a cover today. You can braries and schools expect to pay pages, the sheet has to be run just use a heavier paper as is for a for extra durability in their books. through again. So if you have a natural finish, have one side If you are expecting to sell page with all the text in black ink lacquered for the most common most of the books to the public, but and a blue accent line at the top of shiny finish, get the new in-vogue a significant number to libraries, the page, the page will have to be satin finish, but again, look at the have a percentage of the run cloth printed twice – the paper will have books you most like for ideas and bound. The libraries will be more to be loaded twice, two plates will show them to the printer. And open to buying them. When a li- have to be made, the press will handle and beat up the cover you brary buys a paper bound book it have to be started and stopped and like. Especially do not choose a usually sends it out to be rebound cleaned twice, and there will be black matte finish before you’ve in a hard cover or places it on twice the wasted paper. seen a book cover that has one. reserve to make it last longer. A multi-color press can cut Every fingerprint shows. However you decide to have down time by running the paper Find out how many extra your book produced, your printer is through a series of drums each with covers will be printed to allow for key to the success of your project. it’s own plate and color. That cuts waste (overage), and request that They will help you keep within down on wasted time and paper, they be saved for you. Extra covers your budget and they’ll help you but you still pay for two plates and can be used for Promotional pur- create a marketable, economical twice the cleanup. There’s also the poses. Some publishers even have book. But only if you bring them extra overhead the printer carries the backs of them printed with in- in early and make them a part of by having a very expensive piece of formation about the book to be your planning process. Your equipment and someone trained to used in direct mailings and other printer can be the most informed, run it. marketing packages. least expensive consultant you’ll If you are using a single color Binding is another item that is ever hire. or two in addition to black, ask the
News, Information, and Inspiration for Small Publishers since 1976 3 LAUGHING BEAR NEWSLETTER 120
(continued) Book Promotion Made Easy CTP Announcements by Eric Gelb (Career Advancement $400,000 and most printers using Vagabond Productions (John them are Beta testing them in part- Bennett, ed.; 605 E. 5th Ave., El- Center, Inc., PO Box 436, Wood- nership with the manufacturers. lensburg, WA 98926; http://www. mere, NY 11598-0436; $12 + $4 Still, CTP is considered a eburg.com/~vagabond) is the elec- p&h) is a new 58 page guide to technology that will revolutionize tronic arm of Vagabond Press, one event planning, presentation skills, the printing industry. It is touted of the longest running and most and product marketing. It is de- that not only will it produce far less respected literary small presses. signed to help you pinpoint your toxic and material waste, it will The web site is one of the best audience, design events to reach them, and sell your book effec- result in faster turnaround times, designed I’ve seen. It is easy to higher resolution graphics, cost navigate from Vagabond history to tively. Foreword by Dan Poynter. savings for both printer and pub- Small Press Center (20 West a catalog of books and CDs to pho- th lisher, and higher quality print jobs. tos to links. The look is clean and 44 St., New York, NY 10036; Drawbacks, for the time being very cool. Bennett also has an e- http://www.smallpress.org) has worked out a discount program anyway, include cost and proofing. mail list, sending out “Shards”, Your basic high tech cash layout portions of his stories and articles. with The New York Times to help its members advertise in The New had better pay for itself in the two A Simple Guide to Self- to three years before it becomes Publishing by Mark Ortman (Wise York Times Review of Books. Con- obsolete, be it a $200 desktop Owl Books, PO Box 29205, Bel- tact the Small Press Center for de- scanner or a $400,000 platemaker. lingham, WA 98228; http:// tails. You must be a member to There is no resale value in digital www.wiseowlbooks.com/publish) participate, but SPC is a very good equipment, so unless a printer gen- has been updated in a third edition organization, so you might consider erates the volume of business to to include digital demand publish- joining. pay a machine off quick, they’ll be ing, online publishing, ebooks, and Unwound Magazine (Lindsay waiting and watching until prices distributing and promoting books Wilson, ed.; PO Box 835, Laramie, inevitably come down. on the internet. The book is sup- WY 82070; http://www.fyuocuk. com/unwound.htm) publishes po- The proofing limitations are ported by Wise Owl’s web site with more likely to be felt by publishers. articles, a quiz on self publishing, etry, short fiction, reviews, essays, If the book goes straight from your and an e-newsletter. photos, and artwork. A single poet is profiled in each issue. They also input to the printing press, you can Mira (Media Image Resource forget about galleys and other Alliance; http://www.mira.com) is publish a irregular broadside series proofing steps, unless you want to a new service of the Copyright called gluestick and occasional pay through the nose for them. Clearance Center. It allows you to chapbooks, like Lindsay Wilson’s Color proofing can be done choose from more than 60,000 pho- Days Done Dry. digitally before the file is converted tographs, cartoons, and images to Advertising: Insert ads, in the form of to plate, but once the plates are license for use in books, promo- flyers to be inserted in newsletter mail- done, so are you. They can always tions, presentations, and more. ings, are welcome. Send 200 copies of send you a copy of the file to go the ad with $50, and the ad will be Mira just acquired 10,000 New mailed with the next issue of the news- through the platemaker, but isn’t Yorker cartoons. Mira also offers letter. Contest and other events or that what you sent them? free research of their archives. promotions that solicit money in the This will mean the burden of form of reading or other entry fees will 2000 PMA Publishing Uni- proofing will be on the publisher not be accepted. versity (Publishers Marketing As- Authorization to photocopy items before it goes to the printer, which sociation, 627 Aviation Way, Man- for internal or personal use, or for the means you will have to rely on hattan Beach, CA 90266; http:// internal or personal use of specific your office laser printer for the www.pma-online.org; 310-372- clients, is granted by Laughing Bear closest approximation of what the Press, provided that US$ .30 per copy is 2732) takes place May 30 to June 1 paid directly to Copyright Clearance final book will look like. in Chicago. Featured are work- Center, 222 Rosewood Dr., Danvers, Odds are that proofing meth- shops, exhibits, and one-on-one MA 01923 USA. For those organiza- ods will become available as the time with publishing consultants. tions that have been granted a photo- technology matures. For now the copy license by CCC, a separate system InfoPost (http://www.infopost. of payment has been arranged. The fee most practical use for CTP on your com) is a site where you will soon code for users of the Transactional part is to be able to impress your be able to sell e-versions of your Reporting Service (unlicensed users) is printer that you are on top of the books or anything downloadable 1056-0327/$ .30. Please write that code on your check. trends in his or her business. online (a preview site is up now).
News, Information, and Inspiration for Small Publishers since 1976 4