Basic questions
1What is prepresspreparation?
Prepress preparation is a set of works aimed at creating a layout of the publication on a basis of the author's manuscript, suitable for replication on various types of printed equipment. Pre-printing involves a number of steps from which we undertake the following:
— proofreading, stylistic, editorial editing, if necessary;
— design and design of a future edition;
— preparation of illustrative material (bringing the author's illustrations provided in line with printing requirements, drawing or photographing if necessary);
— layout publication using specialized publishing systems.
Depending on the production need, the various stages of prepress preparation may be included or excluded from the overall process.
2If I want to publish a book, what materials and in which form should I submit to a publisher?
— Texts can be submitted in any text format (MS Word, Libre Office, txt);
— illustrations can be submitted in any of the graphic formats (jpg, tif, png, bmp, raw, cdr, ai, eps).
The resolution of halftone illustrations at a scale of 1:1 should be at least 247 dpi. Significant deterioration in print quality is possiblein the case of providing files with a lower resolution.
3How does the discussion of technical issues take place: book format, fonts, page design, pictures? Do I need to provide my sample or can I choose from those suggested by you?
After signing a contract, we discuss with you all the requirements for the future publication. After that, we develop a design and make a layout of the first 20-30 pages. This prototype is sent to you for approval. In the case of an approving review, the layout continues in a similar vein. If there are comments and wishes, we performall the necessary modifications and introduce changes.
If you have a sample, it can be taken as a guideline when designing a publication.
4What kind of interaction with you is required from me during the pre-printing period?
As a rule, the customer actively interacts with us at the stages of concluding an agreement and authorization of a prototype publication. If the project is simple and work on it fits into two - four weeks, then further contact occurs only at the stage of the work acceptance certificate signing. If a project is large-scaled and stretched over time, our contacts can be as frequent as the situation requires.
Production issues
1What time does pre-printing take? Printing a book?
— Prepress time varies depending on the complexity of a publication and can take from a week to a year. For example: a book of 200 pages, provided that it is proofread by a corrector, can be prepared within a week. If there are illustrations in a book, the preparation time is increased by the period of their processing.
— Printing a book takes from one to two weeks, depending on the circulation and workload of the printing house.
2Is it possible to order camera work and help in selecting photos and pictures for a book?
Yes, you can! We have all the necessary equipment for taking photos. In addition, we collaborate with many photographers who have rich collections of pictures on various topics.
3By what criteria should I choose paper for a book?
If there are no illustrations in the book orillustrations are black and white, then it is better to choose offset paper - it provides the best readability and cost. If there are color illustrations or all pages are decorated in color, then it is better to use chalk-coated or supercalendered paper. If the technical process allows, you can combine different types of papers in a block: the text part is printed on offset paper, and the color tabs are printed on chalk-coated or supercalendered one.
4How long does it take from the orderingmoment to the release of a book?
The time from the order to book release is divided into several stages:
— prototyping;
— reconciliation;
— makeup;
— approval of the layout;
— printing performance.
All of these steps have different durations depending on the complexity of a task. After all, if you take even a purely text book without illustrations, then it can be very difficult to prepare - for example, due to the large number of footnotes, tables, selections inside the text. These features greatly increase the makeup time.
The stages of reconciliation and approval of the layout depend entirely on the customer.
Printing performance, as a rule, takes from a week to two.
If we take a hypothetical book of 200 pages without unnecessary difficulties in the form of footnotes, tables, etc., with operational interaction with the customer, the entire cycle can take 14 working days, with a large circulation - 21 days. Of course, there are cases of emergence work when these deadlines can be narrowedsignificantly, but this is a different story!
5If you print a large number of books at once, then what is a minimum amount more profitable? What is an optimal amount?
To answer this question, you should understand what forms the cost of a copy and how it depends on circulation. So, dear Author, suppose you are aCustomer.For you then, the cost of one copy of your book will consist of the following components:
— зcosts for prepress preparation (this value is constant and depends on the degree of your claims to elitism only);
— printing execution, which includes the cost of printing plates (also a constant value and does not depend on circulation), the cost of the printing process, the cost of consumables (paper, etc.), the cost of post-printing processing (binding work, in particular). The cost of one copy is the less the fixed costs will be allocated to a larger number of copies. Of course, for a larger circulation, a larger amount of paper and a larger load of human resources will be required, but at the same time the cost for a circulation of 1000 copies will bestill lower than when printing 100 copies.
From our personal experience, we have derived the following formula for ourselves: it makes no sense to print a circulation of more than two thousand copies if you do not have a guarantee of its sale immediately after release or for the next six months, at least! Even 2,000 copies can be sold unacceptably long. The fact is that the cost price with an increase in circulation above 2000 copies decreases slightly compared to how it falls in the range from 500 to 1,000 copies or from 1,000 to 2,000 copies, and significantmoney can be frozen at the warehouse. Therefore, it is better to print several small circulations, which you are be able to sell reliably and earn a little less than you keep the whole circulation in stock and sell it for many years, consoling yourself with supposedly great marginality.
Regarding to minimum and optimal circulation: modern technologies allow you to print books even in one copy. Therefore, here you need to take into account the pricing algorithm described above, and your desire to get a certain percentage of profit.When concluding a contract, we can jointly consider this issue.
6Is it possible to print a small number of books ordered at any frequency?
Yes, you may! We have already answered this question in detail in the previous paragraph. The frequency depends only on your needs!
7Can I pick up an electronic version of the compiled book?
Of course! We always return to ourCustomer not only the finished PDF, but the entire project in the prepress program also.
Financial issues
1How is payment going? How much shall I pay in advance? How much shall I pay as a result of all the work?
As you know, nothing convinces of the seriousness of the client's intentions as a prepayment! All these nuances are negotiated individually before the conclusion of a contract.
2At what stage finalprice isagreed upon during the preparation of a book?
Final price harmonization is performed at the stage of transferring the finished layout to a printing house.
3What is a cost of different options depending on the paper quality?
If we are talking about small circulation (up to 1000 copies), a decrease in paper quality will not particularly affect the costreduction. Much more it will affect the consumer's perception of your book, and by no means for the better! Therefore, it is better not to save on paper!
4If, according to the results of prepress preparation, something does not satisfy me in design, placement of materials, then how does the further harmonizationand approval of changes take place? Does it affect the price?
It all depends on the number of these changes. If they are insignificant, then we do not increase the cost of work. If the changes entail a complete layout redesign, then you will have to pay for additional work.
As a rule, we do not have such situations, since we are constantly in contact with our Customer and all stages of work are literally in front of his eyes!
5If everything is done as agreed and I am not quite satisfied with the result, can we make changes duringthe pre-print period while maintaining the same value?
No! See the previous point above. If you have agreed on a prototype, work at all intermediate stages, then you have no reason not to approve the final work!
How we work
We solve your problems as our own ones. We respect deadlines, respect creativity, and support quality. Our Customersbecomeourgoodfriendsfordecades!
Joint projects
We are always open to new ideas. We also understand that truly great things can be realized in a team of like-minded peopleonly. Therefore, dear Customers, if you have brilliant projects, but there is no team yet, just press here!
Quality Assurance
Before replicating a publication, we print a prototype which has to be approved by our Customer. In case of inconsistency of the circulation with the prototype we redo it at our own expense.