PUBLISHED DECEMBER 2016 by Peter Goodman, Stone Bridge Press, and Dave Peattie, Whereabouts Press When requesting an estimate from a printer, here is the information to provide in order to get a detailed and accurate quotation: Trim size Quantity Page count Delivery destination(s) Project title (It may be safer to use the author’s last name …

      Experimenting with EDI by Bob Adjemian For many years, I’ve thought about the fact that big publishing companies place orders electronically through a protocol called EDI (for electronic data interchange), and as a tecchie, I’ve been intrigued. Although I found the price tag daunting, I kept wondering whether I should be using …

      How to Be Smart About Buying Print by Margie Dana If buying print for your company is a new responsibility for you, you’re probably shell-shocked. Who can blame you! You’re thinking, “Where do I go? Who can I trust? How do I know how much printing costs?” Here are a few general …

Part 1 of this series (May) looked at the specific items included in a typical book-printing estimate from an offset printer. Part 2 (June) focused on using that language to get accurate estimates from book printers. What follows here explains how this all comes together in the printer’s quotation. A printer’s response to your Request …

Requesting prices for manufactured products is largely a matter of knowing the conventions, materials, and processes that are used. Part 1 of this series (“Managing Book Printing Estimates: Learn the Language,” May) explained the terms included in a typical book printing estimate from an offset printer. This part shows how to create an RFQ (request …

Although e-book formats, POD, and digital printing generally get much more attention from the media, most books are still produced by offset lithography, and this is unlikely to change anytime soon because offset offers better quality and more flexibility in materials, sizes, and finishes, all at radically lower prices. Every book has to be evaluated …

      Printers’ Terms: What the Boilerplate Means and Where There’s Wiggle Room by Steve Gillen The first part of any printing order form is for the optimist. You place your order for 3,000 copies of a 1-color, 240-page, perfect-bound, softcover book in a common trim size at a specified cost per copy. Then …

      My Lightning Source System for Self-Publishing Profit by Aaron Shepard Based on my own experience with Lightning Source, which goes back to 1998—only about a year after the company’s founding, when it was still called Lightning Print—it remains the prime choice for most modern self-publishers determined to maximize profit. I have no …

      Top Six Communications Tips for Working with Commercial Printers by Margie Dana 1. Give your printer as much detail as you can, as early as you can. You need to provide very detailed job specs (specifications) if you want a fair estimate. It will help prevent “surprises” when the job is done …

      The Eco-Printer Route to Being Green by Erin Johnson To be a green publisher you want to make as many green choices as possible, starting with paper. From the Environmental Trends and Climate Impacts report (see “Resources for Publishers in Search of Eco-Printers,” below), we know that paper accounts for most of …