Information Sharing: How to Communicate with your Printer

By: Chuck Manthey, President, Sentinel Printing
Published in PMA Newsletter

The flow of information from customer to printer – and vice versa – is critical to all aspects of the book production cycle, from estimating and scheduling to packing and shipping. To be sure the finished product meets your expectations, everyone involved in its production must know all critical aspects before ink is laid on paper. Here are some tips to keep in mind when exchanging information about your book with your printer.

Get Back to Basics

It sounds simple, but start by communicating the basics of your book project: page count, quantity and final trim size. This is the information your printer will need to begin preparing an estimate. If you’d like the estimate to include price breakdowns for multiple quantities, this is a good time to ask for them.

If your project is a rerun – with or without minor changes – supply your printer with the original version of the product during the estimating process. This allows your printer to create the most accurate estimate possible, and makes for a good communication starting point. During this stage, your printer may be able to suggest stock or slight format changes that can enhance the value of the book.

It may sound backwards, but good book planning begins with the delivery date, which should be communicated to your printer as early as possible. Once your printer knows the date by which you need your books, they can create a production schedule that meets your deadline. This includes blocking time on appropriate presses and other equipment, and checking availability of paper.

Building Your Book

Book pages are printed as signatures, or multiple pages laid out on a single sheet of paper. The number of pages that can fit on each side of a sheet is determined based on the final trim size of your books. Since common trim sizes are designed to fit 8, 12 or 16 pages on each sheet, the page count of your book plays an important role in how much paper is used and efficiently the book will be produced. The format of your book should also be considered; oblong layouts can be less economical to produce, so be sure to let your printer know if your book will be bound in portrait or landscape format.

One important note: “Page counts” differ from “sheet counts”. In the printing world, page refers to one side of a sheet. Therefore, a book with 120 pages would require 60 sheets. This can cause confusion between designers and printers, so be sure that your book’s page count refers to the number of pages that will be printed, not the number of sheets.

One reason page counts are important to consider is the cost of paper, which is often a large percentage of the total price of a book project. There are also hundreds of types of papers, and they vary based on weight, color, brightness, finish and a host of other factors. For these reasons, it is strongly recommended that you consult your printer when selecting papers for both the text pages and cover of your book. Most printers maintain an inventory of “house stocks”, or commonly-used paper selections that are bought in volume and therefore often can be offered at a discount. Very often, your printer will be able to make additional suggestions that could save you significant time and money.

Make your paper selection well in advance of the date on which your files are due to your printer. Paper availability fluctuates, so give your printer plenty of time to order the exact paper you require. If you choose to purchase your own paper, supply your printer with all of its specifications. This allows us to make appropriate recommendations for inks and coatings.

Ink coverage, bleeds and areas of critical registration should be communicated to your printer. This information will often help your printer determine the best equipment on which to run your books, especially if your printer has a mix of sheetfed and web presses. For example, if your book requires critical registration on many pages, it may not be a good candidate to be run on a non-heatset web press.

Ready to Send Files?

Once your book has been designed, it’s time to send your files to your printer. Many printers have FTP servers available to their customers; this is often the quickest and most-hassle free method of submitting files. FTP upload generally involves little more than opening your Web browser, typing in the FTP address and dragging files into a designated folder. Contact your print provider for information about their specific file uploading capabilities.

Perhaps the most critical aspect to timely print production is to send all necessary files to your printer. This includes all layout files, all screen and printer versions of fonts, and all image files. Before submitting layout files (such as Quark XPress and Adobe PageMaker) to your printer, confirm that they are equipped to handle your file type and version. Most book printers have the latest versions of all layout software in both PC and Mac format, but a quick call can save some headaches.

Adobe PDF files are gaining in popularity because of their ability to embed all graphics and fonts, allowing you to create a single “print-ready” file that includes all the elements of your book. When submitting PDF files, however, your printer may request that you send layout files as well. That allows your printer to make changes easily during the prepress stage, which can save time and money.

Proofing is the next stage of production. There are a variety of proofs available from printers, including “hard” (physical printed proofs) and “soft” (digital files) proofs. Turnaround time, cost, and your comfort with a particular type of proof will help determine the appropriate proofing method. Let your printer know how long you would like to review your proofs, when you will communicate changes and the method with which you’ll communicate them. At this stage, communication with your printer is essential to keeping your project on schedule.

Of course, no book product is complete until it is bound. A full-service book printer can provide several in-house binding services, and will help you choose the right binding method for your project. Your binding selection will trigger the need for ancillary services such as folding, gluing, drilling, laminating and shrink wrapping.

Even packing and shipping details must be communicated prior to the start of production. Maximum carton weight, label information and other special instructions need to be funneled through the printer to maximize production efficiency end-to-end.

No book product becomes a work of art by itself. Many hands play pivotal roles in bringing your books to life. The printer, often at the center of the production activities, needs to be armed with as much information as possible to deliver the book as the designer envisioned. By including all of this information early in the estimating and production planning processes, you can greatly impact production efficiency and take a giant leap forward in quality assurance.

Chuck Manthey is President of Sentinel Printing Co. Inc., located in St. Cloud, Minnesota. Since 1854, Sentinel has provided sheet-fed and cold-set web press services for short to medium print runs of all types. In addition, Sentinel operates a full-service bindery that includes perfect binding, saddle stitching and plastic comb binding. Chuck Manthey can be reached at (800) 450-6434 or by email at cmanthey@sentinelprinting.com.