20 Years of publications printing – Part 6 – 28th May 2009 On-demand, in demand
Changes in printing technology have also help to drive the sector forward.
Whilst the majority of today’s magazines, supplements and newspapers are printed web offset or gravure, with smaller runs, especially for trade and business titles, also being printed sheetfed offset, the emergence of on-demand printing is allowing digital to also break into this market although only in a very small way at present. Flexo raised its head in the newspaper market in the late 80s, promising ink that didn’t rub off on the hands, but it never really seriously captures the market, with only a few advocates sticking with the process.
The high levels of automation now available on both web and sheetfed presses has increased efficiency and led to less waste in start up materials and faster turnaround times, but the very nature of these presses means high volumes and longer runs.
Today’ magazines and newspaper retailers have got into the habit of demanding an oversupply of product, to ensure every sale possible, but this oversupply means that on average there is a 20 to 30% waste rate. This is something that is certainly going to have to change in the markets of tomorrow as environmental issues come to the fore. Digital technology is amply suited to short runs and is ideal for toping up under runs, as well as producing smaller one off supplements, niche magazines and highly specialised applications.
On-demand newspapers for instance, mean one off issues so that readers can select exactly what sections of the paper they want rather than taking a full paper – and where you look at some of the Sunday papers, the number of supplements is astounding, a lot of which are confirmed to the bin without being read.
On-demand printing and electronic technology also allows publishers to reach a wider audience, for example English versions of a UK national newspaper can appear on the breakfast table of readers around the world, very shortly after, or even before, the full run has appeared on UK streets.
Digital technology is also following print on-demand applications in the book publication sector. The ability to print older books that are out of print, to produce very short runs and one offs has opened up new markets, whilst saving publishers a great deal of money through less transportation and warehousing costs. The ability to print only the necessary amount required has also opened up opportunities in the self-publishing (vanity publishing) market, where authors themselves can now afford to have their own books printed.
There are many print companies that have grabbed these opportunities too and are producing highly personalised books, down to runs of one, with sophisticated variable data, where the characters are personalised to bear a resemblance to the reader. West Sussex based RPM Print and Design, for instance, is mixing the Internet, print on-demand and the power of variable data to offer a series of adventure romance novels that place the reader as the central characters. Customers place an online order giving details such as character names, eye and hair colour, favourite food and music, and RPM produces a personalised book where the reader’s details feature on every page.
Last year even Amazon got in on the act when it introduced its print on-demand programme, thereby expanding the selection of titles available and offering publishers a cost effective way to make the broadest possible range of author’s titles available.
The service allows Amazon to rapidly print and ship a single book. It allows publishers to offer out of print works, niche titles, custom books, foreign language editions and alternative formats such as large print. ‘Working with publishers, we hope to bring hundreds of thousands of books to Amazon.co.uk’s customers that might never have otherwise been available’, said Christopher North, vice president of Media at Amazon.co.uk.
The printing, paper and publishing sector has incurred a greater than average fall in the 3 months to November – compared with the previous 3 month period (source: UK Government Statistics).
Print, paper and publishing output fell 4.9% (UK average manufacturing decline of 3.3%). Paper, print and publishing make up 13% of the total UK manufacturing. Print wasn’t the worst sector affected, Transport equipment fell by nearly 6%, as did metal and metal products.
With this gloomy figure in mind, cheer yourself up and have a look at some of our great value credit crunch offers.
So we thought we would put together a package of Special Discounts for Letting Agents to enable them to purchase cheap Printing & Design. To help launch this offer we have built a special webpage for letting agents show details of the very competitive pricing.
Pre-press is one of the areas of greatest change in the printing industry, and to the benefit of the environment. The adoption of computer to plate technology (CTP) has reduced chemical consumption, film usage and the related impacts of their manufacture and disposal.
Further opportunities for reducing environmental impact lie in the hands of pre-press departments. Digital Workflows (Heidelberg Prinect/Printready at The Printing House), have not only reduced the requirements for film and chemicals, but also for transport.
Although Soft Proofing isn’t accepted by everyone, in colour managed workflows (we work to FOGRA standards) operating to standard printing conditions there is no reason why not. A great deal of electricity, ink, chemical and paper, not to mention time and money, can be wasted trying to match a proof made without proper controls. But colour managed workflows with appropriate calibration from the beginning of the chain (the customer) through to the press set the job off on the right track without the need for chasing colour on press.
For full information on our environmental policies please see our website Print Buying Direct
Transparency features in graphics applications allow users to create elements with drop shadows, overlays, blends and feathering. Because transparency effects can be complex, be sure to consult us for best results. But the following notes should point you in the right direction for getting your artwork ready for print.
TRANSPARENCY IN ADOBE ILLUSTRATOR
Select [File: Document Color Mode] and choose [CMYK Color].
Set the [Effect: Document Raster Effects Settings] Color Model to [CMYK] and the Resolution to [High (300 ppi)]. Any effects that require rasterization will use the value specified here.
Use the Transparency palette and [Effect] stylize menu to control transparency effects. Note that [Filters] can produce unpredictable results.
The [File: Document Setup: Transparency: Preset] should also be set to [High Resolution].
The Flattener Preview palette [Window: Flattener Preview] can identify areas that have transparency applied or are effected by other objects.
Be sure to enable [View: Overprint Preview] for the most accurate display of what the fi nal design will look like.
TRANSPARENCY IN INDESIGN
Select the [Edit: Transparency Blend Space] to [Document CMYK].
Use the Transparency palette to control transparency effects.
The Flattener Preview palette [Window: Output: Flattener Preview] can identify areas that have transparency applied or are effected by other objects.
Be sure to enable [View: Overprint Preview] for the most accurate display of what the fi nal design will look like.
PRINTING WITH TRANSPARENCY
In the printing or exporting windows always select [High Resolution] for the Transparency Flattener.
Printers often define flattening settings or flatten artwork themselves. Consult your us to determine if your work should be submitted flattened or with live transparency. Note that transparency effects will always flatten when printing to PostScript or EPS, or if they are exported using the Acrobat 4 (PDF 1.3) format. Transparency effects will remain “live” only if exported using the Acrobat PDF 1.4, 1.5 or 1.6 formats.
CAUTIONS
Use spot colors in transparency effects with discretion. When spot colors contact CMYK objects with transparency, the best practice is to make sure they are on the top of the stacking order.
Avoid transparency designs that contain both RGB and CMYK content.
QuarkXPress 6.5 does not have built-in support for transparency.
January Sale Now On Wallet Folders – NOW ONLY £199 for 100
Our Wallet Folders (Presentation Folders) are great for holding A4 documents eg. brochures, leaflets, flyers, training materials, stepped inserts – pretty much anything really, and of course we have slits in the right place for holding a standard size business card.
See our YouTube Movie for a demonstration of how the folder works and exactly what it is.
Welcome to the Customer Service Department (including Administration, General Enquiries etc.)
My name is Chris Bunting and I am the office manager of this busy department and would like to give you an insight into a typical day.
Your initial telephone call will usually be taken by Natalie, who will take down your printing quote request, order or any enquiry you may have.
She will pass on a quote request and your details to one of our print estimators who will then deal with you direct, usually by sending through a quotation via email.
If you want to place an order for print (or design & print) this will be processed and then sent through to the production department, who will schedule the work and in turn email you with our best delivery date. If this date is not acceptable then they will do their very best to improve it.
If you have a query of any kind we will try to answer it at once, put you through to the relevant person, or failing that we will take your details and call you back ASAP.
We receive artwork, proof read if necessary and send out proofs in either pdf format or out in the post if a hard copy is requested. Any amends will be taken down over the phone or by email and passed on to our design studio.
We are also responsible for monitoring any parcels/pallets which have been despatched – of which there are many. If you want to know where it is at any time we can usually find out by checking for you on line.
We send out all our mail via Royal Mail’s on line business site. We send out large mailings on behalf of several of our customers who are in turn invoiced directly by Royal Mail, which saves time and money on administration and paperwork.
We pride ourselves on keeping our customers informed at all times.
If you have any questions, no matter what they may be, we are here to help you.
So call The Printing House at any time and we will be pleased to assist.
We start off our day by checking the 4 printing presses we have, Litho B2, SRA2 & SRA3 sizes and digital SRA3, which work was completed on the late shift, we print till 10.00pm Monday –Thursday and work finished on the early shift, presses start running at 6.00am Monday – Friday.
We then have to ask plate making where they are up to with the plating of print jobs. Generally they are ahead of the game and usually chase production for more work to be plated. This generally relies on which jobs have had artwork signed off by the customer. Each time a job is booked in and we have had to design it or with the case of print ready artwork, we have to rip it through, we send a proof across to the customer for checking, usually a pdf or if the customer requires a colour match it would be a Contract Proof (Colour Accurate).
The production office runs by a ‘Tee-card System’ which means by glancing at the production board, we can instantly see where each job is currently up to and can very quickly assess customers delivery dates when they ring up to see how quickly print jobs can be received.
The production office will mainly generate the delivery dates for each job, but in the case of the customer requesting delivery dates, we adhere to this and will make sure paper is ordered in plenty of time, so when the job signs off we can issue it to a press straight away for printing.
Meetings are held daily with Production, Studio Manager and the Works Manager so we can discuss together the order of sign offs, print and deliveries.
Lisa & Steve – The Production Office – The Printing House Ltd (Print Buying Direct)
Are you the person in your organisation who has drawn the ‘short straw’ and has to buy the printing for your company and are not quite sure what to do or what to ask for?
So if you need leaflets, flyers, pamphlets, design and artwork, point of sale, stationery, pull up banners or not even sure what you want, give us a call today and let The Printing House start making your life a little easier. We can also help with you graphic design needs, look after your brand and give you print a design edge over your competitors. For help and advice just call us on 0870 950 8444.
Have you been disappointed by the finished result of printing you’ve ordered in the past? The brochure cover isn’t quite as stiff as you thought it was going to be. That pamphlet won’t push through doors very easily because it’s too thin. Or you thought your postcards should be thicker.
Well, here at The Printing House (Print Buying Direct) we’re aware that paper thickness can be confusing and specifying the correct grade for your job is not always easy. So we’ve taken the guesswork out of the process with some helpful hints. The thickness of paper and board is measured in grams or GSM and generally the smaller the number followed by GSM denotes thin paper and the higher the number followed by GSM denotes thicker paper, commonly referred to as board.
80gsm/90gsm/100gsm – the usual thickness of copier paper.
100gsm/120gsm – the usual thickness for Stationery Paper (Letterheads, Compliment Slips), although always check the technical specifications on your laser or inkjet printer to see if those weights will actually run through without miss feeding. Ask us for samples if you need them.
200gsm – usually classed at the midway point where paper becomes board. Usually a little on the thin size for Brochure Covers but ideal for Posters or a slightly more substantial Flyer or Leaflet.
250gsm/300gsm/350gsm – popular thickness for Brochure Covers and Presentation Folders, Wallet Folders or ring binder Tabbed Dividers (don’t forget we offer loop stitching for brochures that need to be inserted into ring binders)
If you need any advice either email info@printbuyingdirect.co.uk or call 0870 950 8444 and talk to one of our print professionals who will advise you on the best thickness of material to give you the result you won’t be disappointed with. If you are based in the Crewe, Nantwich, or Cheshire area, you could even pop in, we are always proud to show customers how we produce print & design.
