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Why You Should Know Your Presses: A Story of (Near) Panic
January 11, 2008

In previous blogs, I've written about the benefits marketers gain from knowing a little bit about the production equipment of their printers. It helps them make smart and more cost-effective decisions in their marketing and production choices. Every once in awhile, I get to live my own columns.

That happened to me this week. In my other life as a niche publisher (Strong Tower Publishing), I get to live out all of the things I talk about as an industry analyst.

I had been working with a client on the editorial side, doing a heavy-duty edit on an academic book being prepared for a conference kicking off January 10. I had planned to print the book through Lightning Source, which I use for all my titles due to their business model, but based on the enormity of their volumes, even with rush fees, there is a 48-hour minimum window.

My client and I had one snafu after another. First the editing took longer than we’d expected. Layout of the book faced one inexplicable problem after problem. Closer and closer we crept to that 48-hour deadline (which, when you include the need for overnight shipping, was more like 72 hours).

Tuesday PM: Forty-eight hours before the books had to be on a plane, we finalized everything and uploaded the files. We no problems, and with the cooperation of my Lightning Source representative, who was doing all she could, we’d squeeze in under the mat. I woke up in the morning and the file was kicked back by prepress for missing fonts…again. We were in trouble.

Wednesday AM: Now 36 hours before FedEx deadline, I started thinking about all of my printer clients who might have the capability to produce 125 books on a 24-hour notice. This is a specialty that requires either the ability to do perfect binding in-house or to have relationships with outsourcers on a local level that allow them to act seamlessly together. I knew of only one, Custom Data Imaging in Canada, who immediately agreed to pull out all the stops to get the books done. I didn’t worry about the quote since this was a favor, so production started right away. In the meantime, the estimator got to work.

Wednesday 3 PM: That afternoon, another urgent call. There was embarrassment in the estimator’s voice. Shipping would be nearly $3,000! Screeeeech! Plan C.

Time is ticking away. I started calling printers within 30 minutes of the client’s conference location. I had wanted to work with a printer I knew and trusted. After all, there would be no time to overnight a proof. Now, I didn’t have the luxury. I knew the files were good to go, since CDIC had already begun production, so that wasn’t a concern. I began networking. I called, asked about capabilities, and asked for references.

I ended up at tCreative in Orlando, a company I’d never heard of, but a production manager at another company told me they specialized in digital production.

Wednesday 4 PM: First question: Do you have the ability to produce print-on-demand books? Unlike other shops, where the person answering the phone had to put me on hold to find out (not a good sign), the immediate answer was yes—no hesitation. Did they perfect bind in-house? No, he said, but they had a relationship with someone locally. Now to the point of this column—what kind of press did they have?

This is a serious book with a terrific cover. I wanted to be sure that it would look like it was supposed to look. For some projects, even the output from a small-format, light production machine will be just fine. Not this time. I wanted “it looks like I bought it from Barnes & Noble” quality. What press the book would be output on would tell me whether this shop’s POD books were corporate manuals and titles from local self-published authors or whether this shop was capable of producing the quality I needed.

The answer? Xerox DocuColor 5000—a serious, heavy-duty full-color production machine. In fact, it was an upgrade to their previous Xerox DocuColor 2045, also a serious production machine, which told me that, not only was the quality going to be sufficient, but they were doing enough digital print volume to warrant upgrading to a bigger, faster press. Within an hour, he was preparing the proof.

Thursday AM: Thirty-six hours from the unveiling—he called, the proof on his desk, and production had begun.

Friday AM: As I write, books are prepared for client pick-up today.

And that’s why you should know your digital presses. Reports like "Production Digital Press Specs: At a Glance" are not just for production geeks. Just as I preach to agencies and designers on a regular basis, your responsibility as a creative or a marketer goes beyond creative and marketing. The lines are blending. Production knowledge is relevant to you.

You never know when the information might come in handy.

Posted by Heidi Tolliver Nigro on January 11, 2008 | Comments (0)