I have always maintained that the decision to print books via digital printing or offset printing equipment should be based on more than just the ultimate unit cost per book.
In fact, in April 2007, I conducted a seminar for the Upper Peninsula Publishers and Authors Association titled “Inventory vs Marketing.” The basic thrust of the seminar was that micro- and self-publishers need to carefully analyze several factors when choosing a printing method:
- Optimum print run (how confident are you that you can sell 1,000 or 2,000 or more books in a reasonable period, say a year?)
- Storage capacity (do you have space to store all those books? will that space support the floor loading of the books? can you manage to move all those pallets or boxes around when needed? Is your storage location temperature and humidity controlled to ensure safe storage?)
- After paying for a large offset print run, can you still afford the marketing that will be necessary no matter how you print?
- Have you considered the freight costs of getting all those books to your storage location?
- What will you do if, two years from now, you realize you miscalculated and you have 1,000 or more copies of that book sitting in your storage site?
Considering all those factors will serve to put some scope and context to your decision process.
But, you may have heard, digital (aka print-on-demand) printing is just not up to the industry’s best standards. Well, that may have been true in the past. Today, the digital printing technology has improved dramatically and continues to get better.
I suggest you read this excellent article from American Printer magazine’s February issue. Among other findings discussed, the article notes that there is no hard-and-fast guidelien, and maybe not even a reliable rule of thumb, for making a financial decision to print digitally vs. offset. And they’re forecasting that digital printing of black-and-white interior, trade paperbacks will likely grow at 15% annually.
Just to further confuse things, American Printer ran an article on short-run offset printing in the April issue. This article makes the point that offset technology is also improving such that the cost-effective length of an offset print run is growing shorter.
All of this is why I always recommend that you get quotes from both offset and digital printers for every book project. I like to get a dozen or more quotes. I will usually ask for quotes for 250, 500, 1000, and 2000 copies, with an incremental quote for additional runs of 100 copies. It’s always interesting, and enlightening, to see how much variation there can be.
In a future post, I’ll discuss offset vs digital printing of full-color books.
keep an eye on the new digital inkjet printers being introduced at Drupa, which will close the quality gap between offset and digital even more
Walt, found your site 3-layers deep under book publishing. I am in the throws of self-publshing my 15-year “photo essay” book project (108 pages), and am working with a Korean printer….3,000 copies @$5.10 per book.
Having trouble “understanding” color and paper stock between my RGB desktop printout of book (converts RGB color to CYMK values) on matte photo paper and the proof on glossey paper I just received from the offset printer. It is apparent the two system of colors do not line up. In the proof, the “fill colors with effects” surrounding photo for each page did not match up to my colors generated from desktop…(greens and browns were especially off). Also, “I preferred” the the rich matte finish look on photo stock paper, but am cautioned that offset matte paper will look inferior for some reason.
Do you have any words of wisdom or comments to share that will help me achieve desktop quality from a more cost-efficent offset process. Thanks….Jerry
Jerry,
That’s a question that requires a lot more data and assistance than I can provide via a blog or email.
However, I strongly suggest you buy (or borrow from your library) Pete Masterson’s excellent Book Design and Production and read the short chapter 13 on color printing. In fact, if you’re self-pubbing and don’t own a copy, you should correct that post haste.
You might also want to track down a copy of Donnie O’Quinn’s (out of print) reference work Print Publishing: A Hayden Shop Manual as there is a wealth of good background and information in there on dealing with CMYK and printers.
One quick solution might be to get some prints of the photos (either from your desktop printer if those have the color tones and hues you want or from a local commercial printer) and send them to your book printer. Tell them to make the colors match!
You can ask for a “press proof” of the photos (meaning they will run the proofs on the press and paper to be used in the book), but that can get pricey.
As for paper, I’ve never heard anyone recommend using matte paper for a photo book, no matter the printing process or equipment used. Glossy is the gold standard, although there are many options for weight and color tone (there are many shades of white). You might ask for a pack of samples on various papers.
Hope that helps some!
Walt, most helpful. I should clarify the idea in use of matte paper in my coffe-table book. Book is 9″x12″ and the framed photos are 5″x7″. The “fill color and effect” covers the page outside the framed picture and contains poetic verse. The idea is to use matte paper and a process called (something like) spot-varnish to highlight the photo.
Make any sense? Jerry
Yes, spot varnish can add the gloss effect. It is done within most layout programs (e.g., Adobe InDesign) much like adding a spot color. I’ve never actually dealt with it but can imagine you have to work closely with the printer to make sure you get the varnish applied exactly where you want it.
Walt, one more question if I dare. The marketing question is: I want the book price point (suggested retail) to consumers at $24.95. Do I dare print the price on the front flap?
I’ve been told many retailers may not honor the suggested retail by declining the book all-together or taping over it with their higher pricing.
Is my effort futile? Jerry
Jerry,
What retailers? Bookstores almost always WANT the price printed on the book and encoded in the bar code extension. Just be aware that bookstores are reluctant to buy direct from individual publishers (self- or otherwise) due to bookkeeping hassles. They want to process combined orders with one or two distributors. Those distributors are going to expect a 55-65% discount off the SRP from you so they can give the retailers a 40-50% discount.
What is your primary market? Bookstores or gift shops or somewhere else?
Do you have a distributor lined up? (If not, you should probably do something about that.) If so, ask your distributor what they want.
If your primary market wants to mark up the retail price — and tells you so — you should probably rethink that SRP. It’s probably too low.
Also, Amazon.com won’t want to stock the book if it doesn’t have that extended bar code (with the price). If it’s not done by the printer, you or your distributor will have to add it by affixing stickers on the back.
One more note.
This is very late in your publishing schedule to be thinking about these things. They should all have been ironed out before you started developing the book, as part of your marketing plan.