Where the Growth Is

Printers■incorporate in mine when, on impulse, I flipped to a copyrightpage and found to my surprise that the printer was not the oneI was using. Were there two printers with the same specializedexpertise? Indeed there were, and the one I had just discoveredwas Toppan Printing, which I’d never heard of.So I got on the Internet and did my due diligence. Anotherbig Japanese company. Plant in China. State-of-the-art technology.Worldwide operations. And—lo and behold!—a repin Marina del Rey, CA, just a quick hop from my Las Vegasbase. It sounded too good to be true.tweaks. Tom suggested a cellophane wrapper instead ofshrink-wrapping, saving me $800. Packing in larger cartonssaved hundreds of dollars more. Was this some publisher fantasycome true?Although I’m a stickler for detail, I was able to approve thenext set of color proofs; the plant had deftly handled correctionsof the inevitable typos and my accent and italics correctionsper Tom’s direction. Then Tom unexpectedly offered tohave my logo printed on the vinyl cover at no extra charge,and he had tests run to make sure the paint would adhere.I fired off an exploratory email, explaining my situation inbroad strokes. Would this be another can of worms, or wouldit be my salvation? After a weekend on pins and needles, I gota call from Tom Hummel, Toppan’s West Coast U.S. sales rep.Calm, soft-spoken, and technically savvy in perfect English(he’s a native Vermonter), Tom listened to my woes andoffered to send a quote based on the book’s specs. That quotecame in about 45 percent less than the one I had gone with,and Tom also provided suggestions for better stock andpromised he would FedEx samples immediately. I entereda pleasant state of disbelief, wondering how long this goodthing would last.Over the next few months, things moved fast. While my firstprinter dawdled on getting back about further proof tests,Toppan was cranking them out free, air-freighting themdirectly on the recommended stock, and creating a newmockup of the book. When the first proofs arrived I tore intothe package, but not without some trepidation. My worrieswere for naught. The proofs were stunning.So now I faced a dilemma: how to notify my original printerthat I had decided to switch? The solution? Just be straight.So although that first printer still indicated strong interestin doing my book, all communication ceased after my emailcalling the deal off. Since there was no contract between us,either written or oral, the transition was total and painless,and a massive relief.With Toppan fully committed, Tom and I forged aheadat warp speed. Info requests and technical questions wereanswered swiftly and accurately, in consultation with Toppan’splant in China when necessary. I could actually understandevery communication the first time.A second batch of color proofs arrived needing only minorVisit the IBPA Website at www.ibpa-online.org | 25