Where the Growth Is

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■PrintersPicking a PrinterMyriad factors weigh when choosing a printer. Four warrantspecial focus right from the get-go, to spare you theconsequences of a major systemic blunder.1. Using the right software. It’s crucial from Day Onethat the composer of your book be on the same pagetechnically as the printing plant. Anyone laying out yourbook—especially one heavy with photos, graphics, andtext that require specific positioning—must know withcertainty that its printer can handle it.Does the printer use QuarkXpress or InDesign or somethingelse? What versions? You don’t want to put inmonths of arduous configuring only to find out that yoursoftware is outdated or discontinued. You may need toupgrade, or even buy an entirely new program with itsown learning curve.Regardless, time and money spent getting this right in thebeginning will pay off big-time in peace of mind and a harmoniousrelationship with the tech folks.2. Talking apples and apples. The devil—or hellitself!—is in the details, any of which can trip you up.Never assume that the plant uses a particular spec justbecause others do. Many, for example, have their owncolor profiles for converting images. Find out exactlywhich one your printer uses, and test it. What dpi does itrequire? Do files have to be in CMYK or RGB mode? TIFor JPG or PSD? Don’t guess, check.And if a language barrier is creating confusion, holdeverything. Question what you don’t understand untilyou do, and even change reps, or printers, if you don’t getthe answers you need.3. Making your rep love you. Sales reps work first fortheir company, not you. But a rep who respects and trustsyou will cut you slack when you need it most, go aboveand beyond to make the process smoother, and offer servicesthat others might not get.Doing your homework so you understand the printingprocess and demonstrating respect and integrity will usuallytilt a rep in your favor. Over time, your rep will genuinelyhave your interests at heart, which will manifest ina volunteered cost saving here, an extra printing servicethere, and so on. It all adds up to a better product and awin-win relationship.4. Knowing what your printer will provide. Because Ididn’t ask, I made the mistake of not looking beyond theconfusing specs for printing my book and the per-copycost. Only later did I find out that test proofs were extra,and several would be needed. My logo on the cover?Another charge there, too. All of which was included at noextra charge when I switched printers midstream. Lessonlearned: check every service and material used, and comparewith what the other guy is offering.The jacket came out gorgeous and vibrant. I approved it too,and Toppan was ready to roll presses.Buns Done!One last matter hung over us like the sword of Damocles. Weneeded final approval by the Chinese censor. Of course, mybuns guide reveals exposed skin in several shots, and eventhough they’re all in good taste, we worried that a prudishExalted Censor might ding us. Anticipating the possibility ofa total shutdown, Tom lined up a second printing plant inHong Kong; but, as it turned out, the book was cleared withnary a comment.Things were going so well that I decided to have Toppan producemy point-of-purchase display, which holds 20 copies ofmy guide. A different plant was used for that, and when a colorcorrection was needed that it couldn’t handle, Tom and anassociate did the work in Marina del Rey. Later, Tom arrangedto combine both jobs for shipping to reduce transport and customsfees to the minimum, cutting costs even further.This above-and-beyond attitude is so rare these days that Ifloated continually in a state of gratitude. Had I not made theswitch, I doubt that my buns guide would be in print today.Because I did switch, it came out better than I had ever hoped,which people remark on when they flip through it, looking atthe images and laughing at the text. I’ve never met Tom inperson and don’t even know what he looks like. But what Iknow for sure is that he’s the go-to guy for my next book. ■New IBPA member Walt Clayton is a multicareer screenwriter, wildlife film producer, anddiver/production manager on major underwater feature films. He started Callipygean Pressin Las Vegas to self-publish his pet project, the buns guide he researched and wrote for overa decade between movie jobs. He reports that the learning curve was steep and exciting, andthat he is happy to share his experiences at stryke@bunsguide.com.26 | IBPA Independent | February 2013
The Languageof Publishingby Linda CarlsonThis is the fourth installmentof our glossary of publishingterms, which is designedto help publishing veterans,industry newcomers, andtraditionally published authorsexperimenting with selfpublishing,whether print ordigital. Our goal: to define oldand new words and phrasesthat anyone involved in 21stcenturypublishing needs tounderstand.We’ve included some of theterms Joel Friedlander definesin his bookdesigner.com post,“The Language of the Book,”and some that Pete Mastersoncovers in his Book Design andProduction, as well as termsthat industry specialists tell usare frequently misunderstoodand jargon that members reportas confusing.For A through I, see the August,October, and December2012 issues of the Independent.The next part of the glossarywill appear in April.Please let us know via linda@ibpa-online.org if we miss, ormisconstrue, a term. And ifyou’d like us to add a particularterm or terms, let us knowthat too. When the glossary iscomplete, it will be available asa single publication.For an advanced degree ineverything from abridgmentto X-height, you’ll find moreresources at the end of eachinstallment of the series.P.S. The terms printed in orangein a definition are defined(or will be) elsewhere in theglossary.JJPEG: Joint PhotographicExperts Group, the graphicfile format created by digitalcameras and used on Websites. A JPEG (or JPG) doesnot offer the same potential forresolution as a TIF, and so isnot recommended for printedwork. JPEGs can be convertedto TIFs, but the conversion willnot improve the resolution.Justify: Type with spacingadjusted between wordsso that each line is flush, oraligned, with both left and rightmargins is justified. In contrast,some type is flush left andragged right.Justified Type: Type withspacing adjusted betweenwords so that each line isflush, or aligned, both leftand right.Flush Left, Ragged Right:Type where each line isflush, or aligned, left.Just-in-time: An inventorystrategy that can improve abusiness’s return on investmentby reducing inventoryof raw materials and materialsused in processing, alongwith their associated carryingcosts. In publishing, the termrefers to printing one copy ora few copies as orders arrive,or to printing a short run immediatelyafter an order for,say, 100 copies is received.POD, print-on-demand, is anexample of just-in-time manufacturing.KKerning: Adjusting the spacebetween letters. One of themajor differences betweentypewritten text and typesettext is the kerning, how theletters fit together. “WA,” forexample, has less space betweenthe letters when typesetthan when typewritten. Suchdesktop publishing programsas InDesign allow letters to bekerned, even to the extremethat parts of one letter overlapparts of adjacent letters.Keywords: Online spiders—the software that indexesWebsite text for search engines—oftenfind relevantsites using the keywords siteauthors have entered near thebeginning. The IBPA Websiteuses such keywords as “bookpublishing association,” “publishinga book,” and “publishingassociation.” The keywordson IBPA President FlorrieBinford Kichler’s Websitefor Patria Press include namesspecific to Patria’s titles:“amelia earhart, william henryharrison, ben-hur, lew wallace,james whitcomb riley, juliettelow, eddie rickenbacker, mahaliajackson, george rogersclark, john hancock, philliswheatley, abner doubleday.”PublishingOrganizationsABA, BIC, CCC, anddozens of other key bookindustry associations aredefined and described inthe Book Industry StudyGroup’s Roadmap of OrganizationalRelationships,version 2.0 (bisg.org/whatwe-do-18-33-roadmapof-organizational-relationships.php),which is freeat bisg.org.Using the Roadmap’slinks to Web sites, youcan find various valuableresources. For example,the American BooksellersAssociation site has a directoryof member stores,and, via the “education”tab, a list of regional booksellertrade shows; andthe American Library Associationsite has, amongother things, a fact sheetabout 120,000 librariesof all kinds in the UnitedStates today.Kill fee: Some publisher-authorcontracts provide for theauthor to receive some paymentif a manuscript is neverpublished. The practice ismore common with magazinecontracts.Knockout: To ensure that colorsare reproduced accuratelywhen multiple inks are used ona print job, color separationsmay have areas blocked,Visit the IBPA Website at www.ibpa-online.org | 27
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Page 4 and 5: President’s Postby Florrie Binfor
Page 6 and 7: What You Need to KnowAbout Using Th
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Page 10 and 11: BOARD MEMBER’S MEMOIndependent Pu
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Page 14 and 15: ■ Websites✓✓there should be a
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Page 22 and 23: MARKETING OPPORTUNITIESIBPA DIRECT
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Page 34 and 35: ■Pausewith clients over the years
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Page 40 and 41: Metadata Mustsby Renée Register an
Page 42 and 43: ■Metadata MustsThe basic product
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