Hardback Book Printing
Despite the onlaught of the Kindle and the E-book there is, in my opinion, no substitute for the printed book.
Paperback books are great but the feel of a hardback printed book is a special experience that in many ways regresses the recipient to the warmth of childhood.
Make no mistake, a hardback book is a superior product that endures and speaks volume about quality of the subject etc. Finishes include embossing, end papers, laminating, uv varnish, gold and silver foil, index ribbon markers to name just a few. All of these additional processes either individually or collectively add considerable value to the perception of the end product.
The range of papers selected for the inner pages of a hardback bok vary considerably but the Munken range of papers from www.Arcticpaper.com is a firm favourite. The quality is superb and the range wide and varied.
You will also find the folks at www.Arcticpaper.com a great bunch to work with and I suggest you may wish to contact them early in your project.
Dummy Service
They offer a dummy service and for a relatively small cost you can order a dummy that will be made up on your behalf and posted by UPS / DHL or similar directly to you from Scandinavia. What’s more – it only takes a few days.
This will give you a great feel for the size and volume of your product. you may well choose to substitute the actual paper for cheaper brands as your product develops but you will have a good idea of what to expect at the end. More information is available at http://www.arcticpaper.com/en/services/Dummyshop/ where you can order online.
Hardback Book Printers
A well known name in the industry is http://www.butlertanneranddennis.com/ and these are more of a publishers phardback printer. you will pay considerably more for the hand holding and cups of coffee but there will be a more bodies to bond with you in the process.
Further investiagtion will also throw up the name http://www.biddles.co.uk/ and these are a high profile book printer that will also assist in any hardback project that you may have. There website is well worth a visit and you can pick up some useful tips on file preparation there.
Cheap Catalogue Printing is available in the UK especially if you use the services of a print management company
Catalogues are expensive products because they usually have multiple pages.
A typical catalogue may have some 200 – 500 pages and a huge amount of work goes into the project. What is the cheapest way of getting your catalogue printed and to market so that the cost per copy is as low as you can make it?
The answer lies in sourcing from abroad. If you have never bought a printed product from china, Malaysia, singapore, eastern europe etc be aware it is not something for the feint hearted!
Communication can be a living hell and payments and demands for additional costs can complicate and cloud the issue eventually ending in huge disatisfaction. So how is it possible to take advantage of these significant offshore savings while still maintaining your sanity and your bank balance. It’s simple really, employ the services of an offshore print management specialist such as Atlas Print Group. See them at www.atlasprintgroup.co.uk.
They offer a first class product with great savings and take care of the interface with the foreign supplier. Delivery is usually about 2/3 weeks but savings are massive. A word of warning, if you are going to use the services of Atlas or similar make sure you are capable of producing the required prepress pdf’s to the suitable required standard.
In our experience jobs fly through when the client pays attention to detail at the beginning. Delays are caused 95% of the time by either late or poor artwork. Get it right first time.
Brochure post
The question we get asked most at www.printbuyer.co.uk is “where can I get the best price?”. Sometimes it varies and people ask “where can I get the best deal?” When buying print it’s all about responsibility.
What’s the difference in the two questions. chalk and cheese springs to mind. In the first example the customer is simply price driven. This can lead to disaster when buying print. In the second example the client mmay be looking at the best deal overall, taking into consideration price, quality, service etc. Buying print is a minefiled.
If your delivery schedule is critical forget buying cheap. you need assurance. There is no point saving £100 and being a week late with a project that costs you an extra £500 to mail first class to your end users, or indeed missing your exhibition because your brochures were not delivered. Buying cheap print can often be a false economy. It really depends on your own circumstances and what you are trying to achieve.
When you are placing a print order consider what it is you are actually tring to achieve as an end result. If the deadline is important make sure you have left enough time to cover the job being delivered as required and add in at least 2/3 days as a buffer.
Printers come across clients every day with unrealistic expectations. The client has been working on a project for months and let it drift. Then suddenly they want to pass all their disorganisation and grief to the printing company and blame them when it goes wrong. apparently, there is always time for a reprint but never enough time to check proofs properly or submit artwork in a timely manner.
The successful print buyer is organised, efficient and a good planner. They take responsibility for their decisions and because of that they usually get comfortable dealing with a very limited amount of printers who they can trust. successful print buyers do not buy on price alone. It will eventually
Where can I get Cheap Printing?
The question we get asked most at www.printbuyer.co.uk is “where can I get the best price?”. Sometimes it varies and people ask “where can I get the best deal?” When buying print it’s all about responsibility.
What’s the difference in the two questions. chalk and cheese springs to mind. In the first example the customer is simply price driven. This can lead to disaster when buying print. In the second example the client mmay be looking at the best deal overall, taking into consideration price, quality, service etc. Buying print is a minefiled.
If your delivery schedule is critical forget buying cheap. you need assurance. There is no point saving £100 and being a week late with a project that costs you an extra £500 to mail first class to your end users, or indeed missing your exhibition because your brochures were not delivered. Buying cheap print can often be a false economy. It really depends on your own circumstances and what you are trying to achieve.
When you are placing a print order consider what it is you are actually tring to achieve as an end result. If the deadline is important make sure you have left enough time to cover the job being delivered as required and add in at least 2/3 days as a buffer.
Printers come across clients every day with unrealistic expectations. The client has been working on a project for months and let it drift. Then suddenly they want to pass all their disorganisation and grief to the printing company and blame them when it goes wrong. apparently, there is always time for a reprint but never enough time to check proofs properly or submit artwork in a timely manner.
The successful print buyer is organised, efficient and a good planner. They take responsibility for their decisions and because of that they usually get comfortable dealing with a very limited amount of printers who they can trust. successful print buyers do not buy on price alone. It will eventually end in tears.
Launch of Printbuyer.co.uk
Welcome to Printbuyer.co.uk. This website is long overdue in the print marketplace.
It is being created as a free resource for print buyers within the UK and beyond to assist in that jungle known as print buying.
Without doubt, the internet has revolutionised the way printers sell print and also the way clients buy print. However, until now there has not been a resource that brings it all together to the benefit of the print buyer and allows them to educate themselves in the process.
It is our intention at the outset to include books, training courses, useful links, podcasts, video and maybe later a forum that facilitates the process.
At printbuyer.co.uk we will research printing companies, interview industry afficionados and advise print buyers of our findings.
As our website builds and progresses we fully expect our databse and newsletter to expand and we will include special offers and deals to our registered users.
We would be delighted to hear any feedback, ideas or suggestions from users as this is your website.
Watch this space!
www.printbuyer.co.uk 17/3/12