Glossary
Catalog
S&H
Part
I
Printed Book
Family History
State
Part II
E-Book
Genealogy & History
Fiction
Part III
Non-Book Items in our Catalog
Other Sections
(May include Printed Book, E-Book and Other)
New
Additions
New
Reprints
Gift Services
Online
Order Form Links (SCL)
Click here for suggestions and help preparing your manuscript
The Genesis of a Book at
|
Production:
Offset Printing
When a manuscript enters
production, each individual page is hand set at the plate
maker on printing plates. The plates then proceed to the press
room.
The press operator
then etches each plate and hangs it on the press. The
operator manually adjusts paper speed through the machine, ink flow
and many other factors that affect the quality of the book.
While many of the new machines highly automate this process - we feel
that having a person monitor the quality as it is offset printed is an
vital quality control step that is missing in many automated systems.
If the press operator
decides a page is not the best it
can be (within standards), a new plate (sometimes even new half tones) for the page is ordered and
the page reprinted.
For all types of bindings, except saddle stitching, the quality checked pages are then collated: changing the individual stacks of page 1/2, 3/4, 5/6, etc. into a text block that is sequential (1-6, 1-6, 1-6). Saddle stitched books are collated and bound in the same step by machine.
Digital
Printing
Though there are many more variables
that affect processes in digital printing, this is a standard book production
process example.
Once the digital manuscript has cleared pre-press it is ready for production:
-
If printing from an Camera Ready Disk (electronic manuscript): The file or files are sent to the digital machine directly from the pre-press/check-in computers.
-
If printing from a CRDPM: The hard copy manuscript pages are loaded into a mechanical document feeder of the digital machine.
The text block is
printed out from the digital machine already collated. Depending on the
size of the book and publication quantity, the digital files may be printed out
in smaller page sequences/sections and hand collated in preparation for binding.
Additionally, special items such as 4-color, specially folded pages, slick inserts and card dividers are
added by hand as well - as required.
Page Last Updated: May 29, 2008
Gregath Website Home Page
>
Book Preparation Tips > Author
Manuscript Preparation
> Virtual Publishing Tour > Production
Gregath Website Home Page >
Working with The Gregath Publishing Company
>
Virtual Publishing Tour > Production
Gregath Publishing Home >
Virtual Publishing Tour > Production
