Publishing hard copy books

Hard copy books

Traditional publishing 'hard copy books'¹ has been revolutionised by the rise of computers like many things these days. Traditionally, each colour would be printed using a different plate. Now, the print machine handles all the colours. Even low end home print machines can have half a dozen colours to give a greater dynamic range and the resulting photographic quality print can be superb.

There have been vast improvements in lazer printing and inkjet printing with very fine resolution possible for low cost. 'Giclee²' for example can print a resolution of 2700 dpi (dots per inch) which means that the ink droplets are as small as human blood cells. The prints are also guaranteed light proof for up to 90 years. It is cost-effective to print just one giclee print, which can be printed on a surprising range of surfaces including paper and canvas.

Traditional lithographic processes used to be very expensive. A cost which would be spread out across the print run. The set-up cost might include up to 16 plates and one of the difficulties of this would be the 'registration' of all those plates to make sure that they are all in exactly the same position.

These setup costs could be prohibitive. They certainly dictate a minimum reasonable quantity of copies to cover the initial layout. That's why with traditional printing the cost of printing double the quantity means only a small increase in price.

Now, with the rise of digital techniques all that has changed. We have a situation where there are many options for publishing hard copy books, including combinations of new and old techniques. My advice is to shop around and get quotes, particularly checking samples of quality. Talk to your print bureau before deciding.

Print on demand

Working with digital files and digital print means that you can easily create, store and send 'artwork' to be reproduced anywhere very easily and cheaply. You can upload a 'pdf' file to the web and have it printed as a hard copy book, or indeed as any other kind of print such as posters, photo albums, or calendars. The amazing thing is that you can have just a few or as many as you require, plus they can be advertised on the web and printed to order. This is covered in more detail here... print on demand

¹'Hard copy' is a traditional term for any printing on paper and includes 'soft back' books!

²Giclee means to spray. Spraying a very fine mist of colour, like airbrushing, gives superb reproduction.