An author approached us with a substantial book - "ready to print". He had obtained quotations to print from another firm, using his "ready to print" computer files. In round terms the quoted cost, for his anticipated print run, was £1000. Neither his files nor a printout from them had been inspected before this quotation was given.
The files were not ready to print. The illustrations had not been adequately scanned. The hardcopy had been printed to the wrong size, and so all the page references and index were incorrect. Footnotes were incorrectly placed. There were 65 different styles in use (each of four highly respected secretaries had added their own styles to the stylesheet over the previous decade), for a complex boo a dozen styles is more than adequate. The list of major and minor horrors cntinued.
The client in question had some knowledge of this, that is why he came for a second opinion. We explained the minimum that had to be done. Our cost of preparing the files for print eventually came to close on £2000. After that account was settled the costs for the print run were estimated.
How can a firm get away with charging 20% of the real production costs? They print the files exactly as they are given, stick the edges together, wrap a cover round it - job done. As often as not the customer is happy. For such a person there is no moral and lesson to be learned from this page. We are sorry if we have wasted your time (and glad you have not wasted ours).
* A note about using "Word". It is a brilliant and very comprehensive program, worth every penny of its considerable cost. If you are going to use it to write a book then, please learn to use your software first of all. Otherwise you are wasting your time (and ours, which equals your money). Learning to use "Word" efficiently takes weeks of diligent application to study.
Example 1 We have had a great many Word documents passed to us over the last forty years. So far we have never met anyone who knew what a stylesheet is, and how a program such as Word refer to it. How on earth can we know this about other people? Because we have never, ever, received the appropriate style sheet when a Word document is sent to us. That means our computer has to guess what styles that were intended, which means that our printout does not look like theirs, which means the pagination and everything else goes to rats. For a handbill or letterhead we can work around it. For a book it means and lengthy complete re-jig.
Example 2 We have on only one occasion received a file where the author used tabs correctly. Every other client has moved things across the line by pressing the tab key four, five, six....or so times. In other words - the inch inch apart that the designers of Word set as the default. If you use tabs then you have to set them specifically for your needs for that line of your type. They are part of the style for that line......see the paragraph above.
Example 3 No one has ever asked us if we have "Word" on our system. If we know how to use it. If we can work speedily and efficiently with it. We have, but it is not provided free of charge with every computer, or by the boss. It is proprietary, it costs money, files from "Word" cannot be read other than by "Word". (At one stage they could not be read be earlier versions - which means both parties have to pay for their upgrade.) If you can find a reliable print-shop that accepts "Word" files then be sure to note who and where they are - they are few and far between.
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