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Tactics > print production How to spec a


A beginner’s guide to


I


catalogue print production


f you’ve ever produced a printed catalogue, you’ll probably know there are a hundred and one things that can go wrong during production. Navigating your way through these potential show-stoppers can be a bit of


a nightmare, even for the super-experienced. They can result in an interesting range of sleep- depriving outcomes—from missed deadlines and poor print quality, to overspend and lost revenues. For those of us who are professional print project managers, these problems can represent major challenges, but what about those who are not experienced, for whom managing the production of a catalogue is just one small part of their broader role? Or those who come to printed catalogues from a past of producing digital-only catalogues for a website? Very often, they’ll find some of these pitfalls the hard way— by slamming head-first into them and being left to pick up the pieces—often with a less than desirable impact on the bottom line. So let’s take a look at some of the basics of


how to specify a print job and get exactly what you’re after.


Catalogue, or


brochure, or leaflet? If you use the term “catalogue” to a printer, it doesn’t mean much. There’s no set definition of what a catalogue is. What one person calls a catalogue, the next will call a brochure or even a leaflet or pamphlet if it’s thin enough. So by all means talk about “the MyCompany August catalogue” to them as a project title, but they’ll need some more detailed specs to really understand the detail of your job. Catalogues can range from 8 pages to more


than 1,000, usually with a separate cover. Typically, they’re A4 in size (297mm x 210mm) and portrait in orientation. If you’re looking to work out the specifications for your catalogue but not sure what your options are, here are the most common specifications used: Four process colours (also known as full colour). Cover paper weight is typically anything from 115gsm (grams per square metre) up to 300gsm. Text paper weight tends to start around 50gsm up to 130gsm.


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Popular stock (paper type) is woodfree, near woodfree or blade-coated mechanical. Binding is commonly saddle-stitched or perfect-bound. Thicker catalogues (say around 100 pages) would typically be perfect-bound.


Specifying your print When you talk to a printer, you really need


to be able to speak his language. Chances are that the person you’re speaking to has been in the industry for a while, and like most industries, print is full of jargon. If you miscommunicate your requirements, you could end up with a different result to what you think you’re getting. Feel free to download a print specification form from the Webmart website. It will hopefully help you to ensure you have all your bases covered. You can also refer to your ECMOD Direct Commerce Year Book for a comprehensive glossary of terms, including printing terminology.


Artwork Always provide your catalogue artwork as a


print-ready PDF. PDFs are acceptable to all printers whereas other formats are not and may delay the project. On high-quality catalogues where faithful colour reproduction is required, it’s worth requesting colour proofs to check colours before printing. Note that even proofs won’t always give a 100 percent accurate match.


Pagination In printing, the term “page” or “pages” doesn’t


refer to each paper “leaf”. It refers to a single printed side. Think of it in the same way you do when looking up an article in an index—the index will refer to a particular numbered page. Printers do the same.


Printers abbreviate it when they write it down


too. So an A4-sized catalogue with 40 leaves and a cover will be annotated to something like A4 80pp text + 4pp cover, meaning there’s 80 sides for the internal pages with four sides for the cover paper.


Quantity When getting an estimate and you don’t know


the precise quantity, it’s worth giving the quantity range for estimating purposes. That way, you know the range of prices to expect.


Direct Commerce Catalogue e-business www.catalog-biz.com


catalogue


Paper There’s a huge range of paper available and


there are some brands that are better known than others. You may decide you want a particular named stock, or a particular weight, specified in gsm, but if you’re flexible, you may find savings by using a lighter weight of paper or unbranded stock, which is often just as suitable. If you need a specific brand, do get your printer to check on availability as any delivery delay for the paper can impact on your final print delivery date. And remember, you have the opportunity


to use environmentally sustainable paper by stipulating FSC or PEFC paper, certified by the Forest Stewardship Council or Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Council, respectively. This doesn’t have to cost more than standard paper.


Finishing Finishing refers to anything that’s done to


the printed sheet after it’s been printed. Some finishing, such as trimming, is pretty straightforward and will be included in your estimate. But if you need any special coatings or other more complex or creative finishing, such as varnishing (applying oil, synthetic, spirit, cellulose or water varnish to enhance appearance or increase durability), folding or diestamping (incising an image into a surface so the resultant impression stands out in relief above the surface of the stamped material), it needs defining early on. Note also that you need to specify your binding too—the most common being stitching (metal stapling), perfect binding and PUR binding (same process as perfect binding, but with synthetic adhesive rather than conventional glue). If printing on silk, matt or satin stocks, a


sealer is recommended to help reduce rubbing. Although, if the catalogue is to be personalised,


By Richard Biltcliffe


There are also “run on” and “run back” prices. Where you need a larger or smaller quantity than estimated, it gives you an idea of the price per unit. These figures are given because with non-digital presses, there’s a “set-up cost” of preparing the printing plates and presses, after which the cost per item is reduced—so if you want more or fewer, you know the price you’ll pay.


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