In article <20031220201634.29446.00000763.RemoveThis@mb-m02.aol.com>,
telicalbook.RemoveThis@aol.comnojunk (Telicalbook) wrote:
> Hi,
>
> I'm going into publishing some books, and I don't want to go wtih the
> idea of printing many at one time. Are there any printers out there
> that can take a Word formatted text and a similar file for the cover, and
> print runs of 25 book for less than $5 each?
> --
> Robert Pearson
<font color=purple> > <a style='text-decoration: underline;' href="http://www.rspearson.com/</font" target="_blank">http://www.rspearson.com/</font</a>>
<font color=purple> > ParaMind Brainstorming Software <a style='text-decoration: underline;' href="http://www.paramind.net</font" target="_blank">http://www.paramind.net</font</a>>
<font color=purple> > R.S. Pearson Music Page <a style='text-decoration: underline;' href="http://www.rspearson.com/rsmusic.html</font" target="_blank">http://www.rspearson.com/rsmusic.html</font</a>>
>
>
>
>
Word is a poor choice of a program for laying out (typesetting) a book
and you will have difficulty finding printers willing to work with Word
files. However, if you can convert the word file to an Acrobat PDF file,
then many printers will have no problem with it.
Acrobat distiller, from Adobe, comes with the full Acrobat program and
costs around $300. You might be able to use Jaws PDF Creator which
claims to be a "full featured" PDF distilation program. It's available
for $79. (I can't recall the Jaws web site, but search at Google for
Jaws PDF Creator and it'll pop right up.)
The cover is going to be a problem. It's unlikely that you'll be able to
properly lay it out for the printer. A cover needs to be one sheet
including the front, back and spine. (The layout will have the front to
the right, the spine in the middle (oriented properly) and the back to
the left.) The spine measurement is adjusted once you have selected your
printer and you confirm the thickness of the paper to be used. For
planning purposes, figure 60# paper at 400 pages per inch and 50# paper
at 500 pages per inch. You'll be close and only have a relatively small
adjustment to make to the artwork.
You will need an appropriate program to lay it out... While "real" page
layout programs (Quark Xpress, Adobe InDesign, Adobe PageMaker, Adobe
Framemaker) are most desirable, you might be able to do it with Adobe
Illustrator, Macromedia Freehand, Deneba Canvas or a similar drawing
program. (Microsoft Publisher doesn't "do" CMYK color very well, so it's
best avoided, althoug if you are printing a simple, one-color cover with
black ink, it would do.)
There is an ancient page layout program (one of the first ones) that has
more or less disappeared, but Ready, Set, Go is available for roughly
$100 to $150 depending on the platform/version. (Google Ready Set Go to
find out more.)
As for a good ultra-short-run book printer, I can suggest
Fidlar-Doubleday. You can check out a great list of book printers at
<a style='text-decoration: underline;' href="http://www.aeonix.com" target="_blank">http://www.aeonix.com</a> -- follow the link to "list of book printers".
Those who do digital printing (in quantities as few as 25) are flagged
with "POD" on the list.
While there, you might check out the article that explains exactly why
Word is a poor choice for self-publishing.
You probably ought to read a couple of books on self publishing (to save
yourself some agrivation and to avoid wasting money). Look for Dan
Poynter's The Self Publishing Manual (13th Ed. is current). Dan is a
"guru" of self-publishing. Also, the other pioneers are Tom and Marilyn
Ross -- their book (4th Ed) is The Complete Guide to Self Publishing.
Both are available at Amazon.com and have been offered there with a 20%
discount. They are likely available at your local library as well.<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
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