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|| SportsShooter.com: Member Message Board
Book Publishing in China
Michael Cullen, Photographer
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Wexford Town | 0000 | Ireland | Posted: 5:02 PM on 06.25.09 |
->> I want to get books printed in China, as I'm told they are not too expensive.
Thanks |
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Clark Brooks, Photo Editor, Photographer
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Urbana | IL | USA | Posted: 2:24 PM on 06.28.09 |
| ->> Why not use Blurb? It faster, cheaper and less of a headache in long run. http://www.blurb.com |
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Darren Whitley, Photographer
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Maryville | MO | USA | Posted: 4:28 PM on 06.28.09 |
| ->> You'll need to find a company with contacts in China then. We had a history book produced there about 4-5 years ago, which turned out wonderfully. You can't get that quality of printing in the U.S. for the money. We went through a company in Kansas City, which specializes in tourism-based stuff. |
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Harrison Shull, Photographer
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David G. McIntyre, Photographer
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Beijing | . | CHINA | Posted: 12:37 AM on 06.29.09 |
| ->> Just sent you an email via your member page. I can pass on some folks. |
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Chad Ryan, Photographer, Assistant
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Fort Wayne | IN | USA | Posted: 2:04 AM on 06.29.09 |
->> I'd like to jump in on this as I am working on getting quotes for a self-published book a friend of mine and I are working on. We're looking to print in the neighborhood of 1000 - 2000 copies as an initial run. If anyone has info they wouldn't mind also passing along to me, I'd certainly appreciate it.
BTW ... I requested an quote through the Four Color link in a post above. Thanks for posting that link. |
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David Harpe, Photographer
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Louisville | KY | USA | Posted: 2:28 AM on 06.29.09 |
->> I did photography and prepress for a 240-page book with a print run of around 10,000 through Four Color. They are very good. If you've never done something like this before, here are a couple of tips.
One thing you need to keep an eye on is how you choose to do your proofs. There are two options - inkjet proofs that are printed on Epson inkjet printers profiled to match the press in China, or actual press proofs. Press proofs cost more and take more time, inkjet proofs are quick and easy.
The book I was doing had over 200 pages of full bleeds very rich in color (we used hexachrome on a heavy stock). With that kind of color we did two rounds of press proofs. It's a good thing - there were some issues with a gradient grey background that did not show up in the inkjets but did show up in the press proofs. We used that background a lot, so it would have been a catastrophe if we hadn't done the press proofs. It cost more, but it was worth it.
Another issue you need to know about has to do with how the books are shipped and packed. When the books come from China, they are shipped in unpadded cardboard boxes packed as tight as they can pack them. These boxes are (probably) shrink wrapped to a palette, so they arrive in the USA and in the warehouse in good shape.
The problem we ran into was when the books were shipped from the warehouse to the bookstores. The warehouse shipped the books in the same boxes that they arrived in overseas...an unpadded, tightly wrapped box. When the boxes arrived at the store they invariably had at least four or five books in the box damaged on the corners due to shipping (the boxes are very heavy - and UPS doesn't like heavy boxes). I ordered four boxes for my own samples and every box had damaged books. The fix of course was to have the warehouse double-box before shipment. This solved the problem but we lost a lot of books that way - so be aware.
In all fairness the warehousing operation was not a Four Color operation - it was the publisher's. But be aware of the fact that the books will not arrive in ready-to-reship boxes, so you'll need to plan accordingly.
The Four Color guys are great to work with and do a good job. I'd work with them again. |
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Curtis Clegg, Photographer
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Sycamore | IL | USA | Posted: 8:16 AM on 06.29.09 |
->> Michael here is a good article for you - it details the process involved in self-publishing:
http://www.luminous-landscape.com/essays/100-books.shtml
although the publisher that Michael Reichmann used appears to be out of business now. |
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John Howley, Photographer
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Circleville | OH | USA | Posted: 1:03 PM on 06.29.09 |
| ->> Don't forget country of origin labeling. A friend of mine self published a book and got a call from Customs that his books had arrived in the country but they couldn't release them since they didn't have "Printed in China" anywhere on them. So he ended up spending a day sitting in a warehouse putting stickers on every book. (I think he had 10,000) |
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