PUTTING NEW TECHNOLOGY TO WORK
Starting
this month and concluding in September, we are featuring the
views of printers on their changing role in publishing.
John Davidson of JR Digital Print moved into print after 10
years in book distribution. Here are some of his views on how
much digital print can do for publishers.
After
working in Book Distribution for 10 years as head of I.T./operations
manager it was apparent that there was a need in the publishing
industry for ‘Just in Time’ printing.
In the past, publishers had little choice other than to produce
long print runs in order to maintain reasonable unit costs.
In many cases this print run incurred storage costs at their
distributors and, after a couple of years, the pulping or remaindering
of the excess stock. (How many publishers go back at this time
and look at the final unit costs?) The cost of the print run
has to be borne by the company, taking time on the slower turnover
books to be recovered, if ever. Dues were monitored diligently,
awaiting the day (if ever) when they reached a sufficient level
to justify a print run and increase the company revenue.
How many books fail to get published because the demand does
not justify a print run, or the cost would be prohibitive? How
many aspiring authors have their hopes of seeing their work
in print dashed because the production costs are too high?
Digital Printing (also referred to as Print on Demand) offers
the option to print from 1-1,000 books at prices that are often
cheaper than conventional printing - even on quantities at the
higher end of the above range.
Dues can be virtually eliminated; authors can self-publish without
paying exorbitant rates and the smaller publishers can produce
their books in smaller, more regular quantities. So when a new
book comes along, what better way to ‘test the water’?
Reduce the risk by printing digitally 500 copies, and if it
takes off then print conventionally. One area that screams out
for digital printing is reading proofs. How many publishers
print too many (and at what price), distribute some and then
seem to have the rest in a cupboard for years? Print less than
you think you need because you can always get more in just a
few days if you find your original estimate was correct.
There are books that have been out of print for many years,
some of them extremely valuable, and sought after. With modern
scanning technology and digital printing these books can be
made available to the public again at an affordable price.
The cheapest and best method for digitally producing books is
to have the original book in digital format, text and cover
– i.e. in a computer file. It does not have to exist in
this format if an original exists. This original can be scanned
and held on computer, making it available on demand. The results
are virtually indistinguishable from the original.
Digital Printing is not a replacement for the conventional method
of book production. It is more of a supplement to it, allowing
the publisher to produce books that would otherwise be too expensive
to produce in the smaller numbers required. But it makes more
books available to the public at an affordable price. John Davidson
can be contacted at JRDigital Print Services, email: sales@jrdigitalprint.co.uk
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CREATING
NEW OPPORTUNITIES
By Jonathan Harry of RPM
The opportunities presented by short-run book printing are many
and varied as the demand for an ever increasing range of books
has grown. For example the majority of academic titles sell
less than 50 copies per year and also the opportunities provided
by backlists for increased revenue are great – books need
not be put out of print. Barnes and Noble reckon that there
are 1.3m titles in print, and that some 90,000 are put out of
print every year. Combined with the internet revolution that
has allowed readers to track these titles down, this means that
the potential market is growing.
Taking this into account, RPM is able to help publishers with
very short print runs of books and at the same time reduce the
traditional risks associated with printing larger
quantities in the hope of selling them. In other words, to help
towards the aim of selling and then producing the books rather
than the other way around.
RPM has invested in the latest Xerox DocuTech and DocuColor
technology that makes short runs economic without compromising
on quality. Full colour covers can also be produced digitally
for short runs, although in the case of regular repeat orders
litho printed covers may be more appropriate. Perfect binding
(paperbacks) are produced inhouse, and RPM has teamed up with
Blissett bookbinding in London for short-run casebound books
(unsewn). Colour pages can also be produced digitally, although
we are still a little way off from the short-run full colour
production being viable for complete colour editions.
Other markets that we serve include proof copies of books, and
the market for self-published books that is developing fast
as authors can take control of the whole process without compromising
on quality.
Jonathan Harry is a director of RPM Print and Design in Sussex
and can be contacted on jharry@rpm-repro.co.uk
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THE
CUSTOMER IS KING
Paul
Thorne gives a brief outline of The Lavenham Press, with input
from Terence Dalton, managing director, who has been with the
family-owned firm for an amazing 29 years.
The company is in its 50th year. While it handles some commercial
print, about 80% of the output is books and periodicals. Lavenham
has an extremely varied customer base, numbering many institutes,
associations and societies within the medical and environmental
sectors. Commercial publishers are also well represented, as
are various independent publishers, including self-publishers.
The Press is the largest local employer, with more than 50 staff,
and takes its social responsibility seriously. Lavenham is an
Investor in People and is extremely pro-active about training.
It also has an impressively green environmental policy, using
the latest products, designed to minimise its impact on the
environment.
The company can receive finished pdf files via ISDN; however,
the company also has the capability to help out at any stage
of the earlier work, and is often involved in typesetting or
specialised scanning on behalf of customers. This is made possible
by offering a fully integrated service, encompassing production,
typesetting and pre-press, printing (digital or litho), binding
and specialised finishing, mailing and even warehousing with
single copy fulfilment. The Lavenham Press operates a highly
sophisticated digital workflow system.
Mr Dalton states: 'Company philosophy revolves around the customer,
supporting the customer at every stage, being both flexible
and responsive. We have special understanding of the publisher's
viewpoint in that we have also published in our own right for
many years.' This understanding certainly seems to have paid
off as many of the customers have been with the company for
10 or 20 years and in one case, for over 40 years.
One area that has seen growth in recent years has been stock
holding and single order fulfilment for a number of publishers
with titles that do not offer enough turnover to interest the
major distributors. 'We started this to help us distribute the
books of local interest in East Anglia that we publish, and
it is growing steadily,' said Mr Dalton. 'We do not market these
titles, just offer a fulfilment service, and the process is
operated in such a way as to make us invisible to the buyer.
The bookshops call a dedicated line as if to the publisher,
and they send us payment in the name of the publisher.'
He continues: 'We provide a service to our customers, supplying
books and journals where required, on time. The means of production
and the chosen logistics are secondary to how effectively the
customers' needs are met. We have considerable flexibility with
digital capability courtesy of our Xerox Docutech and a range
of B1 Heidleberg presses (one, two, four and five colour). TPL
produces all sorts of book, mono or full colour throughout,
with a typical book being 75% b/w and 25% colour - although
the colour element is growing as the unit costs of four-colour
litho are falling, and most membership magazines are predominantly
colour. We also produce many technical journals in black and
white only.'
Regarding the appropriate use of digital and litho printing,
Mr. Dalton sees the gap closing in that while cost-effective
digital runs grow, corresponding improvements in modern litho
machines and digital work flows reducing front end costs make
litho increasingly competitive. 'We can make 100 B1 plates a
day, and the set-up time and costs on modern machines have come
down dramatically. This increased productivity means litho unit
costs are falling and smaller runs have become far more viable.
It is not just the cost factor with colour digital, but also
the quality. There is little to choose between litho and digital
on mono text, but when it comes to full colour images, litho
is still ahead on quality,' comments Mr Dalton.
'The marketplace is changing in that lead times are coming down
and print runs are getting shorter. These changes, along with
reduced costs and improved productivity in the UK, have probably
been a contributing factor in making overseas printing less
attractive for all but the relatively long runs.'
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FULFILLING
PUBLISHERS' NEEDS
Innovation is critical in order to meet changing market
requirements, says Kevan Barrett at academic printer Antony
Rowe.
Antony Rowe was formed nearly 20 years ago based on the premise
of meeting publishers’ increasing demands for shorter
print runs. By engaging publishers in dialogue, Antony Rowe
identified that publishers were looking for increasingly shorter
print runs, either to fulfil dues, produce specialist titles
or to ‘pilot’ new authors. It was apparent there
was a niche in this area that was unfulfilled, so he and his
colleagues applied lateral thinking to the problem. Using a
fresh approach with available technology, they came up with
a unique formula that was successfully taken to the market.
This meant that not only could shorter runs be produced but
equally importantly they could be produced cost effectively.
This principle was adopted and has constantly been refined during
the last 20 years and many academic publishers have taken advantage
of the range of facilities offered and the company has expanded
rapidly. The team at Antony Rowe are constantly innovative by
way of ideas and investment in technology plus new applications
for old technology. This culminated in the introduction of the
first digital press for short-run book production many years
ago. Having successfully developed short-runs, publishers were
looking for ‘on-demand’ (single copy) book production,
which Antony Rowe pioneered in 1996.
Technology continues to move quickly and the range of services
offered by Antony Rowe has increased dramatically. This has
required constant re-investment in plant, factory space and
more importantly staff (the company has IIP and ISO accreditation).
It now employs in excess of 220 staff, in three locations (Chippenham,
Frome and Eastbourne) offering initial litho print runs, to
litho and digital reprints through to print on demand. The range
of services is comprehensive including data capture, data hosting/manipulation,
book, journal and loose-leaf production as well as fulfilment
(distribution) that give a combined turnover in excess of £14m.
A combination of the latest computer to plate systems complemented
by the latest digital and litho presses offers a comprehensive
range of product under one roof, and investment is ongoing.
One most recent venture is with Gardners, the book wholesalers,
in a strategic partnership offering the first ‘true’
on demand facility in Europe. This involves ‘virtual warehousing’,
whereby books are manufactured and distributed quickly and cost
effectively after they have been sold – case bound and
limp, in single or multiple copies delivered in days–
a unique package.
It is this proactive and innovative approach that sets Antony
Rowe apart from many of our competitors and is responsible for
many enduring partnerships with academic publishers around the
world.
Contact: Kevan.Barrett@antonyrowe.co.uk
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