The All New Print Production Handbook

Features

• Turtleback: 224 pages
• Published by: Watson-Guptill May 1, 2007
• Written in: English
• ISBN 10 Number: 082309992X
• ISBN 13 Number: 978-0823099924
• Book Dimensions: 8.7 x 6.5 x 0.7 inches
• Weighs: 1.4 pounds

Product Description
Print production is a key consideration at every step of the creative process, from concept, to digital workflow, color management, font and image use, to file formats, to post-production. The All New Print Production Handbook is the practical, incisive, authoritative handbook that reveals and explains every aspect of print production. Need to know about paper types? Proofreading? Platemaking? Pricing? Print processes? Packing? Any of hundreds of other topics? Here’s the complete one-volume resource that illuminates and illustrates these complex areas and many, many more, always placing the information in the context of wider movements within the industry and the emergence of new technologies. At every stage, this practical, hands-on manual explores how and why to make print production decisions that will create a better final product, whether the project is a fine limited edition, a school newsletter, a mass-produced magazine, or a soap wrapper.   The All New Print Production Handbook is a unique, practical, and incisive reference resource revealing and explaining every aspect of print production, from traditional and specialist printing and binding techniques, via materials old and new, to the most forward-looking and insightful analysis of current and next-generation digital layout and print production processes. An in-depth, practical exploration of all of the key contemporary issues, techniques, and technologies in printing and print production, from established techniques to digital printing and publishing on demand 
A comprehensive, step-by-step analysis of contemporary print production, how it works, why it was important, what the technologies are, and how they relate to wider issues in publishing, production, design, and editing.  
A unique explanation of every stage of the production process, from planning your product, through materials, print buying, page design and layout software, negotiating hints and tips, global market issues, binding, and distribution

About The Author
David Bann is a production expert with many years' experience of print buying and production in the publishing industry. A graduate of the London College of Printing (now Communication), and a Fellow of the Institute of Paper, Printing & Publishing, he has spent his career in the production side of book publishing. He has been production director of Penguin and Rainbird and has lectured extensively on book production. He is Michael O'Mara Books; Production Consultant, and also handles production for several smaller publishers.

Reader Reviews
This book is an excellent practical introduction to printing for a beginner. It's especially useful if you'll be dealing with books, magazines and other text-intensive items. The survey of origination, pre-press, proofing/platemaking and printing processes is broad and adequate, though not especially deep. Most topics are covered in 1-2 pages of text plus an equal number of pages of illustrations -- way too short to qualify as a "handbook" for a professional, but enough to get you oriented when you're starting out. The discussions of color printing and of finishing aren't going to satisfy you if you're interested in producing high-end brochures and other specialty goods with fancy graphics. For these topics, Ambrose & Harris's "Print & Finish" in AVA's Basics Design series would be a good supplement to the present book. But the last section, called "Working with a Printer", is very helpful and, judging by my own brief experience anyway, seems to be hard to find elsewhere. It includes detailed discussion of how to make enquiries and prepare specifications for working with printers, and some of the common pitfalls of each. A lengthy glossary of terms, plus several conversion tables and other reference charts are also above-average for this type of book. I read the book while preparing to write a business plan for a new publication. It alerted me to lots of practical issues and expenses that I'd never have thought of from reading most other books on this topic, which tend to stress graphic design rather than practicality. Finally, the book itself is handsomely and durably produced, especially considering its reasonable price. Very solid, in both form and content.