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Paper is the lifeblood of the printing industry. When periodic price increases kick in, their impact is felt by the entire printing industry. Price increases for ground-wood papers are projected to be about 2% to 3% cwt each month for the next three to six months. Proper planning now can help customers save money and reduce stress.
At Delta Printing Solutions, we have fought against proposed price increases and have actively lobbied our paper vendors to keep their prices down.
We continue to streamline our operations in order to gain greater manufacturing efficiencies.
To better help our customers cope with these pricing changes, we offer the following suggestions for maximizing economy under the present circumstances:
- Book planners should remember that 16- and 32-page signatures are more economical than 4s, 8, and 12s. Many books that are produced are multiples of these two signature sizes. That’s why you typically see a book with blank pages at the end because they’re doing that to make even signatures.
- If your copy is too long and spills past the last 16 or 32-page signature by a little bit,
try reducing the point size or leading a hair. Sometimes nearly imperceptible changes can shave a page or two off a book. Another trick is to adjust the font type. For example, a book with 320 pages may adjust to 288 just by changing the type face. This represents 10% paper savings.
- Maximizing paper usage should be your goal. The closer your book is to a standard size, 6”x 9” or 8-1/2”x 11” for example, the more economical it is to print. Standard books sizes have very little paper waste and at today’s paper prices, every little bit helps. Odd-sized products almost always result in more paper waste as a percentage to total paper consumed.
- Paper selection holds another key to economizing. Most printers have “house” sheets which cost less because of negotiated discounts in exchange for higher volumes. Delta Printing Solutions’ house sheets are selected based on printability, ink hold out, opacity, brightness and price discounts, which we pass on to our customers. If you’re trying to economize, request samples of our house stocks. We think you’ll be pleased.
Form Follows Function … Again
We dedicated last month’s Helpful Tips issue to form following function. Here’s another point on this topic. Make sure your selected text stock matches the use of the book. For example, text-heavy copy printed on glossy coated stock is hard on the eyes. If you really want a coated sheet, choose a matte stock. On the other hand, if your book is comprised of mostly halftones, duotones or four-color images, uncoated offset may underwhelm readers.
The right stock is especially important for your book cover. If your cover artwork is dominated by imagery focusing on technology, machines, tools, office buildings, steel or science, choose a cool sheet with a blue/white hue. If people, animals, nature, woodwork or clothing is your subject matter, you’ll probably be better off with a warmer shade of white. Your friendly Delta Printing team will be happy to make suggestions.
The Delta Printing Solutions Advantage
Delta Printing Solutions has been committed to meeting the needs of customers for more than fifty years. Located in Los Angeles County, Delta Printing Solutions is the largest independent provider of books, manuals, catalogs, journals and directories in the Western United States. The company offers superior prepress, printing, finishing and binding services with state-of-the-art technology and craftsmanship.
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