To produce colour in offset printing there are two options:
Inks can be mixed to a certain colour and applied to the paper or
different amounts of the four basic colours can be applied in different quantities on the paper to create a large number of colours.
This is the difference between special (or spot) colours and process colours: special colours are mixed before printing to exactly the colour specified whereas process colours are mixed on the press from cyan, magenta, yellow and black (CMYK).
Why does that matter?
This is important because, while we can simulate many colours and print pictures by using the process colours cyan, magenta, yellow and black, some colours cannot be produced accurately in this way.
If you need to reproduce a certain colour, say a corporate colour in a logo, it may be appropriate to choose to print this colour as a premixed ink, a special colour. This will most likely make your print job more expensive, especially if you are already using the process colour to print pictures and other colours, but it will guarantee, that your colour looks as expected.
To decide which way to produce a colour and whether it is worth the extra expense it is always a good idea to check with the Pantone Solid to Process Specifier, a book or swatch in which special Pantone colours are compared to their equivalents in four colour process. Here it becomes obvious, that while some colours are quite close, other colours just can't be matched sucessfully from combining cyan, magenta, yellow and black.
Orange (Pantone 021) is notorious for creating dissappointment when matched in CMYK.
The colour on the left represents orange printed in 4 colour process, whereas the orange on the right is the premixed ink.
There are many other colours which can be difficult to reproduce in 4 colour process.
There are several different ways of proofing a print job, i.e. of showing our customers what the finished job will look like:
Press Proofs:
Press proofs are run on the machine that will produce the final output, and often on the exact stock that will be used. For offset print jobs, this is like a test print and very expensive, plates need to be run and the machine needs to be set up. Spending hundreds of dollars may make sense for a very prestigious project or a colour job on an unusual stock, where the influence of the stock on the final perception of the document is difficult to assess from looking at an inljet proof.
For digital jobs, where the setup is much less expensive, a press proof is the rule rather than the exception and a first copy of a job is printed and compiled for customer ok.
Also known as Machine proofs, test prints.
Press checks are similar to press proofs in some ways: the customer comes to the press room at the scheduled start of the job and gives the ok at the beginning of the print run, sometimes taking advantage of the printer's ability to tweak colours on a sheet. Press checks do not have to cost anything extra, as long as there are no changes to the artwork and the customer is able to come in at a the time the job is scheduled. Press checks are a good way to see your job in it's final rendition. Press checks also show that you are interested in the outcome of your job, which is not a given.
High Resolution Inkjet Proofs:
These proofs are run on a high resolution inkjet printer. The printer is calibrated to the press that the final job will be run on and produces similar colour (in a colour managed environment). Proofs are not cheap, often run imposed on a big sheet and they are in most cases the final sign off for colour and content. They are often called contract proofs, as the represent the contract between printer and customer: if the result from the press looks like the proof, the customer gets what they were promised and what they signed for. If the result on the press differs considerably from the proof, say because the colours come out very differently on a certain stock, the printer should put the job on hold and consult with the customer.
Also known as contract proofs, digital chromalins, Approval proofs, Epson proofs, HPs.
Laser Proofs:
These are prints from a colour laser, they are mostly for content and they show pagination on a magazine, backup and folding in a brochure. As laser printers are notoriously temperamental when it comes to colour consistency, they are not usually used for accurate colour proofing. They are cheap, quick and often absolutely necessary as dummies, especially when no sample or dummy was supplied by the customer (Consider how many ways there are to fold a brochure). For magazines and other multi-page publications these lasers are bound or placed in a ring binder to show pagination.
Also known as Content proofs, Lo Res proofs.
Online Proofs:
Online proofs are viewed on a screen, most of the time they are a low resolution version of the high resolution PDF that we then use to print. They can also be a rasterised PDF, taken from the processed (i.e. ripped) file from the prepress system. Online proofs can also be little animated digital magazines that are compiled by a prepress system and that allow you to flick through a little digital mag on screen to show the way the pages fall. Online proofs are provided on the web or via email. Online proofs are usually for content proofing, i.e. is it really the final version o f the file, has that last change been made etc. Their colour accuracy depends very much on the quality of the screen they are viewed on and the colour management used in the workflow.
Online proofs are also used in web to print systems, were artwork is created online and proofed immediately.
There are two kinds of file compression: Lossy (referring to quality) and lossless compression.
Using lossless compression, the computer uses formulas to describe data more effectively, i.e. instead of writing repetitive information when describing a colour area in a picture (white white white white white white white white white white) "10 x white" is used. This way no information or quality is lost, the computer just has to do more calculation work when opening the picture.
This method of compression is very effective in pictures with flat/solid colours or other files with repetitive information (like this map).
Examples of lossless compression are LZW and ZIP compression (used in Photoshop, Acrobat, Winzip etc.).
Lossy compression uses downsampling to reduce the amount of information in a picture. Pixels are grouped and replaced by larger blocks of colour. When saving the picture, the amount of compression and therefore quality loss can be adjusted. This compression is very efficient on photographs and pictures with tonal variations. JPEG is the most popular file type for this type of compression. For music files a similar method is used to save MPEG files. It is important to remember that each time a file is saved using jpeg (lossy) compression, some information is lost and quality reduced.
The two butterflies are saved as jpeg files, the file on the left was saved with maximum quality, the file on the right was saved with medium quality. On closer look the loss of detail on the right becomes obvious, as do patterns and artifacts in the background.
If you want to get a document printed that uses screen shots, you can use separate software to capture images on your monitor, but in the end a screen shot will only be made of what’s on the screen, so the built-in facility of the operating system is normally enough.
The three factors that make (or ruin) screen shot reproduction are resolution, colour conversion and file format (compression).
The resolution of the screen on which you take the shot is important, the higher the better. If you capture a 1680 x 1050 screen you will get a 5 MB RGB (6.8MB in CMYK) file which even at 300 dpi is definitely good enough for a reproduction at a size of 14 x 9 cm. Even larger sizes (up to A4) are usually fine.
The colour of the screen shot is obviously RGB, so as with any image you need to take care when converting to not lose the vibrancy. colour profile for high quality sheetfed offset will get much better results than the Photoshop default of North American Standard Web Offset.
Finally you need to be careful not to use any lossy compression, which would cause artefacts and blur the image. JPEG compression is such a compression method, you lose quality every time you save. I find that for screen shots tiff files with lzw compression works best.
So capture an image at the highest possible resolution, maintain the colour vibrancy and don't use lossy compression when saving the image, or the complete (pdf-) document.
Digital printing has enabled authors and publishers to produce books in small quantities, either for testing and marketing, to publish themselves or to make books available that do not warrant a large print run any more. With modern technology no book should be "out or print". SOS is all about production of books in short runs on demand. Unlike many other printers, who print the occasional book, we produce tens of thousands of paperbacks (as well as magazines) every month, for big, small and one-off publishers.
If you want to publish your own book and get it printed, here are some things to consider:
Editing
Editing your opus may be best left to a professional editor, especially if you have spent a lot of time on it. There are many freelance editors that can help you, we recommend contacting the Society of Editors, http://www.editorsnsw.com/.
ISBN and CiP
The International Standard Book Number (ISBN) identifies your book to book registration and distribution systems, most bookstores will not stock books that do not have ISBN.
You can get an ISBN and the respective barcode online at the Thorpe Bowker website: https://compay.com.au/ThorpeBowker/isbn/. (Thorpe Bowker also publish the Books in Print database.)
Cataloguing-in-Publication (CIP) is used for library cataloguing. To be eligible for the service publications should be published in Australia; relevant to a wide audience with substantial textual information content and likely to be acquired and made available by Australian libraries. You can apply for a CiP at the Cataloguing-in-Publication Unit of the National Library of Australia in Canberra ACT 2600 or online at http://www.nla.gov.au/services/cip_form.html
Copyright
"There is no government registration system for copyright protection in Australia. You do not need to publish your work, put a copyright notice on it, or to do anything else to be covered by copyright — the protection is free and automatic. There are no forms to fill in, and there are no fees to be paid. You do not have to lodge your work with a government agency or anwhere else." - Visit the Copyright Agency for more information.
Please understand that we will not reproduce books for which you do not have copyright and we may ask for a proof of copyright.
Design and Artwork Production
You may produce your own design or you may get help from a professional designer. Our internal designers are happy to help at an hourly rate and there are also many freelance designers out there. You may want to check that they have experience in book design, as it is quite different from other commercial design. And yes, people do judge a book by its cover.
Colour or Black Only?
The decision of whether to include any colour sections usually depends on cost: colour pages still cost at least 5 times more than black only pages and they also have to be inserted into the book. A colour section has to have a minimum of 2 pages. It can be printed on a different stock than the text, e.g. a glossy coated stock. Our standard stock for colour sections is 130 gsm matt or gloss coated paper.
Standard Book Sizes
While you can make your book virtually any size, there are standard book sizes (All sizes in millimetres, height x width):
A format: 181 x 111 mm
B format: 198 x 128 mm
B+ format: 210 x 135 mm
C format: 234 x 153 mm
Demy: 229 x 152 mm
Royal: 235 x 191 mm
A5: 210 x 148.5 mm
A4: 297 x 210 mm
Please note that there may be different interpretations of "standard" book sizes (as you can see after spending a little time online). Only the DIN sizes (A4 etc) are ISO standardized worldwide.
Text Page Margins
There are rules to set up typical text page margins:
Inside to Outside 1:2 The inside margin is 1/2 of the outside margin.
Top to Bottom 1:2 The top margin is 1/2 of the bottom margin.
Inside to Bottom 1:3 The inside margin is 1/3 of the bottom margin.
Outside to Bottom 2:3 The outside margin is 2/3 of the bottom margin.
Spine Width
To calculate the width of the spine of your book you need to know the number of pages and the thickness of the paper your book will be printed on.
Spine = [(No of pages)/2] x Paper Bulk + 0.5mm, then round up to the nearest half millimetre.
Standard paper bulks are as follows (measured in microns, paper bulking characteristics can vary):
70gsm Creamy Book Paper: 0.140
80gsm Offset (Bond): 0.100
90gsm Offset: 0.111
100gsm Offset: 0.120
So as an example, if your book has 320 pages and you would like it printed on the creamy book paper, your spine would be
320 / 2 = 160 160 x 0.14 = 22.4 22.4 + 0.5 = 22.9 rounded up to 23 mm
File Specifications
Our preferred file format to submit your artwork is pdf. A print ready pdf contains high resolution images, all fonts, trim marks and at least 3mm bleed.
The cover should be in one file with back cover, spine and front cover on one sheet. As an example, if the above book was an A format with 320 pages, the cover would be 111 + 23 + 111 = 245mm wide and 181 mm deep.
If your text is black only, please make sure the text is black only, and not a combination of all colours.
File specifications for books are generally similar to other print jobs, and so are the issues with incorrect files, see our top seven file issues for what NOT to do.
Text Paper
All standard stocks that we are using in our digital book production are FSC accredited, some are also PEFC certified.
Our standard book stock for paperback is Munken Cream book paper. This paper is ideally suited as a text stock for paperbacks. It has a high opacity and a gat readability due to its creamy colour. It is bulkier than normal bond paper, feels well and due to the low weight of the paper the books are light and easy to hold. The paper mill is accredited to ISO 14001 and the paper is FSC and PEFC accredited.
Our standard white uncoated paper is 80 gsm, we also stock 90 and 100gsm white offset. These heavier papers are often used for textbooks or other high quality books. The white 80 gsm bond is also often used for Reading Copies to distinguish them from finished books.
Other stocks are available, but have to be ordered in for each job.
Cover Stock
For the covers we generally use 250 gsm matt art, and usually covers are celloglazed (laminated). This thin plastic coating protects the covers. Other cover stocks are available, but have to be ordered in for each job.
Cover Coatings and Embellishments
Embellishments are not really an option in digital printing, as they usually require an expensive setup. If you absolutely need embossing or foiling we recommend printing a large quantity (>2000) of your covers to make it worthwhile, we can then store these covers for you and re-print the text as you need.
Printing
We print text blocks using high speed digital printers from OCE or Kodak, the covers are printed on our Xeikon digital colour press. These machines use toner (instead of ink) to produce up to 250 pages per minute. The quality of the text pages is indistinguishable from traditional offset printing. The colour printer is colour managed and calibrated to our offset presses, so that the result is equal to offset printing, guaranteeing that the cover looks the same on every print run. If you want us to match a previously printed cover, please send us the book and we'll do our best. However, sometimes the age of the book, the paper used at the time or the influence of the press operator during the past print run can make it difficult to achieve a perfect match.
Covers are celloglazed using a specialised film. Covers and text are then merged at binding stage.
See Books on Demand for a description of the book types we produce.
Binding
There are a variety of ways you can bind a book (see also our binding guide). Hardcover books have a cardboard cover, often with a cloth or other coating. SOS does not bind hardcover books in house. Softcover books are typical paperbacks, the cover is of heavier stock than the text and the pages are held together by glue. Our cover stock is 250 gsm and the printed cover usually also has a plastic foil coating applied, called celloglaze (or lamination).
Payment
For all customers without an account at SOS, we require payment by electronic funds transfer before we can commence production.
Our banking details are as follows:
Company Name: The SOS Print & Media Group (Aust) P/L Bank: Commonwealth Bank of Australia Branch: King & Clarence Street, Sydney, NSW BSB Number: 062-032 Bank Account Number: 2801 7175
Please email remittance advice to
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.
If you chose to use a book distribution company we can ship to their warehouse. (Examples of book distribution companies are United Book Distributors, Bookwise, DA, Gary Allen)
If you chose to distribute books yourself, we can ship your books for you and send them out to whichever address you specify on your order.
We use a padded bag to wrap your book, apply a label and lodge with Australia Post. Our standard packing and handling fee is $1 per book. Australia Post rates are here.
If you want to ship quantities of books to book shops or to a warehouse, we pack in boxes and determine the most cost effective courier by weight and destination.
Marketing the book
We specialise in the production of books, but we can also help with the setup of a website or a blog to accompany the book.
There is also a lot of information on the web regarding book marketing:
Orange (Pantone 021) is notorious for creating dissappointment when matched in CMYK.
These proofs are run on a high resolution inkjet printer. The printer is calibrated to the press that the final job will be run on and produces similar colour (in a colour managed environment). Proofs are not cheap, often run imposed on a big sheet and they are in most cases the final sign off for colour and content. They are often called contract proofs, as the represent the contract between printer and customer: if the result from the press looks like the proof, the customer gets what they were promised and what they signed for. If the result on the press differs considerably from the proof, say because the colours come out very differently on a certain stock, the printer should put the job on hold and consult with the customer.
These are prints from a colour laser, they are mostly for content and they show pagination on a magazine, backup and folding in a brochure. As laser printers are notoriously temperamental when it comes to colour consistency, they are not usually used for accurate colour proofing. They are cheap, quick and often absolutely necessary as dummies, especially when no sample or dummy was supplied by the customer (Consider how many ways there are to fold a brochure). For magazines and other multi-page publications these lasers are bound or placed in a ring binder to show pagination.
Using lossless compression, the computer uses formulas to describe data more effectively, i.e. instead of writing repetitive information when describing a colour area in a picture (white white white white white white white white white white) "10 x white" is used. This way no information or quality is lost, the computer just has to do more calculation work when opening the picture.
The resolution of the screen on which you take the shot is important, the higher the better. If you capture a 1680 x 1050 screen you will get a 5 MB RGB (6.8MB in CMYK) file which even at 300 dpi is definitely good enough for a reproduction at a size of 14 x 9 cm. Even larger sizes (up to A4) are usually fine. 
The International Standard Book Number (ISBN) identifies your book to book registration and distribution systems, most bookstores will not stock books that do not have ISBN.
There are rules to set up typical text page margins:
Spine = [(No of pages)/2] x Paper Bulk + 0.5mm, then round up to the nearest half millimetre.
We print text blocks using high speed digital printers from 
There are a variety of ways you can bind a book (see also our