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 This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

If you plan to get books printed on a regular basis, please do apply for an account with us: Download SOS credit application form

Distribution

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.

There is the standard parcel rate calculator, this method is cheapest, but does not allow for tracking. Registered Post or Express Post do, but are more expensive (our lodgement post code is 2015, here is a pricing table).

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:

http://marketingsellingbooks.suite101.com/article.cfm/how_to_promote_and_market_a_published_book

http://marketingsellingbooks.suite101.com/article.cfm/best_marketing_strategies_for_book_authors

http://blog.nathanbransford.com/

Associations:

There are some associations and interest groups around publishing and book production that may be helpful:

The Australian Publishers Association (APA) can be found at http://www.publishers.asn.au/

The Australian Booksellers Association (ABA) can be found at http://www.aba.org.au/

The Galley Club Sydney is at http://www.galleyclub.com.au

Help with production, distribution and marketing:

If you are an author and would like help with the whole process including production, distribution and marketing we recommend:

XLibris (international)

Odyssey Books (Australian)

QR Codes are a popular type of two-dimensional barcode, which are also known as hardlinks or physical world hyperlinks. The quick response (QR) barcodes can store a variety of text information, be read very fast, even upside down and can be scanned from a screen, a newspaper or magazine, flyer or even a billboard.

QR Codes store text, which can be:

• A website address
• A telephone number
• An SMS Message
• Contact Details (VCARD)
• A Google Map
• A Facebook or MySpace Profile

QR codes can be read by scanners or camera equipped mobile phones. Many Nokias have the software built in, if you have an IPhone, you can download free QR barcode readers at the ITunes store.

QR codes can be placed in magazine ads or on outdoor billboards, pointing to further information about products. These hyperlinks on paper help integrating paper into the information and marketing media mix, they can be found on books, McDonalds packaging, pointing to information about your burger and there is even an example where codes on a cemetery point to information about people. Another very cool application is Starbuck’s loyalty IPhone app.

If you would like to know more or place QR codes in your printed publication,  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

To make pdf files that print reliably the way you want them to it is important to set up Acrobat correctly. The following screen shots are taken from Acrobat V8, if you have a previous version you may have slightly different options.   

General Options

The general options contain settings that determine general file handling. The PDF version is relevant if you want to take advantage of newer features in pdf files. Making files Acrobat 4 (PDF 1.5) compatible means that all transparency is flattened at pdf creation. The default page size is used when there is no size information in the file.
The resolution only affects drawn objects and does not affect pictures and scans.

Picture Handling

The image handling options have a major influence on quality and size of the file. You can reduce the resolution of pictures (downsample) to an apropriate level and you can use different compression levels, depending on the purpose. 
For printing we want to retain as much image data as possible. The resolution should be 300 dpi for colour and grayscale images and 1200 dpi for bitmaps.

Font Handling

Fonts should always be embedded, especially if the file is produced for print. Even if you assume that your recipient does have similar fonts to you, they might be a different version and display or print differently. Subsetting means that only characters used are embedded, which makes last minute edits on the pdf impossible, but retains file integrity. As for the compression we recommend to stick to ZIP compression, which - unlike jpeg - does not degrade picture quality.

Colour options

The safe option here is most likely to turn all colour management off, unless you have discussed this with your printer and agreed on a policy.

Advanced & Standards

In the advanced options you can leave most the defaults unless otherwise discussed. Acrobat can check for different standards such as PDF-X.