Online Printing Blog

PrintPapa gets recognized by Presstek – The Case Study

PrintPapa, which initiated its journey from being a mailbox store franchise offering copying services, has quickly become a full service graphic production and printing company. One of the key factors behind the phenomenal rise of the company has been attributed to the use of the Presstek DI digital offset.

In 2003, the whole saga started when Shawn and Paul Nag left their software engineering jobs in a leading firm to start their own business. The duo started out with a mailbox store franchise to begin with. They sold black and white and color copiers in the initial years. As the amount of business grew, the Nag brothers found out that their business was primarily focused on copying and printing. So, they started outsourcing large works to other printers. But this strategy was not reaping the profits the brothers were hoping for. Then there were many other issues with quality and meeting schedules. So, Shawn and Paul started their own printing business and PrintPapa was formed in 2004.

In order to give their business a head start, the Nag brothers bought two presses – a small format two and four color presses. For prepress they used the new Presstek Dimension Excel chemistry free CTP system. The metal plates used in these presses gave great results.

But as the business grew there were various problems with the yield of these printers so that the Nag brothers turned to Presstek again. In a trade show they got acquainted with Presstek 34DI digital offset press. After using this press there was no looking back for PrintPapa.  The owners of the company felt that with the use of Presstek 34DI they have got a lot of business even in the recession hit economy. This printer has also allowed the company to charge affordable prices from their clients.

Shawn and Paul Nag now feel that investing in the Presstek 34 DI digital press was the wisest decision they made!

What Mistakes to Avoid while Printing Booklets?

Booklets which were considered as a promotional material fit for the educational institutions are finding their worth in the marketing campaigns of many companies, whatever be their size. If you have not designed a booklet before then you will feel that booklet printing is quite a straightforward task. When you get into the act of arranging materials and designing the booklet, new challenges will confront everyday. It is true that booklet printing is quite easy for the experienced booklet printing service providers but for novices there are many mistakes they might commit. These mistakes might prove costly in the long run and may even minimize the impact of your booklet printing campaign. The basic purpose of printing booklets is to inform the readers about the company and its products or services. This is the reason, a designer must provide the right information in the correct order to make a booklet successful. As the booklets generally span between 4 pages and 8 pages it is a challenge to set the layout for booklet. Even a minute mistake may cause huge losses for the company, thus below are some of the biggest mistakes you should look to avoid in your booklet printing campaign.

• Blank Areas: Many of the designers forget that a booklet will span across 4-8 pages. If the designers are not careful the final output could have blank pages somewhere inside your booklet. Such a scenario is more applicable if you look to make any last minute changes. So before sending the documents to the printing agency double or triple check the layout to make sure that the booklet will appear just as you had envisioned it.
• Too Much Information: Many of the company owners make the mistake of turning a booklet into a full book. It should be kept in mind that booklet is intended to provide only some specific information and not information of all sorts. The content in the booklet should influence the reader to come back to the company and learn more about your business. If there are odd number of pages in your booklet, make sure you trim the content on the booklet. It is better to trim the content rather than filling the booklet with excessive information that will not interest the readers.
• 
• Full Color or Black and White?: If you want to draw the attention of the readers, then you should order for the four color booklet printing. Black and white booklets do not have the eye catching potential to make the readers read through. If the four color booklet printing can not be accommodated within your budget, then consider some other types of promotional materials. A neat looking brochure has better marketing potential then a black and white booklet.
• Number of Copies: If you are looking to promote your products through booklets, then you should order for a large number of booklets that will meet your marketing campaign needs. Printing agencies might charge higher rates on re-order, thus it is wise to order for large number of copies upfront. Many printing service providers also offer good discounts on bulk orders, so you will also be able to make use of this lucrative option.
• Proofreading: Having your booklet proofread thoroughly can mean that it will take some extra days before sending the final work to the printing agency, but it is immensely useful in the long run. It will not only allow you a chance to view what the printed booklet will look like, but it will also provide the company owners and designers a chance to bring last minute changes. Taking some extra time will surely make your booklet marketing campaign a success.

Another important consideration in your booklet printing campaign is the choice of the printer. You should always opt for a professional printing service provider such as PrintPapa who have years of experience in providing high quality booklet printing results to their clients. They also have high expertize in printing short run books, posters, banners, rack cards, calendars, notepads, etc.

Things To Know For Self Publishing Authors

So, you are confident about your writing skills and are ready to self publish a book. Self publishing is an attractive proposition for any author in the present times. But there are various things that the new authors are unaware of while looking to self publish their books. Below are some of the questions that you will come across when self publishing a book and the answers will help you immensely in getting success as a self publishing author.

Do you need an ISBN number?

The answer to this question depends on how you are looking to sell books. If you are looking to sell through the retail stores (or online stores such as Amazon) then the answer is always an “YES”. Though the ISBN number may not be required if you want to sell through a small or independent retailer or you have a consignment arrangement. In all the other cases it is important to possess such a number. You have to apply for the ISBN number once the cover design is finalized. An area should be left vacant where the barcode and the number will be inserted in the future.

How can you obtain ISBN number?

You have to send direct request to the ISBN Agency mentioning the details of the book. The prices of the ISBN processing depend on the time. There are different options for the self publishers such as regular Processing, Priority Processing, and Express Processing. ISBNs are generally sold in blocks of 10, 100 and 1000. So it is important to estimate the number of publications you will be having in the next five years. It is always advisable for the authors to apply for the number well in advance as it generally takes some time before the ISBN number is obtained.

Should you get Copyright for your Book?

The published book will be the result of your hard work, so you won’t want anyone else to publish it. Thus, you should always look to protect your book with copyright. Many authors look to get the copyright without the help of any copyright attorney, but speaking frankly the papers are quite tough to handle alone. So help can be taken.

How many books should you print?

If it is your first publication, it is always advisable to print in small quantities. You will be able to sell the smaller quantity quicker. Though the books are proofread by professionals, but often it is seen there are some typos in them. It allows the author to make the necessary corrections and not 1000s of books are sold with the same embarrassing mistakes.

How important is book cover design?

It is of prime essence. Even the best literary agents will tell you, it is difficult to market a phenomenal book with poor cover design. So the cover should be sharp and commercially apt. While designing the cover of the short run book make sure that the target audience is kept into consideration. The cover should showcase what they want to see.

After you have read through the above given answers it is important to contact a reputed printing service provider in locality such as PrintPapa. The printing agency should have a wealth of knowledge in dealing with various types of promotional materials printing projects too. PrintPapa not only prints short run books they also specialize in the printing of business cards, booklets, calendars, NCR Forms, Rack Cards, etc.

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20% Off on All Photo Products   Coupon Code: 20poffPB Exp: 3/31/11. Orders need to be placed using the P3 Publisher software program. Orders in progress does not apply.         STEP 1: Download and Install our Free P3 Publisher Software (for both PC & MAC) STEP 2: Get Creative. Select the product you want and Add Photos using the simple interface. STEP 3: Click Send to PrintPapa Press to place the order. Apply coupon code during checkout. To Learn More: Visit our FAQ Section OR View a Quick Start Video Tutorial       Hard Cover Photo Books     Starting from: $25   From 20 to up to 100 pages full color printing on heavy weight text paper with a custom printed hard cover.   Photo Calendars     Starting from: $15   12 months calendar, 2 sizes, full color printed. Spiral Bound.   Photo Greeting Cards       Starting from: $10 (pack of 10)   4 different sizes, full color printed on nice card stock. Matching Envelopes available.   Photo Posters & Banners       Starting from: $10   Lots of different sizes, full color printed. Add your Photos and get started.       Related Blogs:   How to Select Photographs for Photo Greeting Cards?   Remember Past Years with Photobooks   Personalized Photo Products: Great Gifting Ideas   Photo Greeting Cards: Something New To Gift   Order Now :   Photobook Calendar Greeting Cards Posters & Banners   Contact Info   1920 Lafayette St, Unit L Santa Clara, CA 95050 www.PrintPapa.com   Ph: 408-567-9553   800-657-7181 Fax: 408-567-9554

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Things To Ask Your Printer Before Printing

If you are publishing a book for the first time there are lot of technical things that you need to keep in mind. The increasing popularity of self publishing has made sure that most authors are dealing with the printer themselves and not going to a publisher. Being a first time printer it is better to ask a few questions rather than give a go ahead to the printer with lots of questions in mind. Here are some questions that you should ask your printer before the printing of your book starts:

• The first and the foremost thing is to ask the printer is about the equipment that will be used for printing. A good printer should be armed with the latest in printing technology. For short run books digital printing is preferred where as for long run offset printing is more economical.
• Ask for quote for different numbers of books. If the difference between printing of 2000 books and 5000 books is negligible. The cost of printing often differs with the size of the book. Ask your printer to give quote for the different paper size.

• Paper quality is another important thing that needs to be considered. There are many kinds of paper available in the market which have their own pros and cons. Make sure you use the paper which will best serve your purpose. Under no circumstance should you compromise the quality of the paper.
• The time of deliver is very important in any form of business. It is thus important for you to fix the date of delivery before handing over the job to him/her.
• Ask your printer if he/she can get you an ISBN No., if you haven’t got one as yet. It is almost a must these days for your book to have an ISBN no.
• Talk to him about the kind of binding that he will provide for the book. Will it be saddle stitch, spiral or perfect bound? If you haven’t yet designed the cover of the book. You could ask your printer to do that for you. A cover design is important as it decides the success of a book.

Hiring the services of a professional printer is very important for the success of your book. A printer like PrintPapa is ideal for your purpose. They are equipped with the latest technology in printing and have expertise in printing letterheads, business cards, calendars, envelopes, catalogs and booklets among other things. They have a list of happy clients having delivered quality work on time.

Why Opt For Short Run Book Printing?

“How many copies do we print?” This is one question that troubles all authors and publishers around the world. No matter how good the book is, it is very difficult to estimate the number of copies that will sell. The recent economic slowdown where like everything else book sales slowed down made the authors and publishers re-strategize and look for a solution.

The solution is as simple as short run printing which is nothing but publishing books in limited number and accessing the market. If the demand for the books soar in the market reprints are done immediately. This has become very popular with most of the authors and the publishers. The advent of the digital printing has revolutionized short run printing to a certain extent and is encouraging self publishing among many authors. The following are the advantages of short run printing:

• Short run book printing reduces the chances of loss arising due to non sales of book items as an estimated 30% of printed materials never find buyers. It follows the demand and supply equation better.
• Even though the price per copy may be high in short run digitally printed books it reduces the overall cost which go into printing book using the normal offset printing.

• It gives the author the opportunity to publish as low as 25 copies of the book which is advantageous for books which are meant to cater to a very niche audience.
• The short run printing process is faster than the traditional offset printing and thus proves to be useful in situations where printing has to be done on a short notice.
• Short run printing is a form of ‘green printing’ as it reduces wastage which is a common thing with the traditional bulk publication system.
• Short run printing of digital printing gives you the option for variable data printing. Each and every copy of the printed material can be customized which is not possible in normal printing with metallic plates.
• It encourages first time authors to self publish their own book as the cost of the self publishing as short run printing is cheaper.

To get maximum mileage out of your short run book you need to hire the services of a professional printer like PrintPapa which will guarantee maximum profits and high quality. Apart from printing books they have expertise in greeting cards, flyers, bookmarks, presentation folders, rack cards and booklets. They have regularly high quality work on time and impressed their clients and have built a list of successful clientèle.

Self Publishing Will Rule The Future

The printing industry is fast changing and one of the biggest advents of the modern publishing industry has been the popularity of self publishing. Not long ago the publishing world was dominated by traditional publishing  companies which did not allow full creative freedom to all the authors. The explosion of the digital era has signaled a paradigm shift in the publishing industry making self publishing a buzz word among writers. Self publishing is the path many authors prefer to walk these days.

Self publishing is gaining immense popularity these days due to the fact that it gives the author creative freedom over his/her work. They can keep the copyrights of their work and gain huge monetary gains rather than a percentage from the publishers. Above all it relieves the authors from the  hard-boiled editor who in most cases are interested in the commercial potential than the actual content of the book. Most first time authors have been at the mercy of the publisher for ages.

Self publishing is not as challenging as it used to be in the earlier times. The digital printing technology has brought down the cost of book printing drastically especially when it is in low numbers. Book printing doesn’t need to go through development of plates and films and has become more like computer printing. This has given birth to what we know as ‘print on demand’ where a author has the freedom to print as many copies as he/she wants even as low as a single copy!

With the rates at which authors are opting for self publishing it won’t be wrong to predict that they will soon take over the traditional author-publisher printing. Self publishing is also on a rise as there are options where people can host digital versions of their books online which are printed and given to readers. Never in the history of the publishing industry were the authors so powerful. Self publishing is a thing for the future as it empowers authors.

To ensure that your self published book is of high quality you need to hire the services of a professional printing service provider like PrintPapa. They are a modern printing house who uses the latest printing technology available in the market and have a well trained staff. They have their expertise in printing catalogs, booklets, letterheads, business cards,  calendars, envelopes etc. The company has regularly satisfied their clients delivering high quality results on time.

The Popular Types Of Book Binding

Book binding is one of the most important stages in a book publishing industry. Book covers play an important role in the success and failure of books. This is quite ironical considering there is a famous saying “Don’t judge a book by it’s cover.” A good book cover is a result of good binding. Be it booklet or a standard book no good publisher compromises on the binding. Although there are many types of book binding the most popular among them are perfect binding, saddle stitch binding and spiral binding.

• Perfect Binding: Popularly known as paperback binding, lay flat bid or Euro bind this is the most commonly used type of book binding. In perfect binding a flexible adhesive attaches a paper cover to the spine of the assembled signatures. This type of binding also comes with a spine which can be used to print the spine of the book. Perfect binding can be used for all sizes of books but the most popular are 8.5×11, 8.5×5.5 and 6×9.
• Saddle Stitching Binding: This is usually used for booklet printing or in case of books which contains less number of pages. In saddle stitched booklets pages are held together by staples that run through the gutter. The pages need to be perfectly aligned in case of saddle stitch binding. This kind of binding can be used for books and booklets containing as less as four pages. Two of the most commonly used saddle stitched booklet sizes are 8.5×11 and 8.5×5.5. However many people opt for custom booklet printing.

• Spiral Binding: This type of binding is very popular in the corporate sector for preparing reports, sales presentations, proposals, recipe books and maintenance guides. This is the most flexible of the book binding options available. In this method a plastic or metal coil is inserted and twisted through small holes or slots that run along the spiral edge of the book’s cover and pages. A spiral bound book can be opened 360 degrees, letting in open flat which serves as a huge advantage. Spiral bound books also gives the option of later addition of pages making them favorite with the corporate houses.

For the binding quality to be good there should be no compromise with the printing service provider. You need to hire the services of a professional printing agency like PrintPapa who has built expertise in the job. They are equipped with modern printing equipment and print brochures, business cards, letterheads, rack cards, notepads and many other domestic and corporate documents.

Some Common Self Publishing Terms

Self-publishing is becoming very popular these days. Many people are opting for this to keep their creative freedom intact which gets compromised at times with the publishers. Earlier it was considered a territory for the first time authors but these days we can see that more and more authors are going in for self publishing. Some of the most common self publishing terms are:

• True Self Publishing: In this the author publishes the book bearing the entire cost of publishing it. He or she goes to a printing service provider with the manuscript of the book and gets it printed. The advantage is that the author is entitled to the entire profit and reserves the entire rights of the book. The author gets the proofreading done all by himself or herself.
• POD (Print-On-Demand): This is a printing method in which new copies of a book or other documents are printed on the basis of their demand rather than in bulk as in the traditional printing business. This concept became popular only after digital printing began as it was not economical to print single copies using traditional printing technology such as letterpress and offset printing.

• Vanity Press: This service is preferred by writers who have not found a good publisher for their work and do not have the means to entirely self-publish their book. A good vanity press proofreads and edits manuscript, designs cover, prints the book and does basic marketing. The downside is that these books aren’t taken too seriously in the market.
• Micro Publishing: This is done by authors who want to target a very niche market. Most of the big publishers do not take up these jobs due to the low volume. In this the author bears the cost of publishing. It is a form of true self publishing which is targeted at a very micro market which can be an educational institute or even a small community.

There should be no compromise on the quality of printing while printing your self published book. You should select a professional printing agency like PrintPapa for your printing job. They are equipped with the latest in printing technology. They have expertise in printing booklets, posters, business cards, banners, letter heads and all other kinds of domestic and corporate items. They have built a list of satisfied clientèle delivering quality work on time. They also provide other services like proofreading in case the writers need it.