12 Steps to becoming a better print buyer

12 Steps to becoming a better print buyer – I recently moderated a discussion at PMA University on this subject. Since printing is probably the largest single expense a small publisher faces I thought I would share it with you here today.

Many of the steps below, I have written about in the past in one way or the other. Much of this is simple and most follows common sense. Once you learn these steps, you will be in a position to purchase printing like the “big boys”. The one thing you must always keep in mind is that just because you learn the steps and elements of buying “like” the big boys, most of you are not. Yes, Random House has more buying power than you. In fact, if you are working on your first title, every publisher has more buying power than you, if you gauge “buying power” by your ability to get exactly what you want, when you want it and at the price you want to pay for it. The old “big fish, little pond, little fish big pond,” etc, holds true in printing as much as it does in the rest of the world. This is why most of you will fare better buying your printing through a buying service, like www.selfpublishing.com than you will trying to deal directly with any printer. RJ Communications, www.selfpublishing.com, combines the limited strength of thousands of small publishers into the muscle of a single large publisher like Random House or Simon & Schuster. But that’s enough for the ad portion of the program. Let’s proceed as if you are going to compare a service like RJ with any one of a number of book printers out there trolling around out there looking for new business. The 12 steps are:

1.Finalizing Your Book’s Format

• Trim Size
• Page Count
• Paper
• Binding Style

Stick with standards. Non-standards only lead to higher production costs which are rarely able to be recovered in a higher retail cost. Unless your primary audience is the Sierra Club, steer clear of the expensive recycled papers; they are too expensive. When the large publishers feel it’s important to use recycled paper, they will and drive the price down so it make sense for all. Forget about unusual trim sizes. There is a reason why standard sizes are standard… they fit the press efficiently. Odd trim sizes normally equate to higher prices. As for page count, the average is 256 pages. Much above that only adds to your printing cost without anything additional on the retail price.

2. Preparing a Quote

• Accuracy and Understanding of what is being requested is Key …

If you make it through step one, you should be OK with step two. Make sure you are clear. Printers are not mind readers. If you don’t specify something, the printer is not going to include it in their bid and it will end up as an extra charge. Once again, if you use a printer with online pricing, you will not only get a firm price but a clear set of specifications as well.

3. Obtaining Two More Quotes

• Quality not quantity
• Two quotes from the right printers are better than hundreds of quotes from the wrong ones

This is the point that many authors get bogged down on. The common knowledge is if two quotes are good, ten will be great. There are only about 40 printers in the US who are book printers (not to be confused with printers who can print books). Most of these printers do not want to deal with the one or two book author. Personally, I wouldn’t go beyond the printers who will give you a price “Instantly” right there on the Internet. The rest want to size you up to see what the market will bear, which in the case of the small, inexperienced publisher, is a lot. There are only a handful of these printers. If a printer tells you he doesn’t have instant pricing because they need to accurately estimate the “nuances” just remember, you and your ability to pay is the main nuance

4. Analyzing the Quotes

• Apples to Apples comparison
• Hidden variables
• Intangibles

This is the most important part of the process. If the quotes you have in hand are not all the same specifications, you have nothing. This again is where a service might be better than dealing with an individual printer.

5. Negotiate Your Price

• Low price does not necessarily mean best deal. Remember, you are not buying pretzels.

For the small publisher, there usually is not a lot of negotiation of price or terms. If a printer offers to drop his price 20% to meet someone else’s quote, run the other way. That 20% is going to find it’s way back onto the final invoice one way or the other. If you have a printer or service that is within a couple percentage points of the best price, go with them. Remember, you are not buying pretzels

6. Writing a Purchase Order

• Printers Quotation vs. Publisher’s Purchase Order

In the case of most small publishers, signing the printers quotation will serve as your purchase order. There may be some additional paperwork required by the printer but the base quote should cover you for a purchase order. Don’t get cute, like I see suggested from time to time and try to pile on a bunch of extras onto the purchase order which weren’t in the original quote and think you are going to slip it by. Random House doesn’t get away with that and neither will you. It just makes you look like a shyster and it will come back to haunt you in the end.

7. Preparing Your Files and Materials.

• Press ready means press ready

Entire articles have been written about this one so I won’t take up too much space. This is the place you need to spend some money and have your files professionally prepared. You’ll save money in the long run. You don’t need to spend thousands of dollars as suggested by the designers in many of the various chat rooms. $500-$1000 is usually more than enough to budget for professional design and book layout.

8. Working with Customer Service

• No master slave relationship

This is another one that I have talked about at length. Your printer is your partner, not your servant. If the printer is set up to handle one and two book publishers, which unfortunately few are, you will be guided through the process by a professional customer service person. This professional will help you each step of the way. This person will often point you towards a website or article, like those in this newsletter and be the fall back person if you still have unanswered questions.

9. Reviewing Proofs

• If you OK it, you’ve bought it

It’s as simple as that. Lots of hands touch every printing job. There are lots of places where errors can occur. You may have the perfect printing file but a problem may occur in translation to the proof, and later the printing plate. You need to look at the printer proof very carefully. If a mistake makes it through that stage and you sign the OK, it’s OK, even if it’s different than your original file.

10. Reviewing Your Bill.

• And more importantly… paying your bill

Your invoice should always start with “as quoted” which represents the base specifications from the quote/purchase order. All extras should be spelled out and easy to understand. Most places, as a courtesy, will keep you updated as additional charges occur. If everything is spelled out correctly going in, the invoice should not come as a shock later on. As far as paying, most printers want to be paid prior to any ink going on the paper. Most will take credit cards. The days of the printers being in the finance business are pretty much gone. Don’t be insulted when the printer says he wants to be paid up front. You don’t leave Wal-Mart without paying, don’t think you’re going to leave the printer any differently.

11. Understanding Trade Customs

• Ignorance of the law is not….. If you don’t understand them, ask questions up front

See http://www.publishingbasics.com/newsletter/july2003/askron.html.

12. Handling Problems

• When a printing job goes bad
• Commercially Acceptable vs. Rejectable

SEE NEXT MONTH’S ARTICLE FOR MORE ON THIS ONE

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