TechWhirl (TECHWR-L) is a resource for technical writing and technical communications professionals of all experience levels and in all industries to share their experiences and acquire information.
For two decades, technical communicators have turned to TechWhirl to ask and answer questions about the always-changing world of technical communications, such as tools, skills, career paths, methodologies, and emerging industries. The TechWhirl Archives and magazine, created for, by and about technical writers, offer a wealth of knowledge to everyone with an interest in any aspect of technical communications.
Anne Allaire Burke wondered: <<I'm working as the first and only tech
writer for a company. I've got minimal experience dealing with printing
options & vendors. In the past, all of the details have been previously
worked out.>>
One great place to look for advice is in the yellow pages: Look for
"print brokers", who are people who act as middlemen (and women)
between the person who wants to print something and the companies that
will actually do the printing. Think of them as realtors for paper! <g>
As is the case with realtors, some are incompetent crooks out to line
their own wallets, but most are quite good at what they do and very
helpful. Ask for referrals to good print brokers in your area, and
compare until you find one you can trust.
If there is any large government office in your area, ask to talk to
their purchasing department and see if you can hook up with the person
responsible for buying printing services. Many of these people will
give you the cold shoulder, but some will remember that you're paying
their salary with your taxes and will happily provide advice on what to
look for and which local printers are reliable.
<<However, now I'm in the position to research and make the best
decision regarding printing options. I'm curious about what those
options are?? What exactly is docutech printing? Is this the best way
to go for user guides?>>
There's a bewildering array of options. If you're interested in a
primer, have a look at the Chicago Manual of Style; they have a whole
section on how books are produced. International Paper produces a
wonderful little book called the "Pocket Pal Graphic Arts Production
Handbook"; my 2000 edition lists 1-800-854-3212 as the contact number.
Until you get one of those references, here's a really short and overly
simplistic summary:
Offset printing: A process in which the printer creates metal, plastic,
or paper printing plates that are used to convey ink from the plate
onto the paper. (More modern versions use digital presses that
eliminate many steps along the way, such as the production of the films
traditionally used to create the printing plates.) The main flavors of
offset printing are one-color (e.g., black ink on white paper),
four-color (also called CMYK from the four ink colors that can be used
to create almost all other colors), and high-fidelity or hexachrome
(CMYK plus two other colors used to make photos look more real).
There's also "spot color", which involves adding individual new inks of
specific colors at specific "spots", such as when 99$ of the book is
black ink on white paper, but you want teal blue headings.
Print on demand: A variety of processes in which you send a file to the
printer and they output and bind copies directly, just as if you
printed the job on your laser printer only faster and better. Docutech
is the best-known, and it's basically a glorified photocopier with a
bunch of sophisticated control options; the quality isn't as good as
with offset printing, but it's more than good enough for many manuals.
You can also do a variety of high-speed laser printer or inkjet printer
printouts, but Docutech is the Microsoft of print on demand.
As I said, overly simplistic, but that summarizes the options.
--Geoff Hart ghart -at- videotron -dot- ca
(try geoffhart -at- mac -dot- com if you don't get a reply)
ROBOHELP X5: Featuring Word 2003 support, Content Management, Multi-Author
support, PDF and XML support and much more!
TRY IT TODAY at http://www.macromedia.com/go/techwrl
WEBWORKS FINALDRAFT: New! Document review system for Word and FrameMaker
authors. Automatic browser-based drafts with unlimited reviewers. Full
online discussions -- no Web server needed! http://www.webworks.com/techwr-l
---
You are currently subscribed to techwr-l as:
archiver -at- techwr-l -dot- com
To unsubscribe send a blank email to leave-techwr-l-obscured -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
Send administrative questions to lisa -at- techwr-l -dot- com -dot- Visit http://www.techwr-l.com/techwhirl/ for more resources and info.
