PRINTING
In this section:
This section shows all the print runs we have organized for your book (since 01/01/2009). You can see the date the order was sent, which printer it went to and the total quantity printed (for all territories). The date that the print order was sent is not the same as the date that the text and cover files went to the printer.
There are basically three methods of paperback printing nowadays:
- Web offset (litho printing); where the print runs are in the thousands. Due to setup costs, this method is only really practical for runs of 1000 or more.
- Short-run printing (SDR; short digital runs/inkjet printing), in the dozens or hundreds, which is usually costed in direct proportion to the number of pages in the book.
- Print-on-demand (POD) for single-copy printings, which is costed the same way, on the number of pages in the book.
We don’t usually use web offset, unless a title warrants runs of 1000+. We do not use POD. The quality is not so good, the cost significantly higher, and it only works for high-priced academic titles or books that are going direct from printer to reader, rather than being sold through the trade. The large majority of our titles are printed SDR. The quality is virtually indistinguishable between web offset and SDR. A good article here on offset litho vs digital printing: http://whattheythink.com/articles/39620-offset-litho-vs-digital-printing-vice-versa/
Historically speaking, the size of the first print run has been a measure of the publishers’ confidence in the book. That is now only significant for a tiny number of already-bestselling authors. We keep initial print runs (before publication) small, usually in the dozens, unless we have good reason to print more copies.
From one month after publication we aim to keep stock levels at the number of books that have sold in the previous two months. We have an automatic stock replenishment system (ASR), which brings new stock in at under two weeks. We also check stocks daily on titles which could be "in the news" or where we are forewarned about likely demand - because these orders are often done manually,it can take a little longer, around ten days. We do our best to forecast print demands, but also have to avoid printing too many.
All printings can be seen on the Production page/printings section for your title. If you forecast higher demand for your title e.g. for launches, PR programmes etc., please add a post to the Author Forum/Editorial and Production/printing queries.
So we cannot tell you when we sign the contract what the print run is going to be. Unless you’re announcing to the trade something like “$250,000 advance, 500,000 first printing and £500,000 marketing budget,” nobody in the bookselling industry is interested any more in whether you’re printing 10 or 100 or 1000 or 10,000. Having an extra few thousand books in the warehouse doesn’t do anyone any good; most good quality books in the USA/UK are printed in the hundreds rather than thousands, most classic works over the last generation or more had still smaller first printings (the first printing of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone for instance was 500 copies, and that was way back in the previous millennium, through a major publishing house), and in a few years’ time the vast majority of titles will be printed to fulfill orders rather than in hope of orders to come. In the meantime, having small amounts of stock at the different points of the distribution chain is the norm rather than the exception, the important thing is that the channels are open, orders can be responded to, and it only takes days to shift stock from distributor to wholesaler to shop.
We take a fresh look at each book when 2000 copies have been sold, but until then corrections are at the sole discretion of the editorial coordinator. Authors are informed that the last opportunity to make changes to the text is prior to approving the Final Copyedit stage, and that it should be proofread thoroughly at that stage.
If you have sold 2000 copies in all formats and want to make corrections (or if you want to pay to have them done):
- For text: Download the latest PDF version of "Final Text" (in Final Files) from the Production page and mark up your corrections using your PDF viewing app of choice. Please then post in the Editorial and Production forum under "Other queries" and attach the corrected file.
- For cover: Please post in the Editorial and Production forum under "Cover queries."
Download the latest PDF version of "Final Text" (in Final Files) from the Production page and mark up your corrections using your PDF viewing app of choice.
All printers sometimes produce faulty books. 19 times out of 20 it only affects a few copies; let us know as soon as you can if you come across one. After a month or two it’s too late to seek remedy from the printer.
- Usually, these are isolated examples; a section is missing in a book, or printed upside down. We make a sample check of some boxes, and do not find any others.
- About once a year we bring out a book where something significant has gone wrong, and we have to consider scrapping the printing and starting again. Almost always, it’s with non-standard books, where it could be anything from computers not reading a file properly to books missing in Customs.
- These things are inevitable. The question is how to remedy it, and what it will cost. If some of the pages are back-to-front in all copies of course we reprint. If some diagrams have come out in the wrong shade of grey, or the last few minor corrections weren’t included, probably not; it will be amended on a reprint. It’s a question of perspective. If you’re a perfectionist, allow for more time than the schedules given here.