Above we talked about budgeting in printing. Let's talk about purchasing materials before printing. General Publishing Division has a special buyer to purchase paper and so on. However, as a technical editor of a book is responsible for his printing, he has to pay attention to the procurement of materials. Here we only use paper as an example, because the printing of books and publications is still based on paper. The procurement of paper must first understand the market of paper. It is necessary to understand the market conditions of the whole market and master the quality of paper.
The first point: how to determine the quality of paper. Even the same kind of paper is very different, because different paper mills use different types of paper pulp, and the difference in paper quality caused by the different proportions of additives added is also great. The difference in whiteness, tightness, and folding resistance is different, and the quality of the paper is also a very important factor in judging the quality of a book. Imagine if a reader buys the same type of book, one of them has a moderate degree of whiteness, the paper feels better, and the weight of the paper is felt. The paper of the entire book is colorless; the paper of another book is yellowed and held in his hand. The paper is rough and rough, and feels that there will be a loose feeling at any time. Which book would he choose? In addition, some papers that fall off the powder may seriously affect the printing quality and the duration of printing, which will seriously affect the sales of publications. Therefore, how to judge the quality of paper is a skill that technical editors must master. Only in this way can we grasp the quality of the book itself.
The second point: To understand the type of paper. The paper type referred to here refers to offset paper, art paper, art paper, etc., including the characteristics of these papers, because it will depend on whether the paper matches the content. Before you do a book, what do you want to know about this book? What is the main type? Literary books? Supplementary? Album? Or what else? Because each paper has its own unique characteristics, it is also suitable for different types. For example, the use of kencan paper as a literary book will not only make the reader feel that the book is a relatively thick value for money, but also has a certain degree of protection for eyesight. The key is to make the book look more culturally rich, with a sense of return . The supplementary materials are generally only one or six months. The paper is completely useless because we all have personal experience. Many teaching aids are used as waste paper after they are used. Therefore, 60G writing paper or offset paper is used. Just about it. The exquisite album must use coated paper, and the heavier it feels, the more he feels more upscale. Sometimes only a dozen pages of the album can sell tens of yuan because of the use of coated paper not only in terms of grades, but also in the color of printing. The levels are more abundant, making people feel value for money. Therefore, if technical editors can provide good advice to the responsible editors in terms of what kind of paper is used, it will certainly help the sale of books. If the above two points can only be said to be good in paper procurement, why is it not excellent? Because technical editors want to be excellent, they must have good market control and negotiation skills.
The third point: good market palms and negotiation skills. The cycle of doing a book is not long or short, but a few months are slow, but there are a couple of months. Therefore, the difference between early buying paper and late buying paper depends on the technical editor's ability to control the paper market. In particular, when the recent paper market has a relatively large floating market that directly affects the cost, coupled with the difficulty in obtaining supplies, this is a test for the technical editors to control the market. How to order at the lowest price? The ability and eloquence. Because sometimes paper salesmen will be hoarded or deducted on the other hand. For example, if the same paper family has a low price but does not include delivery, and another price is high, it can be delivered. The only way to get low-price paper and package delivery is to rely solely on the technical capabilities of the editors. At the same time, there will be time for arrival, and the price will be different for the cash on delivery and the three-month billing period. If you can talk about the three-month billing period for a one-month billing period, you will also save a lot of money. For technical editors, if they want to buy cheap paper, they must first understand the market price of paper in the entire region, and then they must shop around, because now they buy paper at the agent, so the price is relatively large. It is also necessary to compare the three to determine whether people have goods, or wait until you want to print the order and find out that the other party has no goods, there will be a great delay for the construction period, and for some special papers, you must also place orders ahead of time. Paper mills will have time to catch up. Therefore, technical editors must understand the procurement of materials. This will not only save costs but also promote the sales of books.
Of course, technical editors must do other trivial things. The technical editor not only serves as a staff member in the community, but also plays a role as a link. It is the publisher's external window. He has contacted photograph companies, proof companies, and printing companies. For example, after the fine arts editor finalizes the layout, the technical editor will contact the photocopying company to input the manuscript according to the layout, and shall promptly return the responsibility editor according to the “three schools and one readingâ€, and also need to cooperate with the photocopying company when the manuscript can be finally delivered. What will be used to output the film (no need for direct platemaking)? Is it small or large? This depends on whether the printing house has a process of making impositions. It must also contact the color cover or the text and send it to the responsible editors and fine arts editors for final delivery with the printer. Even some of the more important ones should be printed. Plant "blue print." When these are all ready, the technical editor can open the construction slip. The construction slip has detailed contents on it, such as what kind of paper, what kind of format, how to install it, the delivery date, the number of prints, the printing method, etc. The construction order and the sample must be delivered together to the printing factory. Until the printed book was sent to the publishing house, the task of the technical editor can be said to have come to an end, but there is still a lot of emphasis on the above content.
One: How to choose a photo company? Choosing a good and qualified signboard company depends not only on the size of the company, but also on its long-term contacts to make choices. The management of a good photo book company is very strict, and the speed and accuracy of text entry is to evaluate a family. According to the key to the good or bad of the company, even some companies will proofread the written words and manuscripts themselves, which is more perfect.
Second: How to choose a printing factory? Printing houses do not necessarily choose large ones, but choose the right ones. Choosing a printing factory first of all requires an understanding of the printing companies in the area. Which plants do they have? How are the workers? Whether it is 24 hours work is very particular about. If you have this high-quality hardcover book, you have to choose a manufacturer that does not have a hardcover linkage line. How to do hardcover fast books? And a color book you go to let a small factory with a monochrome machine to India is not time-consuming and expendable! So the first step is to understand the basic situation of these printing plants in the area. Second, we must understand the publishing market. Because the publication is in season. For the Shanghai market. The peak season of general publishers has three times. First, New Year's Day market, this time the New Year, the children put on winter holidays, the demand for books increases, and this market can usually sell for one year, so basically every publisher will put New Year's Day The Spring Festival market is a top priority, and at the same time, printing houses will be very busy because of the teaching materials that will be printed in the new year. So at this time, it would be foolproof to find a factory that can deliver on time or to put down the construction before the peak season. Once again, the May 1st market will play a role in connection with this, and some large orders will be concentrated at that time. Finally, the market for summer vacations will be finished. The summer vacation market will also be accompanied by the Shanghai Book Fair and the subsequent 11 markets. So how to choose a printing factory in the high season is also a key issue for testing technical editors. Of course, the credibility of the printing factory is also very important. Obviously talking about the good is September delivery, but wait until the October book fair after delivery so the publisher lost much of the market ah? Of course, the level of the master printer is also very important, especially those fine, high-demand albums or more important books and magazines, with particular emphasis on printing. The author had seen a painter designate a printing factory because the masters of the printing factory were all called “old mages†by the Shanghainese. Its ability to grasp the manuscript's color is accumulated over many years of experience, and there is deep theoretical knowledge as a guide, which is beyond the reach of ordinary people. So technical editors must also master the printing quality of the printing plant
Based on the above, it can be seen that a qualified technical editor is not easy, and technical editors must master too much. Not only to master the basic printing knowledge, but also to understand marketing, not only to have a good long-distance, forward-looking, and analytical capabilities for the entire printing and publishing market, but also to have good psychological quality and negotiation skills. . It can be said that technical editors have made a miscellaneous home the necessary conditions, but at the same time they must also have basic professional ethics. Because technical editors also need to be linked to money, perhaps his hands are loose, and the publishers lose some of the printing houses for profit. In short, if a technical editor is a cumulative process, he will not be able to accumulate a step or go to a thousand miles;