About Sharon Pettis Expertise I can answer questions ranging from basic to advanced functionality of the program and some plug-ins (how to) for both the PC and Mac. Also able to answer questions regarding setting up publications for commercial printing and the commercial printing process in general. Not as strong on electronic publication questions, but still have general knowledge.
Experience Worked with Pagemaker since it belonged to Aldus back in the late nineties. Over 5 years experience in publishing, including troubleshooting Pagemaker files for a large commercial printing company and customer training.
Question Hi Sharon -
I have a manuscript that I plan to publish, resulting in a 120-page soft cover 6"x9" book. For my first book I sent it to a designer and he charged me about $12 per page, after I'd put it in the form I wanted (including page divisions, fonts, and so on), using MSWord. Is it reasonable to think that, for this next book, I can provide the appropriate document for the printer myself, at far lower cost? What program do I need to prepare my MSWord document for the printer? (I'm guessing that you'll say Adobe Pagemaker, but I'm not that familiar with desktop publishing software.) I use MSWord fluently, but I'm not what you'd call computer-savy.
Thanks for your advice.
Answer Hi Barbara:
Don't let Microsoft trick you into believing Word is a desktop publishing program, because it is not made for commercial printing.
Your designer probably charged $12/page because you provided a completely formatted document in word, which had to be converted into something that printers could use. The designer had to print out your Word file, strip it of all it's formatting, and then reformat in a program such as Quark Xpress or InDesign or, yes, Pagemaker.
I'm going to tell you something you probably don't want to hear but it may actually save you $$ in the long run:
If you are not computer-savvy, give it to your printer or let them recommend a designer. They will format it in a way which works best for them, which will save you money in the long run.
Computer programs for commercial printing typically cost between $800-1500 and almost as much to learn through classes and such. The way to get a document you are satisfied with is to find a designer who understands what you are looking for and stick with them so they can get to know your tastes.
Sorry this took so long to respond to. Have a great day!
