Having worked in a service bureau capacity for almost 18 years, I completely agree.
One part of the problem is newbies coming right out of school who are only taught the tutorials of software, but not real world applications of the software. Most people expect the service bureau to magically fix any problems. To quote one young designer I know, "Once it leaves my desk, it's not my problem".
I think service bureaus, while it may annoy some of their customers, ought to slap on PIA (Pain-in-the A**) fees when they have to deal which such.
Submitted by TRDavidson on Tue, 02/17/2004 - 02:37.
The typefaces used in Fig. 5 are also, as it happens, from the Rotis family. Rotis includes not only serif and sans serif variations, but several in-between versions, too.
The book was set in Rotis Serif, which is a personal favourite of mine. I find it very well suited to jobs like this where reducing the page-count (and therefore print cost) without sacrificing readability is a major concern.
The reason this book ended up in Mr Barry's hands in Adobe Serif is complicated. The fonts were supplied to the printer, and appeared correctly on the dustjacket (see Fig. 3), which was the only part of the document which I was able to see as a wet proof of. Why the same printing firm was then unable to use the fonts for the inside of the document, we may never know. A laser proof was signed off by Beccon Publications and the Author, but due to a tight printing schedule, I was unable to check it myself.
In defence of the finished product, I personally think the substitution is not a major issue in this particular case. Had the book been printed in courier, or been required to follow a house style, or if the tight schedule and budget had allowed for a reprint, it would be a different story.
As for the quote "it's certainly not what the book desinger intended"... well, I actually find this particular substitution within the bounds of acceptibilty, and the author and publisher are very happy indeed with the printed product.
In reference to the first respondent's comment about 'newbies coming straight out of school', while my 17 and a half years in the business are no match for his 18, I should point out that in this particular case the 'service bureau' was actually the source of the problem. In the real world, mistakes are going to be made. Fixing problems like this requires a degree of compromise on both sides. I could have thrown a tantrum and demanded a reprint, and the bureau could have replied with 'we did get it wrong, but the client signed off so we're not legally to blame', but would that really have helped either of us or encouraged the publisher to use either of us again?
Font Issues
Having worked in a service bureau capacity for almost 18 years, I completely agree.
One part of the problem is newbies coming right out of school who are only taught the tutorials of software, but not real world applications of the software. Most people expect the service bureau to magically fix any problems. To quote one young designer I know, "Once it leaves my desk, it's not my problem".
I think service bureaus, while it may annoy some of their customers, ought to slap on PIA (Pain-in-the A**) fees when they have to deal which such.
Interesting article
Thanks for the informative article. I have one question: what are the beautiful faces used in Figure 5?
The typefaces in Fig. 5
The typefaces used in Fig. 5 are also, as it happens, from the Rotis family. Rotis includes not only serif and sans serif variations, but several in-between versions, too.
John Berry
As the person who designed the book...
I feel I owe Mr Berry an apology.
The book was set in Rotis Serif, which is a personal favourite of mine. I find it very well suited to jobs like this where reducing the page-count (and therefore print cost) without sacrificing readability is a major concern.
The reason this book ended up in Mr Barry's hands in Adobe Serif is complicated. The fonts were supplied to the printer, and appeared correctly on the dustjacket (see Fig. 3), which was the only part of the document which I was able to see as a wet proof of. Why the same printing firm was then unable to use the fonts for the inside of the document, we may never know. A laser proof was signed off by Beccon Publications and the Author, but due to a tight printing schedule, I was unable to check it myself.
In defence of the finished product, I personally think the substitution is not a major issue in this particular case. Had the book been printed in courier, or been required to follow a house style, or if the tight schedule and budget had allowed for a reprint, it would be a different story.
As for the quote "it's certainly not what the book desinger intended"... well, I actually find this particular substitution within the bounds of acceptibilty, and the author and publisher are very happy indeed with the printed product.
In reference to the first respondent's comment about 'newbies coming straight out of school', while my 17 and a half years in the business are no match for his 18, I should point out that in this particular case the 'service bureau' was actually the source of the problem. In the real world, mistakes are going to be made. Fixing problems like this requires a degree of compromise on both sides. I could have thrown a tantrum and demanded a reprint, and the bureau could have replied with 'we did get it wrong, but the client signed off so we're not legally to blame', but would that really have helped either of us or encouraged the publisher to use either of us again?