Quality production begins with quality communication. When designer, printer and finisher are working together to deliver on a project, effective communication is essential. There are three basic stages to most post press projects: design, layout and production. Let's take a look at what needs to happen during each stage to deliver high-quality and cost-effective results:

Effective communication is essential to create complex projects, such as this perfect bound book with fold outs and registered die cuts.

Once final print proofs have been approved, send us a purchase order with all pertinent job information. This will allow us to schedule time on appropriate machines and order materials if necessary well in advance of us receiving your printed sheets or signatures.

Communication tip: E-mail has revolutionized information sharing, and is often the best way to distribute estimates and other job details. With a few clicks, instructions can not only be shared with the entire team involved with a project, but a paper trail is created that ensures receipt of your message and total accountability. Use e-mail whenever possible to allow your finisher the flexibility to distribute information with ease.

Layout
The project layout, or imposition, is perhaps the most crucial step in production. The layout will be determined by a variety of factors involved with printing, binding and finishing. At E & M Bindery & Finishing, we have literally hundreds of impositions for all types of projects in our library. To ensure efficient production and minimize costs, have the E & M production or estimating personnel supply layouts that best fit your products.

Planning tip: At this point, many jobs change schedules or production parameters for a variety of reasons. If your project faces changes that affect materials or the scheduling of machine operations, contact your finisher. The sooner we can plan for adjustments, the more effective the response will be.

Production
Communication involves more than emails and written agreements. It also includes the information included in the product that is shared between organizations. Building a mock-up or "dummy" of the finished piece is the best way to ensure overall quality and accurate production of the finished piece. Your mock-up should clearly indicate quality attributes such as scores, die cuts, cross alignments, color breaks and page margins.

New at E & M: In early April, E & M Bindery & Finishing installed a Muller Martini Bravo T Saddle Stitcher, a cover-feeder equipped six-pocket machine capable of delivering up to 11,000 books per hour. With the Bravo T, we've upgraded to three saddle stitching lines, allowing E & M to handle jobs of any size or run length. Contact E & M when planning your next stitching job, we're available to find solutions that fit your unique projects.