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Long shot… but the STW hive-mind has never let me down yet!
For work I need to produce a short print run (200 ish) copies of book published in 1962 and now long out of print. I’ve had a quote for having a scanned copy produced from an original that we have, but was wondering if it could be done with some sort of character reader software, so that it will be a new type set rather than just a glorified photocopy.
Copyright issues are being dealt with.
Any thoughts, experiences, recommendations?
Go!
No librarians you could ask nearby?
I've tried that and got nowhere. Not her specialty.
Who are the original publishers? Is it worth asking them if they'd do a small run?
They went bump in 1980.
Who are the original publishers? Is it worth asking them if they'd do a small run?
I would doubt that, even if they held the original artwork (and any plates would have long-since become unusable even if they still had them) that current printing processes would even be compatible.
You could use OCR software but (assuming you want it to be 100% correct) you would then have to proof read it all.
So basically I would say scanning it would be your best option – have you seen the quality they can reproduce?
Just pay a typist?
have you seen the quality they can reproduce?
Not yet. Still in the early stages. Will it be as goods as the original?
Will it be as goods as the original?
It couldn't be as good as the original by virtue of the fact it is a reproduction but printing quality and techniques these days are very good so if you have the right printer, I am sure they would be able to produce something that is almost indistinguishable from the original.
Adobe Acrobat has OCR capability, it can be rubbish for highly technical typeset material but can be the base of a searchable text behind the image the reader would be looking at. There's always those rn looking like m issues.
At work we have scanned our journal back catalogue from 1916 to 1990 into Acrobat. Issues around greyscale versus bitmap for text/photograph mixed pages, luckily we have limited colour to scan. Always scan to the best resolution, file size isn't such a problem these days. Halftones/Moire/mesh/dpi can throw up problems for images.
But a 1:1 print reproduction of a mint original you wouldn't need to bother about the text being OCR or not, it is if you want to revise the text in some way.
200 is a good print run, you should get some reasonable quotes from sheet fed press folk. Print on demand might be an option too if you don't want to hold a lot of stock.
We reprint a lot of old books, although most often into ebook format. (And I don't deal with the actual printing, so can't really help there.)
If you're using OCR software you may well have to go back and edit the book, as it tend to introduce a few errors - I becoming 1, 'rn' becoming 'm', stuff like that. Plenty of stuff around to run your scan through.
If you can get the text out of a PDF without running through any other software you'll probably end up with fewer errors, but a fair bit of formatting to sort out. This is probably the easiest and quickest way to get a new typset and so forth.
Then, depending on how professional you want to be, you might need someone to lay the book out again, if you can't do it yourself. Or just do a quick bodge job.
I'd have thought a straight scan onto a PDF would be quickest and easiest but, as you say, it's just a glorified photocopy.
Print on demand might be a good bet for getting the thing produced, or find a friendly printer. As I said, I don't deal with printing though, sorry.
Am I the only person slightly intruiged as to what book was written in 1962 but is still relevant for 200 ish employees ? is it a really fascinating title (or are you not telling us for copyright reasons?)
rubbish scans at work for correspondence we receive are pretty good, it may depend on the typeface of the original and how white the paper is compared to the black of the ink, as the two colours get closer with age (brown paper with grey faded ink) it's less readable
Am I the only person slightly intruiged as to what book was written in 1962 but is still relevant for 200 ish employees ?
Fly fishing hasn't changed much over the years
JR Hartley I presume?
Am I the only person slightly intruiged as to what book was written in 1962 but is still relevant for 200 ish employees ?
It is the biography of an inventor who’s product is celebrating its centenary. There will be a “do” during which the guest will get the book.
Pyrex? The Catterpillar Track?
You could try contacting these people:
http://cpibooks.com/uk/selfpublishing/?gclid=CO69tfnd4sYCFTGWtAodvhEOSQ
They're across the road from where I work, big premises, been around for years. There are other print-on-demand businesses around who might be able to help. As its a reasonable print run, you really need someone with the kit to do it properly.
Costs will obviously depend on the type of binding you want, whether saddle-stitched, perfect-bound with drawn-on cover, hard-bound, etc.