TechWhirl (TECHWR-L) is a resource for technical writing and technical communications professionals of all experience levels and in all industries to share their experiences and acquire information.
For two decades, technical communicators have turned to TechWhirl to ask and answer questions about the always-changing world of technical communications, such as tools, skills, career paths, methodologies, and emerging industries. The TechWhirl Archives and magazine, created for, by and about technical writers, offer a wealth of knowledge to everyone with an interest in any aspect of technical communications.
Subject:Re: Print On Demand From:Diane Peters <dj -at- IBAPAH -dot- RAXCO -dot- COM> Date:Tue, 14 Nov 1995 14:57:53 -0700
On 14-Nov-95, David R. Warfield wrote:
> The publications I provide are revised several times a year and are
> not printed in large volume (maybe 500 at a time). I've been thinking
> about using Print On Demand (POD).
> It's been my observation that data books for semiconductor products are
> nearly always provided in a "small book" size, about 7" x 9". Sometimes
> you'll get very preliminary data sheets on 8 1/2 x 11 (in the US, at least)
> but usually the literature department goes to print with the 7 x 9
> size as soon as it can.
> I've done a quick scan of the POD literature provided by the vendor
> my company is using. As near as I can tell no document size near 7 x 9
> is supported. I'd have to go with 8 1/2 by 11.
> 1. Any opinions: is the 7 x 9 size a de facto standard for these
> data books? If so, how important is it to provide my documents
> in this size? (Will my customers form a negative opinion of the
> product because the documentation is "non-standard" size?)
> 2. If it is important to have the smaller size, does this preclude
> POD? Are there POD vendors who can handle different sizes?
Our company (AXENT Technologies in Provo, UT) uses a local printing
company, with which we have a Print On Demand contract, and we print
most of our manuals in the 7 x 9 size. We prefer the smaller size
because it fit the professional technical image we wish to convey,
and they fit nicely in the boxes that we use to ship our software (on
CD-ROMs).
As for online and CD-ROM documentation, I do not think these will ever
replace printed documentation entirely. We may soon offer online
and/or CD-ROM docs in *addition* to our printed docs. This is a boon
to customers who often want more copies of the docs to spread among
the multiple users and sites.
diapet -at- axent -dot- com
dj -at- ibapah -dot- raxco -dot- com
The road to enlightenment is long and difficult...
so, bring snacks and a magazine.
