The Benefits of Printing In-House

["John David Hickey" <dave -at- toonboom -dot- com>]

Greetings!

My employer is considering printing our manuals in house rather than giving
the job to a Printing company. The entire software package is made up of 8
individual modules, each module getting its own manual (150 pages each on
average).

Now, while it is true that printing inhouse reduces printing costs
(apparently it would only cost 6 cents a page), I'm wondering how that cost
changes when you factor in the time and effort of overseeing the printing,
cutting the paper, and binding the books. And then there's the cost incurred
by maintainig the printer, refilling the cartridges, and calling in a
repairman when everything goes blooey (this usually goes blooey right at
release time. Never let a machine know you're in a hurry!).

And! And factor in the fact that none of us have much experience physically
putting these books together. I've layed out books, but the printer was
always in charge of slapping it all together.

As you can see, the prospect of printing in-house makes me very nervous. I'd
much rather let a professional handle the printing part of production.

Does anyone have any recommendations or information about what is required
for inhouse printing of a manual? I'll take just about anything you have to
offer: ideas, thoughts, reflections, suggestions, objections, passionate
opinions, vehement protests, organized demonstrations, cross-burnings, and
letters to the editor.

And, as the Level 3 methodology dictates, I'll post a summary when the
thread peters out.
--
Be seeing you,

Dave
---------------------------------------------------
John David Hickey
Grand Poohbah of Documentation
ToonBoom Technologies
Montreal, Quebec, Canada eh?
pg: 514-205-9209

They say the pen is mightier than the sword.
But if you miss a deadline, you'd better bring the sword.
---------------------------------------------------
Don't confuse my opinions with my employer's.
Each exists in blissful ignorance of the other.