This section covers some of the mechanical aspects of producing a DWR publication:
Most DWR printing is done by the Reprographics Unit, Room 751 in the Resources Building. When Reprographics cannot handle a job because of workload or special needs--such as color photographs, a large printing run, or wraparound binding--it farms out the job to a General Services printer, the Office of State Printing, or an outside vendor.
Reprographics will provide estimates of printing costs on request and print up to 5,000 copies of a report, with no limit on the number of pages.
Reproduction Requests
Printing jobs are submitted on the Request for Reproduction (Standard Form 3597), which must be completely and accurately filled out before a request can be carried out. The following information must be included:
If any of those items is missing, the order will be returned to the requestor for completion.
Form 3597 is used for all requests for printing by the DWR Reprographics Unit (see sample on following page). This copy of the form displays some of the instructions typical of many printing jobs. The numbers in parentheses on Form 3597 are keyed to similar ones listed on the page opposite.
(1) A page-numbered "dummy" (a mockup of the completed publication) helps Reprographics assemble a report properly. All orders for printing reports should include a dummy.
(2) This type of information helps Reprographics estimate the cost of a job. Details on overlays, photos, and other special instructions should also be explained in the printer's dummy.
(3) Authorizing overtime for printing applies only if there is a real rush for the job. It's wise to have the program manager's approval first. Then discuss your requirements with the Reprographics supervisor (916 653-5724, CALNET 453-5724) before submitting the job.
(4) Staples or spiral plastic are the standard binding methods. Reports of 100 or fewer pages (including cover) may also be saddle stitched (11 x 17 sheets folded once and stapled in the fold).
(5) If you are not located conveniently near the Resources Building, Reports Administration will check your jobs for you before they are bound. Call 916 653-8138, CALNET 453-8138.
(6) When filling out a printing order, also fill out a Mail/Distribution Order (DWR 4162) to give the mail room staff specific directions concerning distribution. (See example below.) Records Management will keep 75 copies of the report for library distribution and send the rest to your office or distribute them according toyour instructions.
Some Additional Tips. Printing requests can be processed more rapidly if the following steps are taken in preparing material for reproduction:
Maximum Sizes of Copy. Reprographics can accommodate original copy for printing by various processes in the following sizes: PMT, 18" x 24"; chronoflex, 18" x 24"; Itek (paper negative), 11" x 17"; camera, 28" x 40".
Enlargements. The Daito 920 can enlarge page-size copy up to 36 inches wide (presentation size) for wall display or classroom instruction. This process is also useful for reproducing old blueprints.
Printer's Notes. If the designer hasn't already done so, the printer typically adds "Printed by Reprographics" at the bottom of the organization page and a note about the use of recycled paper and soy-based ink at the end of the report.
Office of State Printing
Reports Administration coordinates most DWR report printing with the Office of State Printing and will supply both preliminary and final printing estimates on request.
The following specifications are useful in planning a job for OSP:
DWR requests 60-pound uncoated book paper for bulletins. (Coated stock is used only for special jobs.) Some recycled paper is available in stock; lead time for special orders is 6 weeks.
Types of Bindings
The type of binding available depends on where a report is to be printed, as well as the number of pages in the document.
DWR's Reprographics Unit binds reports by the following methods:
Saddle Stitching. Up to 100 pages (50-pound stock), including cover. Uses 11" x 17"sheets, folded at midpoint to 8-1/2" x 11" and stapled exactly on the fold. This method provides a nicely finished product that lies reasonably flat when opened, but it is relatively expensive because it requires camera work, stripping of negatives, and platemaking.
Side Stitching. Up to about 175 pages. Uses 8-1/2" x 11" sheets fastened by staples along the left side. This is the least expensive process, but less pleasing because the report does not lie flat when opened.
Plastic Comb Fastener. Up to about 850 pages (425 sheets, about 2" thick). Often called "spiral binding." This method is the only option with a heftier report, but it works well for a slimmer one, too, because the report lies flat when opened. Combs come in a variety of colors and sizes. Lettering can be added to combs, but they must be ordered in advance through Reprographics (takes about a month).
Velobind Recommended only for a maximum of 50 pages. This process uses plastic strips fused by heat and is an expensive hand operation that takes at least three times longer than binding with plastic comb fasteners (and is billed accordingly).
The Office of State Printing binds reports by the following methods:
Perfect Binding Up to 600 pages. A machine operation that glues the pages together. If a report exceeds 600 pages, it will require stitching, as well as gluing. Also called wrap-around binding.
Saddle Stitching Up to 100 pages (50-pound stock), including cover. Uses 11" x l7" sheets, folded at midpoint to 8-1/2" x 11" and stapled exactly on the fold. This method provides a nicely finished product that lies reasonably flat when opened, but it is relatively expensive because it requires camera work, stripping of negatives, and platemaking.
Graphic Artists
DWR reports are technical publications whose primary graphic requirements are accuracy and clarity in presentation. For the most part, the skills of the editor and the delineator are sufficient to produce an orderly, readable document for reproduction. However, at times, the Department plans to issue a "special" publication whose importance will warrant the attention of the graphics professional.
In that event, the wisest course to follow in planning a special publication is to obtain the services of DWR's Graphic Services Branch. Their graphic artists can be invaluable in developing the overall layout of a publication, including factors such as drawings, photos, colors of inks, and printing considerations.
An important point: Involve the graphic artist in your project as early as possible. This will smooth the production process and greatly improve the appearance and readability of your printed publication.
Any matter designed to amplify and clarify the text can be considered to be an illustration. This includes graphs, charts, maps, photographs, and other copy prepared by drawing or photography for use in printing.
Figures. Graphs, charts, and maps that are designed to fit within 8-1/2 x 11-inch pages in the text are all referred to as figures. Figures that must be reproduced in dimensions wider than page size are folded to page size and bound at the end of a publication. They are called fold-outs or tip-ins and, for ease in numbering and referencing, are identified as plates rather than figures. If at all possible, a fold-out should be placed only just inside the back cover so the reader can unfold it fully and leave it unfolded while reading the report. Placing a fold-out anywhere else in a publication will increase printing costs because it must be inserted by hand in each copy of the document. (This is also a disservice to the reader, who must keep unfolding and folding it to keep the insert out of the way.)
Extra large maps can be printed and folded to fit into a large envelope (pocket) open at the top that is glued to the inside back cover of each copy of the report. A pocket is a useful way of publishing an unusually large map, but it is also expensive. Gluing and folding are time-consuming hand operations that can run up the printer's bill considerably.
For the most part (there are exceptions), figures should be planned to fit within an area of the page no larger than 7 x 9 inches. This is called the image area. Copy that is too large to fit this space should be reduced before a report is printed or marked to be reduced during printing.
Figures are numbered sequentially throughout the main body of a publication. Oversize maps or other material bound at the back of a report are traditionally identified as "Plates" and are numbered separately.
Photographs. Everyone looks at photographs. High-quality photographs, simply and factually captioned, will clarify and enhance the text and help make a report interesting and effective. Whenever possible, captions should be used to identify the image.
The flexibility of photos is a boon to layout work. By cropping and resizing, a photo can be adjusted to fit available space in ways that text and drawings cannot. Photos may be fitted within the 7-x-9-inch image area allotted to the text, or they may bleed off the page, as appropriate. DWR's Photography Unit can provide any size photo in accordance with the ratio and proportion of the original negative or transparency. Standard photo sizes from the Photography Unit are 4 x 5 inches, 5 x 7 inches, and 8 x 10 inches.
Occasionally, authors will provide photos they have taken. The Photography Unit should be asked to assign identification numbers to these photos. After a report has been printed, the photos should be sent to the unit, along with a copy of the publication. The Photography Unit copies the photos and files them to fill requests from DWR staff.
Black and white glossy photos are always preferable for reproduction, although good, sharp color prints will also work if they are all you have. In addition, technology now provides us with the option of producing a higher quality image by digitally scanning black and white negatives, color negatives, or color transparencies for output to a half-tone negative, a duotone negative, or a color separation negative. Digitally scanned photos can be readily cropped, cleaned up, and manipulated. Discuss the possibilities with the Photography Unit supervisor, Room 440-8 of the Resources Building (916 653-4883, CALNET 453-4883).
When a publication is being prepared for printing, the photos should be identified by a letter or number keyed to spaces left for them in the camera-ready copy and the dummy. Attach each photo to a larger sheet of white paper with double-sided tape or rubber cement, at the corners only, and write this information on the paper along with instructions regarding reduction, final size, cropping, etc. Nothing should be written on the back of a photo. All photos (with printer's instructions attached) should be placed together in a large envelope to be sent along with the rest of the copy. Photos are never pasted in place with text, because the printer can't make negatives of photos and text at the same time.
Photos should never be cut, drawn on, or fastened down with any device, including adhesives, tape, paper clips, or staples. Paper clips in particular are damaging because they leave impressions that will be picked up by the camera and appear in the printed photo.
No marks should be drawn across the face of a photo, nor should any part of a photo be cut away to remove an unwanted portion. The desired image area should be indicated by crop marks on the white paper the photo is attached to. Order reductions or enlargements by stating "Reduce (or enlarge) to _____ %."
Photo credits have traditionally been stated at the end of the table of contents, but are sometimes placed on the credits page next to the photographer's name. An option to this, particularly for photos from outside DWR, is to put the credit in very small type along the upper right side of the photo, as Time magazine does.
Photos obtained from outside sources are listed by the name of the individual or organization that provided them and the pages on which they appear. DWR photos are identified by their negative numbers, which are assigned by the Photography Unit. When there is more than one photo on a page, each is further identified in the list by its position, as: top, center, right, left. If you use a photo from an outside source, make sure you adhere to copyright law (see the discussion of copyrights in Section 7).
Reproduction of color photographs requires expensive color separation work, which takes much more time than black and white. The Office of State Printing farms out the preparation of color separations to a private vendor. Four separate negatives, one each for black, red, blue, and yellow, must be made to print one photograph in color.
Approval for color photographs must be obtained from the Office of State Printing by sending a justification memo along with the order. The memo should spell out why a color photo is needed and who will receive copies of the report. This memo is typically signed by the division or district chief.
Colored Inks
All General Services printers are now authorized to do four-color printing. You will still want to carefully consider if four-color printing is appropriate for your job because of the additional expense and time. As you determine whether or not to use four colors in your publication, consider the following questions:
A sample of the material to be printed should be attached, if possible.
Most DWR bulletins are printed at OSP, which has several hundred colors of ink available. (Reports Administration has samples of these inks.) Each color can be screened to produce various shades, from very light (10 percent screen) to dark (70 percent screen). All shades of one color are printed at the same time, so they all count as one color. Each shade requires a separate overlay, which is carefully prepared by a delineator or graphic artist so that all parts match exactly (register) when they are assembled. The printer makes a negative of each overlay, using a screen to break the image into a dot pattern that will produce the desired shade on the printed page. The negatives are then combined into a single negative (a composite) and the image is "burned" onto a specially coated printing plate. One plate is made for each color. Note that blue overlaid with yellow produces green. This means that carefully planned overlays will give you another color, free. However, creating green this way is tricky and the results are sometimes less than acceptable.
Using Black Ink Only. Since the use of multiple colors increases costs, it sometimes pays to look for other ways to depict technical data. Using black ink only with a variety of screens or pressure-sensitive art materials can produce the effect of several colors of ink at less cost.
Color Copying
Color copying can come in handy when colored photographs or illustrations are necessary, and color laser printers are not available. However, it is a fairly expensive process that should be limited to short-run jobs such as memo reports.
With this process, the author prepares the original drawing in color and has the rest reproduced by a copying machine. The quality of the reproduction is generally acceptable, although the colors tend to be somewhat different than the original because equipment and operators vary.
DWR Reprographics has a color copier. Report preparers outside of Sacramento can use Reprographics or deal directly with any printing shop that offers this service.
Composing Unit in Reprographics
The Composing Unit creates master copies for reproduction or printing using Macintosh programs of WordPerfect and Pagemaker. Material supplied on disk can be converted into a high-quality master of 600 dots per inch. WordPerfect has approximately 98 fonts, and Pagemaker has approximately 85 fonts. Excel or Microsoft Excel is also available.
The unit has some clip art programs, such as Events & Holiday Cartoons, Publications, Business Image, Symbols & Industry, and Personal Graphics. Final masters are available in three different sizes: 8-1/2 x 11, 8-1/2 x 14, and 11 x 17.
The Composing Unit is located in the Resources Building, Room 746. For further information, call (916) 653-6967, CALNET 453-6967.
Return to DWR Publications Guidelines contents page.
Return to Reports Administration page.
Return to Divison of Planning Homepage.
