Self-Publishing
Info
Kettle Valley Graphics has become
Kelowna's printer of choice for self-publishing authors.
We have printed thousands of books for authors from all over
western Canada. No job is too big or too small. We will happily
print 1 or 1000 books, in any size and specifications you desire.
We have an excellent working relationship with book binders and
can provide you with a completed (bound) book project. Don't
know where to start? Visit webbpublishing.ca for
some great self-publishing information.
Kettle
Valley Graphics Accepts Print Ready files..... So What is
Print Ready?
Print
ready files are electronic files that have been formatted
to create your final book. The file has been edited and proofread.
Your pages are set up correctly to the size of book you prefer,
with the margins, headers, footers, chapter breaks, photos and
any other elements where they belong. We can help you
with this for an additional cost, or recommend you to our excellent
editor who has many years of experience with producing books.
She can set up your book, edit, set up ISBN numbers, create stunning
covers and advise you in many other areas.
Supported file
formats include:
- Adobe Acrobat PDFs (our preferred
project file as it is very difficult to corrupt a PDF file.
Please do not use freebie PDF programs)
- CorelDraw
- Adobe Pagemaker, Adobe InDesign,
Adobe PhotoShop
- MSWord or WordPerfect saved as
a PDF file
Tips of the Trade
Here
are just a few tips which will save you time, frustration and
perhaps money.
Photos
or illustrations that are well done can add value and substance
to your book. Poorly done, they can add cost and may just
cost you credibility.
Scanning
Photos– Scan photos at a quality of 300 dpi
(dots per inch) resolution. Try to scan images at close to
100% of the final print size - you will get much better results
if you crop and re-size (scale) an image at the time of scanning,
rather than increasing or decreasing the photo size when
you insert it into your document. Also, converting your
photos to grayscale when you first scan them will reduce
the final size of the file.
Colour
Scans – Please be sure to scan in 24 bit
colour mode at 300 dpi.
Scanning
from Newspapers – When scanning old newspaper
photos or images from other books, try using the de-screening
setting in your scanning software. Please be mindful of copyright
restrictions on this type of art. It is far better to ask
permission than to risk the consequences of copyright infringement
at a later date. It is your responsibility to ensure there
is no copyright infringement.
Web
Graphics – 72 dpi (web quality) graphics are
not acceptable for high quality printing. We will print what
you provide to us, but low resolution graphics can be very
disappointing. Images should be minimum 200dpi, and
preferably 300dpi for any print projects.
Saving
Your Files – If you have used MSWord
to lay out your print project, we will require a PDF
of your book. Although
Word is a program many people use, it has a tendency to 'glitch
up' when transferring between computers. A PDF (portable
document file) will ensure that the file we receive from
you looks exactly like the file you sent to us!
Page
Set-Up – If
you are wishing your finished book size to be 5.5 x 8.5, you
must use the Page Set-Up function in Word to create a document
that is 5.5 x 8.5. You cannot use margins and tabs to 'shrink'
your text within a standard 8.5"x11" page size. You
can find the Page Set-Up function under the File menu.
Page
Numbers – You may find centering your page
numbers preferable. This way it does not matter whether the
page lands up on the left or right hand side. You may like
to use 'Headers' on the top corners of your document. Find
a book layout that you like, and replicate it!
Cover
Design– Go
to your bookshelf, library or bookstore and get some ideas
of what you like about the appearance of other books. Consider
your cover design carefully. It
should be readable and appealing and should communicate a feel
for your book. If you have the professional programs and
the ability to use them to create a complete cover design, by
all means use them. A word of caution, if you have a Paintshop
or Powerpoint program or an inexpensive program bought “off
the shelf”, please resist the temptation. Files created
with these types of programs often have to be rebuilt completely
for a quality cover. We print your cover at 1200 dpi. This
accuracy brings out the best in your work, but also the worst.
Check Webb
Publishing for a great
self-publishing overview.
