As Albany's premiere copy service, Fast Copy produces nearly a million copies each month. These copies are for various purposes: flyers, manuals, study notes, but one of the most common reasons people make copies is to publish their own yearbook, directory, cookbook, poetry collection, family histories (complete with genealogical information) and even novels.

These people are no different from you or me. They simply want to publish their work, and Fast Copy is here to help them...and you.

When you sit there, looking at your work of love (be it a novel, family reunion book, prospectus), you face the biggest challenge:

This, of course, leads to hundreds of other questions:

How much does it cost per copy?
Is there a difference in single-sided and double-sided copies?
Is there an extra charge for collation?
What kind of paper is available?
Is the paper premium 20# bond?
How much extra for pastel-colored paper?
How much extra for 24# or 28# paper?
What kind of bindings are available?
How much do they cost?
Is there a minimum print run?

Is there a set-up fee or charge?

Before asking these questions, though, you need to have some idea of what you want the copies to look like.

Do you want your book single-sided or double-sided?
Double-sided is generally the preferred method.

Do you want it published on colored paper?
Most people prefer the 20# or 24# or even 28# white bond, although some cookbooks are copied onto 24# peach or 24# ivory paper.

What kind of binding do you want?
You can have it stapled (inexpensive), spiral bound (relatively inexpensive, opens flat, able to add or remove pages), or plasticoil (relatively inexpensive, flexible, textbook style binding); tape-backed (a strip of adhesive which holds the pages in place) or hard-backed (the most expensive option). Most binding methods are available in many colors.

What type of cover do you want for your book?
The cover can be on regular or card stock paper, and both come in a variety of colors. Once the cover stock is decided on, you need to decide on whether to have the cover in black ink, colored ink, or in full color. The full color is the more expensive, but looks the best.

So now you've got an idea of what you want your book to look like, but now you must prepare your book for printing.

Many budding authors today use computers to produce the masters for their books. (Masters are copies of the originals from which all copies are made.)

First of all, please do not print your output in anything finer than 600 dpi. This is the optimal size for high-speed copying. Many laser printers print at 1200 dpi, but these will copy faintly. Reset the printer for 300-600 dpi output for good to great results. If you do print at 1200 dpi, then adjust the density on your printer so that the text output is darker than normal. However, for the best results, visit our conversion page and convert your document to PDF and bring us or email us the file!

Computers today allow authors to make changes in their work all the way up to the publication date. Programs such as Corel WordPerfect and Microsoft Word allow authors to typeset their work as they create it. Software such as Page Maker can import files and allow even more typesetting. (Typesetting is laying out the text and images in the way you want them to appear on the pages.) Almost all software these days can be used to create extremely detailed layout. This website, for example, was created using Corel WordPerfect 7.0, revised with Corel WordPerfect 8.0, and tweaked occasionally using Microsoft FrontPage Editor 2002. Many computer softwares these days allow you to save your work as a PDF file. Again, for best results, save your work as a PDF file and bring us or email us the file!

We do recommend that authors select a size and style of font that would be the best for your book. We recommend that you use the larger fonts (14-18 pts) for cookbooks, and the medium size (10-12 pts) for most novels, and medium-large (12-14 pts) for yearbooks and directories. Smaller type sizes can be impossible to read when copied.

Keep your intended audience in mind (senior audiences find small print almost impossible to read), but temper this with the knowledge that larger print means more pages, and more pages means a higher cost.

We urge you to avoid fancy fonts for your body text that can be a chore to read. (Body text is the basic text that you want to use for most of the work.)

Changing the font will affect the line length, and therefore page count.

Fancy fonts can make for great titles, but be aware that they're not always as legible as you might hope. Don't use fancy fonts smaller than 18 pt. Smaller sizes would be illegible, especially on italicized fonts like Brush Script and Park Avenue.

Margins are another major concern you should have when printing your work for copying. Make sure that you leave at least ½" around for margins, but I usually recommend a good ¾" or 1" around for better results in terms of binding.

Many are the times that the page numbers, headers or footers don't reproduce on the copies because they are too close to a copier's dead zone. (A dead zone is an area on a copier that doesn't get copied because it is too close to the edge where the paper is being fed or handled by the copier.)

Leave room for the binding. Make sure you leave at least ½" more on the side to be bound. Most word processors have an option for "image offset for binding." In Corel WordPerfect 8, it's under the printer, two-sided printing function. Basically, this function allows the printer to save ¼" or more for the side that will be bound.

With the sudden flood of high quality scanners on the market, many authors have taken to scanning photos into their work for reproduction. In theory, this sounds like a terrific idea; in actuality, it can be a nightmare.

We at Fast Copy have found that scanned photos almost always copy darker than they should, and that lightening the photo (using PhotoShop, PhotoFinish, Adobe Illustrator or whatever graphic program you use) will help in the reproduction, as well printing it in 600 dpi.

When selecting graphics, avoid the ones that make your work appear "too busy" and distracting. Select simple graphics and use them sparingly. Remember the margins when selecting borders to use.

And if you're going to cut and past, be sure and tape down any artwork that you intend to copy. Don't use white glue or paste (it curls the image), and glue sticks aren't permanent. Use Scotch Magic Transparent Tape to secure your artwork so that it can feed through a copier with minimal effort.

Lastly, have your originals proofread several times. Nothing is worse than discovering you've misspelled your Aunt Emma's name on every single page (she'll let you know about that the rest of her life).

Again, for best results, we've found that customers who create their own PDF files end up having better quality printing from their files on our digital copying network.

Some authors, though, will prefer to have their work typeset. Fast Copy will gladly refer you to one of the talented graphic artists we work with to have your project typeset, or we will gladly have it typeset for you.

One of the most important things to consider when creating your book is the cover. This is especially true if you are trying to market your book. The cover is the first thing the reader will see, and it is the very thing which makes the first impression.

In designing your book, bear in mind that the cover should reflect the contents of the book. If you're doing a family reunion souvenir book, then a cover featuring a family portrait or a collage of family portraits would be more apropos than just a simple graphic of a picnic basket. If you're doing a genealogy book, a cover featuring the family crest or an ancestor's portrait would be preferable to a simple graphic of an oak tree.

Remember another adage, too: Color sells.

That is a simple but plain truth in the world of publishing. A book with a color cover will sell better than a book without one. And with the advent of color copier technology, color is affordable in low volume print runs, too. And these days, color is relatively inexpensive as compared to ten or twenty years ago, especially if you're ordering more than 200 copies.

If you need a special cover designed, talk to our friendly staff. We can generally refer you to someone who will meet your needs.

Paper is a tricky question because a customer can suddenly generate an unexpected increase in their price just by changing paper weights. Paper comes in many different stocks, but we need only concern ourselves with two: bond and cover. Bond itself is available in many different weights, but the most commonly used are 20# bond, 24# bond and 28# bond. These are also called 50#, 60# and 70#. Cover itself is available in different weights as well, but the most commonly used are 67# Vellum Bristol, 65# and 80# Cardstock and 90# Index.

Almost all copies produced by Fast Copy are made on a plain 20# bond which is relatively inexpensive with a brightness of 92. It allows for a clean, crisp copy, however, when double-siding a copy, it is not completely opaque, and one can see through the paper if you hold the light up behind the page. For most applications, this is of no consequence, but for individuals wishing for a quality print run with minimal show-through, we recommend using ImagePrint Multiuse 24# bright white paper (brightness 95). This is an excellent paper which runs through our copiers nicely, and only adds a few pennies to the cost of the each copy. In the past, some customers have copied their cookbooks on 28# paper because it affords them a greater thickness than regular 20# or 24#. Our calendars, in fact, are printed on 32# paper.

Most of the cover stock we use at Fast Copy is either 67# Vellum Bristol (which is primarily used for the pastel colors) and 65# Cardstock (which is primarily used for the bright colors). On occasion, we will carry an 80# Cardstock (such as our Bright White or Eclipse Black coverstock), or 90# and 110# Index (such as our Cherry and Salmon). While there is some difference in the quality and weights of these grades, we have found that most customers cannot tell the difference between them. All are well-suited for covers. We also carry clear vinyl covers and black vinyl covers for those presentations where impact is a must.

There are five major ways to bind material that Fast Copy offers its customers. The first method is the least attractive, but it's also the least expensive. Stapling your book is a simple process. We have heavy duty staplers and long-neck staplers which allow our staff to bind your books inexpensively. It's an excellent binding for church programs, music programs or even small catalogs. But it is not the way you want to bind reports, presentations or novels. Stapling costs around 25¢ per book.

Spiral binding is the next step up from stapling. It affords a professional appearance to your work, and is excellent for manuals, journals, presentations and reports. Its inherent flexibility allows for later changes or additions to the report. Many of the projects we spiral bind use a color copy beneath a clear vinyl cover. Other projects have a cover page printed on colored cardstock. This makes for a durable book, too. Spiral binding usually costs around $2.00 or less per book, depending on number of pages and quantity of books. The more books you have bound, the lower the cost.

Coil binding is the next step up from spiral binding. It affords even more of a professional appearance to your work, and is excellent for cookbooks, lab books, manuals and reports. However, it is more time consuming to produce and is somewhat difficult to make later changes or additions to the report. Many of the projects we coil bind use a color copy beneath a clear vinyl cover. Other projects have a cover page printed on colored cardstock. This makes for a durable book, too. Coil binding usually costs around $3.00 or less per book, depending on number of pages and quantity of books. As almost always, the more books you have bound, the lower the cost.

Tape binding is a completely different means of binding. It lends a professional appearance to your work, but it is not designed to lay down flay. It is excellent for novels or special projects and reports. It uses a heat-activated paper adhesive that holds the book together. Once bound, changes cannot be made. We do not recommend clear covers or vinyl backs for these books because the glue is a paper, not plastic, adhesive. Tape binding usually costs around $4.00 per book, and because of its labor intensive nature, we do not offer discounts on quantity. Tape binding will also add a day or two to your order.

The last binding method available is hard back binding. While Fast Copy does not perform this form of bindery itself, we do have customers for whom we produce copies which are picked up by one of several bindery companies located in Atlanta. The bindery company will produce library quality books using the high quality copies we ship them. Hard back binding takes up to eight weeks to complete.

The last thing is to decide on how many books to have published. This is a tricky question for most authors because you've got to ask yourself who your intended audience is, and, more importantly, you've got to ask yourself who will be willing to pay for your work.

One of our customers prints up a quarterly science fiction magazine. This customer has been producing this magazine (called a "fanzine") since 1979, and has a base readership of 300 or so regular customers. However, this customer only prints up 50 copies of his fanzine in advance. The rest he prints "on demand" or as needed. He's never "stuck" with leftover copies. He pays more per copy that someone who would order 300 copies, but he's not out any advance money.

Another customer sells cookbooks. She prints up her cookbooks only twenty at a time, because she sells them in person, at a local carwash, or at a local bookstore. Because these retailers buy them in counts of ten, she rarely prints more than twenty at a time.

Other projects require a little more thought. If you're doing a church cookbook or special church program book, you'll know either from the pre-sales of your cookbook, or you'll know from the average attendance of your church. If you're doing a family reunion book, you might know from your pre-sales, but always print up at least one for every family, especially if the book is to be distributed at the reunion. And if you're doing a self-published novel, then make sure you print enough to have your work seen at at least three different venues (i.e. ten copies for the local bookstore, ten copies for the carwash, ten copies for yourself).

Don't be afraid to ask questions, and certainly don't be afraid to call around to get the best price. Ask to see samples of their work, and check out one or two copies to assure yourself you're getting quality work.

These are some things I always tell my customers, some simply guidelines for simple projects, as it were

© 1998 by Randall Landers for Fast Copy, Inc. © 2006 for current update. All rights reserved.
Updated January 9th 2008 by Randy Landers, manager

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