Production: Part 5 - Ex 3 On press

 Reading Adrian Pipes' On press chapter from his 2009 for Graphic Designers.

Reading this chapter I leanrt about how paper was invented, the raw materials it took and how it was used historically. "Paperamking is older than any other printing craft." Quite intresting reading about the different papers especially recycled papers. Also the handmade papers, machine made papers and the process ' of making them, Old and new. more in the chapter was trhe use of paper, the grains, paper stock and the ink application and how the paper absorbs it. Continuing through the chapter the was so much more information like the ink, suplliers and printing processes as well as diagrams to show how the ink is distributed on a machine. Finaly coming to the end of the chapter was methods of printing which some ive never heard of such as Collotype and Xerography (which his another word for photocopying), the pros and cons of these methods aswell as the digtial technologies used and the finishing construction of a book.

 Now considering the aspects of the print process for this book. My creative decision making had to fall in the lines of practicality for the pop up elements. The amount of pages also needed to be thought about a lot so that the double page spreads worked together and the single pages worked with the other single pages in a way that made sense. As for the connections between the artist and craftperson. Communication is important if I have a specific idea and aim in mind, having someone who is experienced in the making of such books them knowing the mechanics and specifications of the pages is necessary. Both me an the craftperson need to be open and adaptable so that when it comes to finishing an printing the book that everything is in order.

I am using an online process for this book. Searching for local printers I found there wasn't many places that were a sepcific and experienced as papersymths. 

allprintservices.co.uk. (2022). Book Printing - Allprint Services - Printers Liverpool. [online] Available at: https://allprintservices.co.uk/book-printing/ [Accessed 17 Feb. 2024]. There is this printer based in my city but there didn't seem to be any options for pop up books on their website.

Papersmyths. (n.d.). How We Make Pop-Ups. [online] Available at: https://www.papersmyths.com/how-we-make-pop-ups/ [Accessed 17 Feb. 2024].

On this website page above there are a list of steps of the whole process which was really helpful.

 
1. Concept

First of all get in contact and tell us about your pop-up book: What would you like to pop-up? How many copies do you need? What size? How many pages? How would you like the cover? When do you need your pop-up book?

Once we have all of the relevant information, we can send you annotated sketches. From here, we can discuss the project in more detail and calculate a budget.
Pop up book prototype
 

2. Prototype

Once you are happy with the concept and proposal, we can begin the paper engineering. This is an important stage when we design the pop-up and work out the mechanics.

We make various cardboard models which we modify and tweak, refining the design until we develop the best version. Now we can make a prototype, or ‘mock-up’. This prototype is helpful because it accurately indicates the pop-up book’s printing and assembly costs.
Paper engineer die lines
 

3. Die-Lines

We create die-lines from our prototype. These are vector files – which can be supplied in various formats (usually Adobe Illustrator) – which act as guidelines to indicate where the artwork is placed.
Pop up book artwork
 

4. Artwork

The illustrator, designer or photographer creates the artwork to fit the die-lines we give them. During this process, we collaborate and advise to ensure everything is in the right place and the bleed areas work and the pop-up elements are backed up.
Pop up book mockup
 

5. Final Mock-Up

Using the artwork, we create a complete colour mock-up of the pop-up book. We use this mock-up to double-check the mechanics work correctly and to ensure everything is in the right place.
Nesting sheets
 

6. Nesting Sheets

We arrange all of the artwork on large nesting sheets – ready for printing.
Charlie and the chocolate factory pop up book test print
 

7. Proofing

Generally, the nesting sheets are proofed by hi-res PDF, but a wet proof can be made at a higher cost.
Pop up book printers
 

8. Printing

Once the proofs have been approved, the printing begins. This can be on huge full colour presses or cutting edge digital presses, where personalisation is possible.
Paper assembly
 

9. Assembly

The printed sheets are die-cut into components and then assembled by hand.
Packaged books ready to be shipped
 

10. Delivery

Now we ship the finished pop-ups to you. After clearing customs, the pop-up books are dispatched to the publisher’s warehouse where they are distributed to bookshops.

Now as amazing as this printers sounded the pricing I was quoted was over £5000 pounds which is far beyond what I can afford. But the steps were helpful as I assuming that how most book printers/publishers process their projects. I did have a look at a few more publisher/printers online just for some variety. 

Evanston, 1603 O.A.S. 1500 and Il 60201 (n.d.). Pop-Up Book Printing for Self-Publishers. [online] PrintNinja. Available at: https://printninja.com/printing-resource-center/printing-options/book-services/specialty-paper-options/pop-up-book/.

This website is very informative there are so mnay help pages and steps, tips and everything else involved in pop up book process.

In these screenshots you can see all the help in the side bar and a page for file set up which is 

https://printninja.com/printing-resource-center/printninja-file-setup-checklist/

The only problem with this printer is that the least amount of pages was 48 and mine is 26-28 pages, the quanity was also 250 copies as the lowest amoutn to order which again I didn't need. So the similiarties and obstacles with all these printers I decided it's worth constructing and printing the book myself as a challange and a a big save on money. Straight away I got to looking around for places I could get things printed in good quality.

 https://www.papersmyths.com/how-we-make-pop-ups/

This website was informative, out of curiousity I emailed about getting my book printed and asked for a quote as well as what they would help with but the reply was quite a shock. The cost for just one book would be over £5000 because of how much goes into printing and making. It makes sense considering their reputation of working with brands like cadburys, sky, penguin... Because of this I took it upon myself that printing it myself would be good enough as the book isnt fully finalised anyway.