Hello Wade,



I have done many, many large and small catalogs and, in the age of digital printing, small runs are cost effective. I now do my own graphic design, but in the past, I hired a local graphic designer, so I could work closely with him/her and had the books printed locally as well. Some print shops offer design services as well, but not all do.



You want to find someone who can show you samples, typically working in InDesign. You should also see samples at the print shop to decide on size, number of pages, page weight, and binding to get a price. It used to be that print runs of 1,000 would cost the same as print runs of 100 but not so any more. My print shop is willing to run as few as 6 books at a time for the same prince.



Color is still much more expensive than black and white and there are options, like color cover with b/w inside pages. I’ve also had a color color insert for some pages on one of my books.



Do allow yourself plenty of time to get all of what you need—text and photos—and time for design, proofing, and printing. I always add an extra 2 weeks for unforeseen problems.



Anna Fariello

Curatorial InSight





> 

> Date:    Thu, 11 Apr 2019 13:18:23 +0000

> From:    Wade Lawrence <[log in to unmask]>

> Subject: Producing exhibit catalogues and small interpretive books

> 

> Hi Listers.

> We have two upcoming projects that need catalogues and/or souvenir books to sell in our Museum Shop, and we need advice on how to handle production. Can anyone how has used Lulu or Blurb or similar online publishers offer any advice? How does that process differ from having a designer do the layout in InDesign and sending it to a local/regional printer for printing and binding?

> 

> Thanks in advance.

> 

> Wade

> 

> —

> Wade Lawrence | Museum Director and Senior Curator, The Museum at Bethel Woods 

> Bethel Woods Center for the Arts

> 





=========================================================

Important Subscriber Information:



The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes).



If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes).