Norfolk Press offers an extensive range of publication services for books and catalogs, both in-house and through our affiliate companies. Depending on your needs, we can help with a complete package or drill down in specific areas. Below is a brief description of the services we offer and how we can collaborate with you when publishing your books and catalogs. Once we have received and reviewed your manuscript through the SUBMISSIONS page of our web site, we will send you our comments, which may include a “Publication Services Agreement.” The agreement will outline how we can work together and show you a number of options.
DESIGN – is a key element. Covers need to spark the reader’s interest within a few seconds or they will be passed over. Our award-winning designers skillfully combine images and typography for maximum impact. Colors and graphic elements are melded together for clarity and enticement.
WRITING – appropriate essays, synopses or reviews will bring your book up to the next level is a critical element for introducing your book to the market
EDITING – a carefully edited manuscript can make the difference between a mediocre book and an excellent one. Books with grammatical errors are quickly passed over by reviewers. A second look by one of our editors, who will provide you with their comments is important.
IMAGES – extensive services include digital photography of fine art reproductions, portraits and products shot both in our studio and on location using professional cameras with digital backgrounds. For the ultimate quality reproduction of transparencies, we use high-end drum scanners for images up to 20″ x 24″. And for reproductions of documents where files do not exist we use flat-bed scanners with built in OCR (optical character recognition) software. We also film and edit short videos for some of our authors and artists for interviews and/or promotional events.
ILLUSTRATIONS – will enhance almost every book project, whether for the cover only or throughout the pages. With many talented artists both locally and throughout the world we are able to select the style of work that best fits the project. We have an extensive database of both new and seasoned illustrators.
LAYOUT – is the more mechanical side of design. It is in this process where word processing documents are converted and formatted using industry specific page-layout programs. Book size, typography, gutters and margins, placement of graphics etc are all accomplished in this essential step of the process. While our in-house technicians are experts, some clients prefer to handle this task themselves and provide print-ready PDF files. It is best to consult with us prior to submitting “print-ready” files as our specifications may vary from other service providers.
PREPRESS – or “before the press” is a generic term for a multitude of complex services that happen behind the scenes, which can vary depending on the printing process. They Include preparing the files for the printer, preflight, image construction, color correction, color proofing, file transfers, archiving and retrievals. Call or email our customer service if you think you may require any of these services.
PRINTING – short run books (up to 1,000) are produced in-house using state-of-the-art digital presses. Books are “digitally collated” on both color and B/W machines. For longer runs and case binding we send out to our offset printing partners both locally and overseas. Nearly every page size or number of pages is possible.
BINDING – with one of the most complete in-house binding facilities in the San Francisco Bay Area, our services include, wire, saddle-stitching, perfect binding, 3-hole punch and signature sewing.
FULFILLMENT – we package and ship to both individual book buyers and in bulk to bookstores, both nationally and overseas, using most of the major distribution and delivery services.
MARKETING – in-house includes promoting books through direct mail, digital e-letters, blogs, web sites and book signing events. We can also help with to get newspapers and magazine publications.
ISBN – numbers and barcodes are provided
Contact our customer service department either via email or telephone if you have any questions regarding our services and procedures or related book publishing concerns. To see production Terms & Conditions of Sale click Here.
