Magazine Quality

[j stryker]

my employer has decided to put out a 48 page paper catalog for one of our websites... problem is, he is convinced that we can print it cheaper in house on an inkjet... is there a paper that could give us magazine like print quality... some sort of light weight , fast drying, double sided glossy type stuff... at the moment, we are running them off on plain 20 weight copy paper at photo quality ... my boss loves it, and doesn't see room for improvement, even though you can practically read both sides of a page at the same time... I'm a little more OCD about stuff like that... its bugging the crap out of me... does what I am looking for exist... my google-fu has failed me on this one...

 

[The Hat]

j stryker
What you are looking for is not impossible, but as youre in the US I cant help you with where to get the best paper.
Now if he wants to print his catalogue on two sided glossy paper and using OEM inks, its going to cost a fortune.
A better option would be to take your catalogue to a colour copy shop and have them printed for you.
There are a number of stores where you can get heaver paper than (copy paper) to use, it may not be glossy but you can get a satin finish that will do a good job.
Then while youre out shopping get some replacement cartridges for your printer, that will help reduce the cost considerably.
Did he ever think about (buying, renting, or leasing) a digital colour printer like the print shops have ?..

 

[j stryker]

j stryker
Now if he wants to print his catalogue on two sided glossy paper and using OEM inks, its going to cost a fortune.
A better option would be to take your catalogue to a colour copy shop and have them printed for you.

he insists that the cheapest way to do this is in house... logic bounces off like bullets on superman... so since I am having to do it his way, I would like to at least do as good a job as possible...

 

[RMM]

You can buy double sided brochure paper made for inkjet printers. That would be your best bet. If you need it to be really inexpensive you could just use a heavy weight paper or an inkjet specific paper. Of course aftermarket ink is a must.

 

[easytimes]

Bullets and Superman... in this case, we're talking about MONEY and Scrooge, and the cost of printing this thing will choke this guy, when you get it to him and he sees the total cost. I thought this way, too... a long time ago.

Some years back, I printed a calendar for a dance group, in which I was a participant. It was a Christmas gift for the annual Christmas party we always held. I was the resident (amateur) photographer of the club, and I had a bunch of pictures of our various celebrations... birthdays and the like. I figured pictorial event based calendars would be keepsakes to remind us of some really great times, dancing with friends.

So, I printed a double sheet calendar... photos at the top and calendar at the bottom, using plastic binder combs, with clear front sheets and black back covers. Came out really nice. I used double sided matte and soft gloss, matte for the calendar page, and soft gloss for the photos. At that time supplies were pretty expensive, the combs and covers were a little more, but at the end of the job... which wasn't a paying contract... just a nice little thing for the club members... holy cow... the ink had turned it into a small fortune... at this moment, I can't recall the exact cost. I think it may be traumatic amnesia.

But to finish... I marked the month of each person who received a calendar with their birthday, and made up almost 30 calendars. After I did it and totaled the costs, I went to a contractor, a local guy in our town. If I just had him to print the pages, and I would do the binding, I could have saved half the money I paid to do it with my own printer. He said the binding probably wouldn't work as well as the way I did it. Mine would flatten on a wall.

The contractor said the job wouldn't have been as nice as the sample I brought him, but it would have certainly been good enough to get the same reaction from the recipients. At least I was a hero with the members for about two weeks... that's something... right? I'll guarantee, he won't like that job done in draft mode.

 

[qwertydude]

Printing in house would only work if you're already refilling, have a CISS system or have a laser printer. Basically if ink costs are marginal then printing in house can be very cheap. But if you want magazine gloss you pretty much are stuck with double sided photo paper. The problem is every manufacturer's definition of "glossy" is different so you'd have to see samples to determine if glossy means sort of shiny to smooth reflective high gloss like photo-lab glossy prints. For examply Kodak's cheap "glossy" is about the same glossiness as everyone else's matte paper so not glossy at all.

 

[j stryker]

and I need something lightweight too...

 

[The Hat]

j stryker
I think youll have to be Superman and Spiderman on this one.
It sounds like you know what youre doing when it comes to producing a nicely finished job.
I dont think you boss has taught this thing through properly, the cost of ink, the Paper and of course your time.
Having a catalogue on the web is one thing, but putting it on paper is something totally different.
For starters the DPI of his catalogue may have to be changed, the paginations will have to change too, and then theres the
stitching of the catalogue to think about, not for getting the forage to trimmed (necessary on a 48 pager).
I may have left something out em..

Have I made you sick yet or are you about to take annual leave anytime soon..

 

[j stryker]

I've tried explaining all of this to him, to no avail... he is convinced his way is better... we do have CISS on the printer in question... its the quality that is bugging me... 20 lb copy paper is not meant for photo quality prints on an inkjet...

 

[The Hat]

j stryker Just insist on him getting some heaver stock paper Matt or gloss dont print it on the copy paper, but at least you have a CISS to offset the ink cost and yes I did leave something out collating your catalogue 12 sheets x the number of copies you tend to print.
All I can say is good luck have fun dont work too hard, but above all dont lose your cool.
Do let us know the outcome; I reckon the boss will have no hair after this..