Creating a print workflow

[iammattsanders]

As is so often the case with people asking questions, I'm a bit of a newbie, so thanks in advance for whatever degree of patience and kindness you can manage.

 

I'm trying to produce a document to use with a print-on-demand service. DriveThruRPG specifically, although the actual printer is Lightning Source. They provide a fairly detailed specification, but what I'm having trouble with is bleeds.

 

I'm doing all of my writing in LibreOffice, and then exporting to a PDF. I open that PDF in Designer and I set the bleeds to 0.125 inches as DriveThru ask for, but DriveThru reject this because. As far as I can tell, it is because the bleeds are set using 'left' and 'right' in Designer, whereas what they want is them set on the outside edge of the page, meaning the bleed is different for each page.

Is there some way around this? A bit of reading suggests artboards might be a solution?

 

I appreciate I am trying to use Designer for a DTP task which the upcoming Publisher would be better suited to, but without InDesign as an option I'm left looking at Designer (which I already own) or Scribus (which I loathe).

 

I can provide more detailed print specs or whatever as needed.

 

 

[toltec]

Despite 30 years in the print trade, I've never known of what you state as being a problem. 

 

By left or right I assume you mean this. That wont matter.

 

It is up to them to insert the PDF pages into software that puts the pages into the correct position and "bleeds" them.

 

Although not quite the same, I used to use imposition software that would take, say, a 200 page file and place (impose) each page as required. Some pages had the same amount of bleed, some didn't have any, depending on if the files were Quark, InDesign or even Word (with no bleed), but that didn't matter. I regularly had to mix a couple of Word pages in. The software joined the pages in the middle and used the bleed on the outside edges, if there. It would also allow a bit extra space in the middle to allow for "creep", where the pages have to go around the thickness of the inside pages.

 

It should be simple enough for them to drop the PDF into Acrobat, Quark or InDesign and print from that. 

 

What is being "bled"  in your files?

 

An idea of what is in the files would be a huge help.

 

 

[MikeW]

It's been a wile since I used LS. As far as I know, if a document needs/has bleed, there can be no bleed on the spine edge. Asymmetrical bleeds with left/right facing pages. If that remembrance is true, AD cannot do produce L/R facing pages and therefore cannot have the bleed set properly.

 

If the design doesn't need bleed, one should be able to have zero bleed in all four bleed entries, produce a PDF without bleed and have the submission accepted.

[iammattsanders]

Hi, sorry for the slow response on my part, I've been working on other things and have just returned to this for another attempt. Big thanks to both toltec and MikeW for the response.

 

Unfortunately, OneBookShelf (the parent company of DriveThruRPG) expect me to do it. I have actually wondered 'why is this my job?' and it does indeed seem like perhaps it shouldn't be. Thanks for confirming my feelings there toltec.

 

This page details a number of their expectations.

https://onebookshelfpublisherservice.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/227867507-Correcting-Common-Print-Errors

 

This aligns with what Mike W says about no bleeds at the spine edge.

 

Nothing in my book is being bled at all, it's literally text, tables and a few images and nothing is even close to the edges. However, when you upload the PDF it automatically spits out an error message informing me the bleeds are wrong. This at DriveThruRPG's part of the process, before it ever gets to LS.

 

It wouldn't surprise me at all if DriveThru were being crappy here.

 

However, it also seems Mike W has answered my question in that AD can't do the bleeds necessary to please them. Looks like I'll have to put some effort into learning to wrangle Scribus.

 

 

 

 

[toltec]

If nothing is being bled, just send them the pages from LibreOffice. I think it does crops?

 

I theory, they will  never know 

 

I'm sure they will do a quick test for you. Just don't tell them !

 

 

[MikeW]

If nothing bleeds, just disable bleed in the document or uncheck it using the More button when you create the pdf.

 

Then submit and see what they say. Also, if possible, get a single proof of the book and look for errors.