On 2014-Jun-04 4:54 PM, Carol J. Elkins wrote:
Framers,
I'm ready to print a wire-bound pocket-sized booklet that will be
top-bound (coil binding along the top of the book) so as to fit nicely
in one's pocket. In all my 18 years of doing this, this is the first
time I've run across having to publish a top-bound book, so I have no
experience to guide me. Thus I'm emailing you.
I've printed the Framemaker file to PDF and had the printer make a
demo copy for me. When the booklet is held open to a two-page spread,
the top page is upside down. In order to view it, one has to turn the
booklet over or upside-down. I have some questions:
1. Is this the customary way to print a top-bound book? Or should both
pages be visibly oriented the same direction? (That would put the page
number of the top (even-numbered) pages on the bound edge.)
2. If not, what is the easiest way to get the even-numbered pages
turned upside down? 1) By changing the Framemaker template; 2) By
doing something in Acrobat; or 3) by telling the printer to do
something on his end.
3. Is there a word that describes this kind of layout? I work with
imposition in booklet printing a lot but it doesn't seem to apply to
top-bound books.
I've asked my client to do a bit of usability testing to determine if
it will make a difference to his users. Will they want to view two
pages at once? Will they be inconvenienced by having to flip the book
over every time they advance to the next page? This is a field test
manual and they will definitely progress through the book one page at
a time. While he's checking that out, I thought I'd check with you for
input.
Carol
_______________________________________________
I think the word "imposition" still applies, and if a change is
required, I would definitely expect the commercial printer to be able to
handle it.
I print my books in-house and bind them with top-binding. My readers
need to see more than one page at a time, so both pages are oriented to
be readable simultaneously. It sounds like that's not the case with
your readers. On the other hand, if they would be flipping through the
book to find a specific task in a series (not necessarily in sequence),
they'd probably find it annoying to have to turn & flip, turn & flip,
over and over. Being able to turn pages and quickly see the content, and
only having to fold the binder once (binding at top or bottom) when the
required page is located, would seem to be more efficient.
But I would definitely rely on your usability testing results to decide
what's best.
HTH,
--
Stuart Rogers
Technical Communicator
Phoenix Geophysics Limited
3781 Victoria Park Avenue, Unit 3
Toronto, ON, Canada M1W 3K5
+1 (416) 491-7340 x 325
http://www.phoenix-geophysics.com
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