On Thu, 15 Feb 1996, Bob Lang wrote:
> We generally use Xerographic copying machines to create the 200-plus
> newsletters every month. It works fine except our pictures almost always
> lack detail and grey-scale quality. They usually look dark or too light
> and they are always too contrastey (sp?). We've tried various settings
> with photoshop etc, and the results are inconsistant.
>
> Now, I realize that this is a function of the print process...
>
> I know that linotronic output would probably get better initial print
> quality, but the setup cost seems to be $5 per page, so that would
> increase our costs to closer to $1.50 per issue per member. That is too
> much money for our current budget.
Hi, Bob. My experience in both club/organization and job-related
publication is that Linotronic is nice, but the cost often isn't
justifiable over, say, a 600 dpi LaserJet-style printer. As for the
final xerography, there really is no reason why a modern copier should
not be able to turn out copies as good as the master you provide. In
fact, I've seen some new copiers that can virtually IMPROVE the quality
over the original.
Sounds to me as if whoever is running the copier that day needs just to
take a bit of time to learn how the machine works and be able to make
adjustments as necessary to give you top quality copies, even at
$.03/page. Around here we often deal with chain stationers such as Paper
Cutter and others. If they can afford to give you copies at $.03/page,
it's often because they've got the latest, top-quality copiers. Sometimes
you just have to prod the clerks a bit to get them to provide you with
what you're paying for (even at that price). Shucks, sometimes we can
even con them into collating for us. ;-)
Andy
Andrew Mace, editor
The Rope & Jack (and a few others now and over the years)
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