Typesetting Process

Scribe is committed to providing the highest quality documents through efficient planning, communication, and typesetting. Our goal is to create documents that look as if they were prepared within our clients' publishing houses.

The key to Scribe's typesetting process is the Well-Formed Document Workflow (WFDW) and the importance we place on structuring the document while still in Word. This is called "composition" and sets the stage for the rest of the process, before any decisions even need to be made about how the finished book will actually look on the printed page. Composition is the process of assigning structure to content by applying styles in Microsoft Word or by tagging a text document.

Note: Because of its versatility and reliability, InDesign is Scribe's favored typesetting program, but the same principles described here can apply to QuarkExpress, as well.

Styling vs. Rendering

The first distinction to be made is "Styling" vs. "Rendering." Styling describes what something is, while Rendering describes how it looks.

Styling means assigning a unique paragraph or unique character style-name to text. The stylesheet is the area in InDesign in which paragraph and character attributes are assigned and managed. Styling is the essence of composition to such a degree that Scribe now uses the term composition for this process.

Rendering is how a stylesheet causes structured, styled, or tagged text to be displayed. Rendering always refers to appearance, which is a distinct element from structure.

For example, a chapter number will always be composed (styled) as "cn," but it can be rendered in any number of ways (bold, italic, larger, smaller, Garamond font, Arial font, etc.) based on the design.

From Word to InDesign

Scribe has created a set of codes, known as the Scribe Markup Language (ScML), to name every type of paragraph and character element that may appear in your book. Because the naming scheme for elements is standardized, once each element is composed, Scribe can easily output each Word file into a coded InDesign Tagged Text (IDTT) file.

The IDTT file is then imported (or "flowed") into InDesign. Now, all paragraphs and characters are rendered based on how the elements in InDesign's stylesheet are defined. Once the text is flowed into InDesign, images can be placed, along with tables, sidebars, and any other elements that would be outside the main text flow. The document is then reviewed to check that it meets both the client's and Scribe's standards for good typography: checking for stacks, proper hyphenation, alignment of pages, etc.

Scribe's Typesetting Standards are listed here.

Page Proofs, PDFs, and Quality Control

When the document is ready, it is output to a post-script file, which is then run through Acrobat Distiller to create printer-ready Adobe Acrobat PDF files. If it has not been determined which printing company will be printing the book, PDFs are created using Scribe's standard settings, which are compatible with the vast majority of printing companies' requirements.

After each round of corrections, new PDFs are supplied to the client. Our preferred method is to provide PDFs via an FTP site. If your company does not have one, or if you'd prefer to use Scribe's, we would be happy to create a private, password-protected FTP site through which files can be sent and received. FTP sites are advantageous because one can keep all of the most recent PDFs in one central location, and they are a more reliable way to send large files than e-mail.

Scribe has also developed a clear, easy-to-follow method for noting corrections that eliminates the need for printing page proofs, sparing you the costs of paper and shipping. Using text files, issues can be tracked over time to help us refine our methods and improve our ability to meet clients' needs.

To ensure that only the highest quality files are being created, we have a Quality Control (QC) procedure that takes place before any files are sent out of our office. This QC procedure always involves someone who has not worked on the project checking the typesetter's work. A fresh pair of eyes provides extra security that all corrections have been made and that all typographical specifications have been met. In addition to our standard QC procedures, any client- or project-specific checks can be added at any time.

Errors discovered during the QC procedure are tracked in our internal production record for each project. In addition, we track page counts, outstanding queries, and other project-related notes so that all pertinent information is preserved.

Back-ups and Final Files

All project files are backed up at the end of each day at a minimum, typically being backed up on an hourly basis, in order to ensure that a random event or computer crash will not result in a significant loss of time and work.

When all corrections rounds have been completed, and the client has approved the files for print, Scribe will provide the client with all of the files associated with the project: PDFs, InDesign, Images, and Fonts. We can upload them to via an ftp site or put them on two master discs. All completed projects are archived on disc in the Scribe office, as well.

We are also happy to provide files directly to the printer and work with them to acquire their specifications or resolve any issues that might arise.

The Well-Formed Document Workflow

The Well-Formed Document Workflow results in highly organized typeset files.

Because each paragraph is uniquely defined, we can change one paragraph style without affecting the others, and any change to that style will apply throughout the document, enabling global design adjustments to be enacted in a matter of seconds. For example, if it is determined that the a-heads in a book would look better if italicized, the "ah" paragraph style can be changed in the stylesheet, changing all the text that uses this paragraph style. Using the "append" or "synchronize documents" features in InDesign's stylesheet manager enables us to apply any changes made in one document to any other.

In addition to accommodating global design changes, the WFDW allows for a simple export process to e-book formats. Since the typeset file uses ScML, it can export the content into a well-formed text document that can be converted easily to any e-book format, including epub, mobi, and docbook.