Typesetting Process
Scribe's goal in typesetting is to create documents that look as if they were prepared within our clients' publishing houses. We are committed to providing the highest quality documents through efficient planning, communication, and typesetting.
The key to Scribe's typesetting process, which is part of the Well-Formed Document Workflow, is the importance we place on structuring the document while still in Word. This phase, which we call "composition," 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.
The first distinction to be made when it comes to typesetting is "Styling" vs. "Rendering."
Styling means assigning a unique paragraph or unique character style-name to text. The stylesheet is the area in QuarkXPress or InDesign in which paragraph and character attributes are assigned and managed.
Rendering is how a stylesheet causes structured, styled, or tagged text to be displayed in QuarkXPress or InDesign. (The following descriptions refer specifically to QuarkXPress, but the same process is applied to other typesetting programs, as well, most notably InDesign). Rendering always refers to appearance, which is a distinct element from structure.
For example, a chapter number will always be 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. 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 styled, Scribe can easily output each Word file into a coded XPress tag (or XTag) file.
The XTag file is then imported (or "flowed") into QuarkXPress (InDesign uses a coded file known as an InDesign Tagged Text file). Now, all paragraphs and characters are rendered based on how the elements in QuarkXPress's stylesheet are defined. Once the text is flowed into QuarkXPress, all that remains is to import any images, if applicable, and then check that the document meets both the client's and our standards for good typography: checking for stacks, proper hyphenation, alignment of pages, etc.
Because each paragraph is made up of different character elements, 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. So, if it is determined that the a-heads in a book would look better if italicized, the a-head character style can be changed in the stylesheet, and this will change every instance of this character in the QuarkXPress document. Using the "append" feature in Quark and InDesign's stylesheet manager enables us to apply any changes made in one document to any other.
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 most printing company's 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 (and the cost of printing and shipping print-outs can be avoided altogether).
To ensure that only the highest quality files are being created, we have a quality check (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.
Throughout the typesetting process, we monitor the page count. During production, we create a running estimate of how many pages the title will need. Page counts for books that are going to be printed as bound books should generally come to a multiple of 8, 16, or 32, which are the standard signature sizes printers use. This can vary depending on who is printing the book and how, so we try to establish a desired page count with the client as early as possible. Knowing the signature size allows us to balance the book to match whole signatures. If the page count is a multiple of the signature size that will be used, the result will be that no pages are wasted in the book's printing, and the client will not have to suffer the cost of unused pages.
When all corrections rounds have been completed, and you have approved the files for print, Scribe will provide you with two master discs containing all of the files associated with the project: PDFs, QuarkXPress or InDesign, Images, and Fonts. If you would like us to upload final files directly to the printer, as well, we are happy to do so.
What Can You Expect to See in a Scribe Typeset Document?
For a book that Scribe designs on our own, we have a standardized set of paragraph and character names.
A few common examples:
p = paragraph ct = chapter title cn = chapter number ah = ahead bh = bhead bq = blockquote
For each of these unique paragraph styles, there is a unique character style, with the same name as the paragraph, so:
p = paragraph ct = chapter title cn = chapter number ah = ahead bh = bhead bq = blockquote
There are also any variations that appear in the project, like italics and bold, so:
p = paragraph p-i = paragraph italic p-b = paragraph bold p-sup = paragraph superscript p-sub = paragraph subscript ah = ahead ah-i = ahead italic bh = bhead bh-i = bhead italic bh-b = bhead bold bq = blockquote bq = blockquote italic bq-b = blockquote bold
Now, it is rare to see a style like "ah-b" because typically an a-head will be one font, perhaps with a mix of roman and italic. But other elements, like regular paragraphs, blockquotes, epigraphs, sidebars, etc., can vary greatly within a project, from the font used, to font size, to color, to spacing on the page. We therefore create unique paragraph and character styles so that we can control these variations.
Any tag that is not being used simply remains unused within the QuarkXPress or InDesign document and has no affect in any way on the elements that are being used.
Most of the time, when working on a project designed by someone else, our first step is to rename their styles to match our standard style. We would rename "body" as "p," and "H1" as "ah," etc. We would also make sure that they have the appropriate character styles attached to them, and the variations in characters are accounted for (most commonly: p-i, p-sup, p-b, ah-i).
In some instances, though, it may be determined that the original style names used in the design should remain in use. Most often, this is the case when a client provides us with not only a design, but XPress tag files as well, so the conversion process between Word and XPress tags becomes irrelevant. In this case, we simply verify the structure of the provided XPress tag files and follow the same process of assigning unique character styles to each individual paragraph style in the stylesheet.
What Are Scribe's Typesetting Standards?
It is important for us to make sure that our clients' titles will be typeset according to acceptable standards. If a client has documented typesetting standards, we ask that they provide them to us. In the absence of such standards, we have established our own. If you do not currently have a standard, please feel free to utilize this document as a basis for your typesetting specifications.
We view it as very important to be conscious of good typography and the Chicago Manual of Style rules. We do not break any rules without consulting a production manager. All files are checked not only by the typesetter but also by another team member so that "fresh eyes" can catch any mistakes that the typesetter may have missed. If any rules result in a conflict, we will communicate this to the client to ensure that we make the correct typographical decision.
At each stage of the typesetting process, we are especially aware of the following rules:
No short lines. Our general rule is to ensure that the text of a line runs longer than the indent of the preceding line. Short lines can be a matter of personal judgment at times, but, as an example, if a paragraph ends with only one word on a line by itself, this would normally be considered a short line. Short lines can also consist of two or more short words, like "it is," "so I am," or even the end of a hyphenated word. A paragraph should appear balanced, and short lines give the text an off-balance appearance.
Widows are avoided. A widow is a single word on a line by itself. Widows can usually be avoided by adjusting the kerning of the paragraph either to reduce space (bringing the widow up to the previous line) or increase space (moving one or more words down to the last line).
A single word on a line by itself must reach beyond the indentation of the following paragraph. Some widows are unavoidable because they are large words, and adjusting the kerning may result in a worse appearance than that with which we started. If there is one word alone on a line, and it reaches beyond the next paragraph's indentation, it is likely acceptable; if it does not stretch beyond that point, we can most likely remedy the situation by adjusting the kerning of that paragraph. On the rare occasions when it is not acceptable after adjusting the kerning, the project manager is notified to determine a course of action.
No widows are allowed at the tops of pages. Even if it reaches beyond the indentation of the next paragraph, a single word at the end of a line on its own should not appear at the top of a page. We require at least two lines of text on each page if a paragraph crosses a page break. This prevents the beginning and end of a paragraph from being a single line on its own.
No word may break across any page. Breaking across a page with a hyphen interrupts the reader from concentrating on the content of the text. A small adjustment of the kerning is usually enough either to bring the end of the word back to the first page or to move the beginning of the broken word to the next page.
No orphans. An orphan is a single line of text from a paragraph on a page by itself. Similar to the prevention of widows at the tops of pages, we require at least two lines of text on each page if a paragraph crosses a page break.
Limit stacks to two lines. A stack is where the first or last words of two lines next to each other are the same. We judge a stack also to include two hyphenated words even if the words are not the same. We believe good typography requires the elimination of stacks. However, a stack of two is permissible if we cannot reflow the lines by adjusting the kerning. In this situation, we use our judgment to determine which course of action is "the lesser of two evils."
No rivers. A river is a gap that flows between words for at least three lines. Rivers must be avoided. As with stacks, rivers are not permissible because they catch the reader's eye and divert attention from the text. In order to make the content the focus of the book, we eliminate as many distractions, like rivers and stacks, as possible. If we cannot fix a widow, orphan, break, stack, or river without violating one of the typesetting rules, we discuss the problem with the project manager. And, of course, we report all breaks in rules to the client.
Keep footnotes with their references. We always start a footnote on the page that references it. If possible, we place the footnote in its entirety on the referencing page. If a footnote is too large and must be jumped to the next page, we get approval from the project manager, as well as determine if the client wishes to have a "jump" reference placed in the text.
Preserve special characters. If special characters were used, we check to make sure they imported into the typesetting program correctly.
We make full use of em dashes, en dashes, and discretionary hyphens.
For hyphenation we use the most current version of Merriam-Webster's Dictionary. We do not allow two-letter hyphenations (e.g., simp-ly); the only exception to this is in situations where hyphenations can change meanings (e.g., re-creation) or interfere with the reading process.
Never break URLs with a hyphen. Scribe follows the Chicago Manual of Style's guidelines for breaking URLs. We always break a URL at a logical word break or punctuation mark. If breaking at a punctuation mark, we break the URL after a slash (/) or before the punctuation mark (including the ".").
The goal of leading (the amount of space vertically taken up by a line), in general, is to prevent lines of text from squeezing too tightly against each other or appearing too loose on the page. We never use the "auto" setting for leading. If no leading has been specified by the client, we set the leading to 1 point greater than the font size. Having a leading of 13 points when a font is 12 points, for example, is a safe rule of thumb. The necessary leading can vary depending on the font size and style, particularly in chapter titles and headings, when point sizes can be very large.
If we need to modify the leading to fix breaks or heading problems, we make the changes proportionally and consistently on a given spread (two facing pages). The goal here is to have any change in the leading go unnoticed by the reader. By adjusting the pages that face each other when the book is opened, one avoids the contrast that would be apparent if the pages had different leadings.
Unless specified by the client, we always choose zero as the default for the kerning (the amount of space horizontally taken up by a character and the empty space around it). If the kerning is either too high or too low, the letters appear either to be too far apart or too close together. This can cause the reader's eye to stumble or pause and can distract the reader from the text's content. If we need to modify the kerning to fix breaks, stacks, or rivers, the total difference in a paragraph is never allowed to be more than 0.6. This means we can have a plus or minus value of 0.6 at the greatest in QuarkXPress (InDesign uses a different measurement system). For example, if we have reduced part of a line to 0.3, we could reduce another part of the line to -0.3, but no further.
Rendering styles is always done within a font, not by slanting or thickening letters. Thus, we use the bold and italic versions of fonts, and they must be present.
All fonts must be PostScript-able and must be able to be distilled within a PDF. We avoid the use of TrueType fonts, unless we are specifically directed to by the client.
Illustrations, maps, photographs, and other art, should be provided in a standard electronic format (tif, eps, jpeg) at a minimum resolution of 300 dpi (600 dpi is preferred). If you or your author will be taking the photographs with a digital camera, set your camera to its highest resolution or quality setting.
In order to ensure the best output, we will not manipulate images within a typesetting program, but will instead use a graphics program (e.g., Photoshop).
Before distilling final versions of graphics, we check the "usage" to make sure we have the correct graphic at the correct stage.
Scribe will create a separate paragraph and character style for each differing style. This means that we will not alter a style in order to change the rendering, except to improve typography (e.g., tightening a line through kerning, losing/gaining a line on a page to ensure proper alignment).
Unless the client specifies otherwise, we base runaround (the amount of space between an image or text-box and the text that flows around it, whether above, below, or on either side), on all standard images and text-boxes, on the font size. We make each runaround setting half the size of a single line of the base font. For example, if the font is 10 points and the leading is 2 points, then a single line is 12 points. In this case, each runaround would be set to 6 points. Different books may require adjustments to this formula, but it is a good place to begin. If the measurement for a single line does not divide evenly, we round the runaround up. For example, if the font is 12 points and the leading is 1 point, then a single line is 13 points. Half of that line is 6.5 points, so the runaround in this case would be set to 7 points.
We give in-text images (images that flow as text) a runaround of zero. If an image is placed within the text, that image will stay with the text as though it is text itself.