I want to re-publish a book written 50 years ago.

How do I transfer text into InDesign? It appears that InDesign 2.0 lacks some necessary word processing features (like spell checking and certain editing features). InDesign probably excels in other ways. My goal is to maintain the pagination of the original book, while possibly using a larger font size.

I am OCR'ing the original book, but OmniPage Pro 15 only outputs text in a very limited number of formats: Office formats, PDF's, RTF, and raw text.


1. What's the best way to import text into InDesign 2.0? Do you think this article (see Kristina Drake's response) describes the best way to handle changes to an InDesign document while using Word as an editor?

2. What is a good basic book to learn InDesign?

Thanks.

Chuck,
InDesign 2.0 does have spell check.
InDesign CS, CS2 and CS3 has interactive spelling as well as the regular spell check.

The best way to import the text document is to use the Place command.

Terry,

I'm just going by what others say on the Web - it was unclear what version they were speaking about. It seemed like a basic oversight - one that Adobe wouldn't likely make. I know nothing about InDesign.

Do you recommend Classroom in a Book for InDesign tutorials?

I'm going by the fact that I've used the app since 1.0 and it's always had spell check.

Yes, I do recommend Classroom in a Book.

Chuck - Epson included the OCR app ABBYY FineReader 5 Sprint Plus with my AIO. Check the install CD of your scanner to see if it, or another, was included.

Use it rarely, but am amazed at the accuracy of the scans. - Very little clean up needed. - However, that may depend on the quality of the text scanned.

http://finereader.abbyy.com/

Epson tutorial page:
http://support.epson.ru/products/manuals/100382/HTML_S/projs_5.htm

Chuck - Another thought: What is your objective in re-publishing? I assume you've cleared any copyright issues.

Book manufacturers now will do high resolution scans of an already-produced book, and turn it into a "new" book.

This is the company that produces my book - Located in Chelsea. However there are numerous "short-run" book producers that would do the same.
http://www.sheridanbooks.com/

Here's a "quickie" from a web search, but not a company I have dealt with personally.

http://www.pubgraphics.com/document_scanning.html

My objective is to re-print an out-of-print book in medium quantities. More than are available in used book stores.

I'm not sure what "re-scan" means? I suspect it doesn't mean what I need. But I will call a couple more printers to understand what services and prices they offer.

The problem with ABBYY Fine Reader is that it doesn't handle very many foreign languages. But I will try a trial version if possible.

ScanSoft has its problems too, but it handles so many more foreign languages that there's no comparison. So far, I am using OmniPage Pro 15 for my work. OmniPage is Windows-based.

I need to generate this workflow, if I understand all the restrictions properly:
1. Digitize the book
2. Proofread everything
3. Import into InDesign; maintain original pagination
4. Produce a "flightready" PDF for the printer

I contacted the Printing Industries of Michigan for some local CTP printers. I found some others on the web also. In the end, it will be up to the publisher to determine who prints the book - it's their money. I suspect the publisher will investigate all leads. I'm doing all the work to hold costs at a bare minimum, and quality at a bare maximum.

quote:

Book manufacturers now will do high resolution scans of an already-produced book, and turn it into a "new" book.

Chuck - This comment means just what it says: A copy of the book goes to the book manufacturer, they digitize/scan it "as is," maybe clean it up a bit, and the scans go to press as a "new" book. The reason I mentioned it is because it may be far less costly than putting the time into re-doing the content, as your notes suggest.

If your intent is to change, perhaps update, the look of the layout, then you'll have to go the route you describe.

Book manufacturers are NOT publishers. It sounds like you are either working with a publisher who's researched the copyright element, will produce and market the book, or are self-publishing.

If you are self-publishing, and want just a few copies, DON'T go the "Kinko's" route. Short-run book printers are far less costly. I think some of them will do very small numbers (?25 and up?).

- Just trying to help you save some expense and LOTS of time, if possible.
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The Ann Arbor area has long been known as a hub for numerous short-run book printers/manufacturers. This article may be interesting to you:
http://www.annarborbusinessmagazine.com/archives/2007/2007oct.shtml
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Example from the Thomson-Shore site (Dexter MI, just west of Ann Arbor; specializes in short-run book printing)

"For projects that come to us in the form of negatives from another printer, loose pages, or a previously printed book, we can digitize your copy and create PDF files using our Digicopy system."

http://www.tshore.com/Default.aspx?tabid=130

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I HIGHLY recommend that you visit the sites of a few short-run book printers and look up their pages on Prepress. Most of them have extremely valuable information on how to prepare. There are some very important issues if you do your own files: for example, use ONLY Postscript or Opentype fonts. (Truetype is a "no-no.") Also, you might contact their sales dept, even if you're not sure whether you'll contract with them. Their CS people are usually very helpful, and it's better to call them sooner than later if you re-do the manuscript "from scratch."

If you've been through this before, my apologies for telling you what you already know, but it sounds like you're interested in some guidance.

Good luck!

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Mary Jo Disler,

A very long list, but a respected source of information. You might do a search for "Ann Arbor" on this page. The advantage to working with a printer in this area is that you can visit personally to see the facility, meet with reps, etc.

http://www.bookmarket.com/101print.htm

I'll look into your recommendations.

That Bookmarket website is crashing Safari.

Thanks for your help. I am aware of some aspects of self publishing, but that is not precisely what I'm doing. I've been following DTP and CTP since about 1993 when I first wanted to publish a book. It's been a long maturation process.

I well aware of the Kinko's route and its merits & issues. The publisher has asked me to provide a digital copy of the book. The original book has lots of notes in the book. It must be sanitized, and a printer is going to charge megabucks for that.

Once again, this a bare-bottom project on cost, but quality expectations are high. We cannot pay a printer to clean the book.

If anyone out there takes notes in books - don't. If I have to explain why, then it doesn't matter anyway.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Chuck M,

Sounds like you're on track for the project as required.
(I did my first book with my manuscript on one side of the computer keyboard and the application manual on the other! - Thankfully a long time ago.)
Again, good luck!

P.S.: The Bookmarket site opened OK in Firefox.
Still recommend getting prepress specs from a printer EARLY, to minimize any re-configurations of your digital work and potentially save lots of hassle at the "last minute."

I spoke with Rich at Thomson-Shore, who is a medium-run printer. The printing business is governed by general economics & physics principles.

Thomson-Shore doesn't print less than 200 copies of a book, and they prefer not to print less than 500. They are not a DTP or CTP short-run printer, and T-S uses a slightly higher quality process with a 175 lpi linescreen. Most of their cost is in their setup charges, which don't include scanning, cleanup, typesetting, or proofing.

They charge $3.17/page for scanning. They charge $92/hour for PhotoShop work. Rich said all printers use PDF files for final work, and most printers today prefer to use InDesign to create the PDF files. Doing the prepress preparation yourself is a huge cost savings on a small run like my project - probably 25x the cost of the short run printing.

Cost is affected by dozens of factors, so you must contact various printers for quotations. He said that you get what you pay for, in general. He said the high cost of shipping books today is a major factor in determining who gets a printing job. He said that Ann Arbor is the book printing capital of America, but shipping costs are changing that situation. It may be cheaper to print books in California if you need the books in California.

Thomson's turnaround time is 45 days - you should not show up with a job 5 days before you need it. CTP and DTP printers have a 10-day turnaround.

One last comment on this topic.
- Good thing you talked with one of the printers to get the general idea.

- I haven't any experience with Print on Demand (POD), but that might be something to consider if very few copies of the book will be needed or sold. You may also need to think about the marketing strategy, if expecting to sell to the general marketplace.
Wholesalers/distributors demand a very high discount (Amazon.com requires 55%, for example), so the POD costs relative to your list price need to be factored BEFORE publication, not after, so the production expenses can be accounted for.

There are other considerations: Amazon.com will carry only titles with an ISBN number, which means applying to Bowker & paying their fee for a publisher number assignment.

Here are some sites from a web search on the POD topic: not as recommendations, but just for your info. (A web search for Print on Demand will produce an awful lot to sift through).

http://www.bookpros.com/bp2006/divpub/print_on_demand_book_publishing.php

http://www.printondemand.com/products.php

http://www2.xlibris.com/

http://www.lulu.com/

Chuck - Will let it go at that. If you just want to produce a few copies for a "ready" customer base, you may be able to keep it simple. But if the intent is to market more widely, there are other things to be done in today's book-selling world.

This web page on the Ann Arbor book printing industry just cam with the Metromode eNewsletter. Interesting.
http://www.metromodemedia.com/features/BookBindingPrintingAnnArbor0071.aspx