Summer Camp Jobs USA (new book and ebook bargain)

Summer Camp Jobs USA is a new book published as a pocket-sized paperback (204 pages), and also as an ebook in two formats: PDF and ePub. If you visit the web page of the paperback book, you will find a strange message at the top. The message says: "Do not buy the paperback." And the message is written by the author himself.

This is an oxymoron known as "honest marketing." It reminds me of that splendid scene in the film "Miracle on 34th Street." A man named Kris Kringle lands a job as the Santa Claus in Macy's, a large department store in New York City. When a customer asks for a fire engine for her son, Santa tells the customer that she can find it at Schoenfelds, a competing store nearby. Schoenfeld's. Later, Santa refers another customer to Gimbels, another competing store.

At first, the manager at Macy's is furious, because the standard store policy — when a customer asks for a product not carried by Macy's — is to suggest an alternate product that Macy's carries. But soon, the customers report that they are so happy about the honesty of that Santa Claus, that they will forever after be loyal customers of Macy's!

The author of Summer Camp Jobs USA wants readers to know that they can buy the paperback for $ 18, or the ebook — with all the same content of the paperback except the paper — for one dollar.

The technology to make it possible is here, and our economy is plunging ever-deeper into a heartbreaking recession. The time has come for the one-buck ebook!

For more information, visit:

— The web page of the paperback book:

http://www.zorbapress.com/books/campjobs.html


— The web page of the PDF ebook:

http://www.lulu.com/content/5750220


—Summer Camp Jobs USA: the companion blog-site:

http://summercampjobsusa.wordpress.com/




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Book Review: Digital Prepress Primer

Reviewed by Michael Pastore

When you create a document with Pages (the word-processing software included in Apple’s iWork), you can save it in a number of different file formats. To do that, simply select Export (from the File menu), and then select from four options: PDF, Word (.doc). RTF, or plain text (.txt). Saving to PDF is especially useful for everyone who wants their documents to be viewed the same way, and to remain impervious (well, somewhat) to changes. Your word-processing life gets even more interesting when you chose Print (from the File Menu), which allows you print you file, or to save it to these formats: PDF, Postscript, and PDF-X.

You may or may not know that PDF-X is a type of PDF file (a “restricted subset” in the jargon) that meets certain requirements for printing: all fonts must be embedded; images must be encoded in CMYK or spot colors; active content (forms, sounds, movies) canned be embedded ... and so on. When I need a clear and concise explanation of PDF-X, and everything essential about preparing documents for digital printing, I open up the handy little book titled: Digital Prepress Primer.




Digital prepress involves “all operations necessary to prepare a (printing) job for output to digital device." The book’s 14 chapters are divided into four sections: Job Creation; Digital Image Caputure and Reproduction; Job Engineering; and Digital Output. Author Marin does excellent work in explaining some of the more complex aspects of this field, especially color theory and reproduction; and digital trapping and imposition.



The book is written mainly for printing pros, but the clear language will make it interesting for everyone curious about how modern books are made. Especially notable is Chapter 8, ‘Graphic Arts Workflow’ which takes you inside the mind and office of a book-printing professional, as it describes the basic steps of print production: concept and design; prepress; press; finishing and binding; and shipping.


A glossary at the end defines more than 100 printing terms. The book is generously illustrated with screenshots, diagrams, and photographs. A handy reference, the Digital Prepress Primer reminds me of Strunk & White’s “The Elements of Style” for everyone involved in the work of book production.


Digital Prepress Primer
by Joseph Marin
Paperback, 114 pages
Published by PIA/GTF Press
ISBN: 978-0-88362-563-7


Links:
PIA/GATF: the Printing Industries of America, Inc. / Graphic Arts Technical Foundation
http://www.gain.net

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