Frequently Asked Questions
What are on-demand publications?
They are publications created using a new way of delivering a wide range of professional, educational and corporate communications. It combines editorial and design resources with an advanced publishing, print and fulfilment solution. It reduces the time, cost and risk involved in producing high quality material.
What are the benefits of on-demand publications?
There are many benefits of this approach, including:
- Reduce the time taken to produce the publication
- Eliminate the need to hold inventory by only printing when required
- Eliminate the financial uncertainty of forecasting demand
- Maximise publication budgets by making the order to delivery process more effective
- Develop unique design templates that help build your brand
What type of publication most benefits from this approach?
In general, it is longer documents - such as textbooks and manuals - that benefit from the services offered by The Garret. These include:
- Educational textbooks and guides
- Software and product manuals
- Market research reports
- Industry reviews & annual reports
- Industry-specific niche publications
What services do you offer?
The Garret offers a complete end-to-end design, print and fulfilment solution. You can outsource your entire publication requirements to us or you can select the services you wish to use. These include:
- Editorial services
- Graphic design services
- Print on-demand
- Fulfilment services
- Ecommerce services
- Publication consultancy
How do you design on-demand publications?
We work closely with you to develop a library of unique and innovative design templates. By developing a wide range of templates, you can shorten the creation process and costs associated while developing publications that deliver consistent brand values.
Isn't the use of templates restrictive?
Far from it. You can build a library with as many templates as you wish. We will work closely with you to ensure you have just the designs you want. The benefit then is that the templates can be selected and deployed as required and populated quickly without the designer needing an in-depth knowledge of corporate guidelines.
What publication formats can you produce?
The Garret is currently able to offer printed, PDF and eBook formats. The exact specifications for printed publications will be determined by your specifications and requirements. However, producing publications on-demand does slightly limit the dimensions that the publication can be printed in to make it cost-effective to print a single copy at a time. In addition, we are planning to offer 'Direct to Web' publishing in the future.
How many copies of the publication do I need to produce?
With The Garret, you can print as little as one copy at a time. So, it needn't be printed until it is required or ordered. However, in most cases, we will require a small minimum first order to cover set up, proofing and testing.
What is print on-demand? Why is it important?
Print on-demand uses advances in digital technology to make the printing of extremely small amounts cost-effective - to the point of single copy printing. This greatly increases the number of communications that can consider a printed version. It also reduces many of the risk and cost factors associated with creating printed communication. Of course, the 'per unit' cost will be higher than bulk printing. However, warehousing requirements and pulping of unused, out-of-date publications becomes a thing of the past. In fact - for many organisations - the major benefit of print on-demand is its flexibility rather than simple cost savings.
How long does it take to create an on-demand publication?
As each project is likely to be unique, it is extremely difficult to provide accurate estimates for the creation of a publication. However, The Garret is committed to providing our clients with a high degree of transparency. All project timings and costings will be clearly set out and agreed with you at the outset.
How much does it cost to create an on-demand publication?
As each project is likely to be unique, it has to be costed individually. For an idea of sample project costings, see the 'About Us' section of this web site.
How long does it take you to fulfil on orders?
Most orders will be delivered within 2 to 5 working days.
What happens if my publication has to be updated frequently?
If your publication is prone to change, on-demand offers an extremely good solution. As it only has to be printed once ordered, it can be amended whenever needed so that the next person will receive a publication that's completely up-to-date.
I have a product catalogue I want to produce. Can you help?
Yes, we can. But, we are unlikely to provide the best solution for your needs. There are a number of specialist catalogue software providers that may be able to deliver a more effective route for your specific requirements.
I have an existing publication that I would like to produce on-demand. Can I?
As long as you own the copyright, it should be no problem to turn your existing title into an on-demand publication - especially if it is already held as an electronic document. In fact, many of the publishing houses are making their back catalogues into on-demand publications. In this way, they can keep titles in print without the cost of printing or warehousing.
I would like to produce all my marketing communications on-demand. Can you help?
So would we! Today, there are a number of benefits and a number of drawbacks in producing marketing material - such as advertising, direct mail and brochures - on-demand. We are currently evaluating a number of solutions and hope to be able to offer at least a partial service soon. To keep informed with the latest on-demand developments, why not sign up for our regular newsletter.
Can you deliver worldwide?
Not at the moment. Today, we can supply to the UK and US. We are working to deliver European fulfilment within the next few months.
What are your ecommerce services?
We can develop a new channel to market for your publication. We will deliver a full ecommerce solution that integrates seamlessly into your own web site so your customers are unaware who is providing the service. We will handle all order processing, transaction management and fulfilment for you. In addition, you have extensive MIS facilities to monitor and manage the performance of your publication portfolio.
Is The Garret a publishing house?
No. The best way to think of us is as a sophisticated design agency. We will not take ownership of your publication. We offer no marketing support although we are happy to provide help and advice about publishing and the book trade.
