Tony wrote:
>These problems have long since been resolved in newsprint, for that
>reason.
>Generally smaller repro houses don't have these problems...
In the US, many (if not most) newspapers are using digital, because it's so
fast. By the same token, the MajorMajors, like Time & Newsweek (I've read,
it may not be so in fact), are also dedicated to one form or another of
digital.
>Their response has been to contractually bundle scanning for repro, so
>magazines pay a fixed fee which includes all scans for an issue. This makes
>titles most unhappy to pay for scans done by the photographer, as they are
>paying twice.
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>Magazine repro/print buying in UK is, at least sometimes, a corrupt
>process. I know of one buyer, employed by a major publisher, who awarded
>contracts on the basis of backhanders from the repro house. He was later
>rewarded with a directorship of the same repro house. I also know a
>director of an unrelated print company who regards bribery of clients'
>buyers as a normal operating expense, along with lavish meals and more
>sleazy inducements. Their clients are some of the UK's major financial
>institutions.
No kidding, Inspector Sleep! ;-) This goes on a lot in major corp's, and not
just in UK. IMHO, it's a case of the CEO's letting the PAs get out of
control, as long as they show "profitable results" (and that *is* how it
works). The CEOs don't even realize the the Corp is getting the shaft, as
the pomotion you mention demonstrates, regally.
>There's another where the repro is less of a problem (they have had good
>results) than the art director who dresses up his fear and ignorance of the
>issues as aesthetic snobbery, and rejects anything which has been near a
>digital process on principle. This is not insurmountable, but it's a PITA
>to have to try and work around/fool him.
Woosh! There's a shot over the bow! Missed me completely, I'm glad to add.
:-) I've met my share of these "aesthetic snobs" (*more* than my share,
thank you ); over here in the "serious-practicioners' community" we refer to
those people as the "Artsy-Fartsy." Incredibly, they seem to be the ones who
gain the Publisher's ear most of the time, by devoting all of their creative
energy (if any) to "playing the game". As the old saying saying goes, "If
you can't impress them with your competence, Dazzle 'em with your Footwork!"
On this particular topic, I'm going to defer to the late David Bernbach (of
Doyle/Dane/Bernbach and Volkswagen/Polaroid ad fame), to quote
(paraphrased): "First, find a client that's being ignored. Next, help them
out, show them how it should be done. Then, take the client and run, and set
up your own Ad Agency...it's the only way you'll ever have the creative
control you want and deserve!
Best regards--LRA
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