For anyone who has been a part of the production of a Magazine will know it can be a very stressful time, the truth is, it really doesn’t have to be. The majority of the stress is simply caused by not understanding the production process.
As long as you understand the process you can plan ahead, make sure you have a schedule all planned out and as long as you stick to the schedule, your publication production will run smoothly every time.
First of all, the number one tip is to remember the Magazine production is made up of human processes, sadly humans do make errors and things can go wrong. This means when you are planning your production schedule don’t plan it down to the minute; make sure you do allow for some slip ups. This will not only help us to not reinvent the laws of physics but it will give you less stress in the long run. There is nothing wrong with scheduling an extra 24 or ideally 48 hours on top of your estimated schedule to cover any delays that may occur.
This ‘Magazine Printing Process Explained’ section is going to work backwards through the production process to help you all have a better understanding of how you need to plan for your publication and what questions to be asking your printer and designer. The posts will cover the printing process, artwork proofing process, supplying artwork and magazine preparation.