In an emergency, be prepared to communicate and train quickly

When an emergency hits - Ebola, enterovirus D68 or a natural disaster, industrial accident, devastating fire, white-collar crime or workplace violence, the need to communicate about the situation is immediate.

At such a time, failure to take the initiative can present dire health consequences if not damage to employee morale, undermining of management credibility, good will among customers, suppliers and vendors and confidence among stockholders.

Today, with the need to immediately communicate information and implement training manuals for Ebola and enterovirus D68, a short run printer can quickly print and distribute training manuals and procedures to medical personnel and hospital staff as well as these other important constituencies.

When printing is completed it is necessary to disseminate this information; some short run printers can package, ship and distribute training materials and manuals from a single location, quickly and cost effectively.

To be able to react to a crisis in a timely manner, a crisis response template should be part of an organization's overall communications' plan. In advance of any potential crisis, this template should be sent to all locations and available to all employees. Packaged binders or manuals containing "pre-planned" responses, the template should include various crisis situations and response scenarios to be accessed should an emergency situation arise.

Help prepare your organization for crisis situations that strike unannounced but must be handled quickly and effectively. Make sure they receive the "right" information by having the appropriate materials at the right locations, at the right times, for all employees.

Museum and historical association papers and documents as high quality books.

The old journals, meeting records, pictures, maps and "out-of-print" books that are a museum's or historical association's treasured assets can be made into high quality, professionally printed books for purchase by visitors, members and other important constituencies.    Book printers such as Poughkeepsie, NY-based NetPublications can turn these valuable assets into new revenue inexpensively and quickly by bringing "out-of-print" books back into print or printing new ones.  Whether old maps, journals or recipes that visitors have found interesting or "out-of-print" books that have been waiting to be reprinted, a book printer can produce high quality books similar to those found in bookstores and libraries.

Will your print materials be at the right locations on the right days?

Companies necessarily invest much time, effort and money to research, write, organize and complete training workbooks, HR manuals, instructional booklets and corporate procedural guidelines. But, if they are not where they need to be and not in front of the correct audience, at the appropriate time, they do not serve their intended purpose to teach, train and inform employees, customers and clients.

                                                                                                    

Even in today's digital environment, with the proliferation of online training courses and digital program modules, printed books, manuals and workbooks are necessary and essential to communicate sensitive and proprietary company information to its different audiences. 

Faced with the need to print and distribute such materials with tight timeframes and diverse logistical requirements, digital printing can efficiently and effectively meet the challenges that creating and distributing printed materials can produce:

l        Print-on-Demand - allows the printing of books, binders and manuals as few as one at a time and only when an order is placed. 

l        Cost effectiveness - with virtually no upfront pre-press costs, small print runs are cost effective. Traditional printing services have always required quotas or minimum orders when you used their services. However, because of the flexibility of digital printing, these financial boundaries do not exist.

l        Short Runs - digital printing is ideal for short-to-medium runs. Digital data is easily stored and updated; therefore changes can be easily accommodated. Digital printing allows more effective print management: there's no need for large inventories and no need to dump out of date stock.   

l        Speed - digital presses can be set up quickly and are capable of enabling next day or even same day delivery.

l        Personalization - each book, binder or manual can be personalized to include unique content and personalized materials.

  

To make more efficient the entire printing and distribution process, print document management companies such as NetPublications, Inc. offer a complete document management solution by combining printing, binding, storage, fulfillment and distribution in one facility, with one point of contact.

As a result, companies can focus on the businesses that make them successful and know that the printing and dissemination of their important and sensitive training, human resources and other corporate printed documents will be properly managed.

Book Distribution Basics

Completing a book is indeed a milestone for an author, but the creative portion of book writing is only half the battle. It's important to determine what the ultimate goal is for a new book. If plans are to sell the title in the marketplace, then an author needs to investigate the business side of the book publishing process, or book distribution.  For a writer who prefers to give away books as mementos for family and friends, to sell copies at the local bookstore or flea market, or to take orders from a personal website and ship from a home garage, distribution is not a major issue.  The option to distribute a book definitely offers several advantages worth considering, including: 1) increased awareness; 2) more accessibility; 3) more availability; and 4) a potential for greater sales.

It is actually in the best interest of any author to think through the distribution decision BEFORE a book is completed.  The author should envision the end result and set realistic goals.  When releasing a book to the public, there are a handful of large wholesale and retail channels that can be utilized, and each specializes in specific markets.  Amazon, for example, mainly deals with sales to individual users of their site, while distributors such as Baker & Taylor or Ingram cater more to trade institutions, such as schools and libraries. Understanding a book’s target market is a critical first step toward determining which distribution avenue is the best vehicle for a new title.

Most companies that offer distribution do so at a price.  Some charge a flat, one-time fee, while others use sliding scales per each sale, and some utilize a combination of both.  Each author must weigh several factors simultaneously, which involves setting the correct retail price for the book based on comparable material in the marketplace, as well as print production and fulfillment costs. Additionally, depending upon the type of  book distribution agreement an author selects, a wholesale or retail book sale usually results in an upfront discount off the book’s retail price.  Although discount percentages vary as per agreement, discount pricing is the industry’s standard practice, and must be a factor in determining the actual retail price of a new title.

The book distribution business can be tricky to understand and navigate. Every author should research the retail and wholesale distribution options available to them, and contact those knowledgeable about the subject, such as their publisher or printer.