I publish reference books on uncoated paper. Legibility and print quality are important because some text is rather small. The active lifespan of these books is anywhere from 7 to 10 years. After that people keep them indefinitely, so they're not disposable like a phone or map book.
Recently, I solicited bids and one place came back 25% cheaper than everybody else. They told me they run "Xerox 700 presses". Today, a sample arrived in the mail. For the most part, not too bad, except the B/W halftones look terrible (HP Laserjet quality). In other places, the blacks weren't too crisp.
Even if these issues could be resolved (is it possible?) would I be making a terrible mistake by going this route? I don't want to find toner smudges, either now, or years down the road since these books will be heavily (ab)used. Never been a problem in the past, but then again, my books used to be printed with an offset sheet-fed Heidelberg.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Selecting a new printing company is always very stressful.
Thanks!
Recently, I solicited bids and one place came back 25% cheaper than everybody else. They told me they run "Xerox 700 presses". Today, a sample arrived in the mail. For the most part, not too bad, except the B/W halftones look terrible (HP Laserjet quality). In other places, the blacks weren't too crisp.
Even if these issues could be resolved (is it possible?) would I be making a terrible mistake by going this route? I don't want to find toner smudges, either now, or years down the road since these books will be heavily (ab)used. Never been a problem in the past, but then again, my books used to be printed with an offset sheet-fed Heidelberg.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Selecting a new printing company is always very stressful.
Thanks!