Printing "overs"

My new book, CONFESSIONS OF A SLOT MACHINE QUEEN, has been printed by Sheridan Books and copies are on their way to a warehouse in Michigan, Publishers Storage and Shipping. When I got the invoice I was surprised to see that I was being charged for 300 "overs." I ordered 3,000 copies. I knew that there would be "overs" but was not expecting so many, maybe only about twenty or thirty. A representative from Sheridan told me that "overs" are usually 10 percent of the run. This seems very odd to me. Granted, the extra copies are only $1.78 (my book is hardcover and smythe sewn), but still this is almost $600 more than I had budget for. Is this the usual way printers do business?

Thanks,

Sandy

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Permalink Reply by Traci Leffer on February 7, 2010 at 7:16pm

Yes. This is standard practice in the printing business - for books and most printed projects.

I've published 4 books and have welcomed the "overs" - all the books eventually sell (hopefully sooner rather than later!) and I get that much more profit before doing another print run. I usually do 5000 books at a time.

Traci Leffer
www.calicanberra.com

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Permalink Reply by Sandra Adell on February 8, 2010 at 6:08am

Thanks, Traci!

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Permalink Reply by Debi Flora on February 8, 2010 at 10:46am

Hi, Sandy. The maximum percentage of overs can be found on your printer quote. I've been quoted 2% - 10%, depending on the printer and on whether it's a digital or offset run.

Instead of overs, you may have 'unders'. This hasn't happened very often with any of our projects, but it's good to be aware of the possibility for planning purposes.

Like Traci, many publishers welcome the overs. In addition to greater profit on those sold, you can view them as less expensive complimentary copies to use in your marketing activities.

Debi Flora
About Books, Inc.
www.About-Books.com