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| Winter
2003 Vol.4,No.1 |
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 ICC Macmillan’s Star Vendor Award. |
McGraw- Hill Appoints ICC Macmillan
Its Star Vendor
BY GINA GORDON ICC Macmillan has been chosen as McGraw- Hill Higher Education's 2002 Star Vendor. ICC Macmillan was given this honor due to our high- quality composition work and commitment to customer service. Managing Editor Jess Ann Kosic presented the Star Vendor Award to ICC Macmillan during the annual McGraw- Hill Higher Education vendor summit, held on October 23 - 24, 2002. Kosic said, "ICC Macmillan has become the 'go-to' vendor for me whenever our authors need help with file preparation or evaluation. Their technical folks and customer service reps are talented professionals who help make the production process smoother and more efficient for both authors and in-house staff. ICC Macmillan's keyboarders and pagers are among the best in the industry—on every project, they turn difficult technical manuscripts into beautiful (and accurate!) pages, which makes authors and project managers very happy. I was honored to present the Star Vendor Award to ICC Macmillan this year—they truly deserved to win it." Other McGraw-Hill employees acknowledged ICC Macmillan's responsiveness, attention to quality, and ability to meet schedules. McGraw- Hill also recognized ICC Macmillan's adeptness at offering solutions to problems, as well as the impact those solutions have on quality, schedule, and costs. One McGraw- Hill project manager noted,"From the development of a high- end art program to the last invoice submitted, the production process is smooth and communication is top- notch. The greatest testament is whether or not you have confidence in that vendor and look forward to working with them again. I look forward to working with ICC Macmillan." The company also received high marks for project management. "ICC Macmillan's project manager convinced the author that we would do everything we could to produce a quality product for him. Basically she not only made ICC Macmillan look good to that author, but she also indirectly represented McGraw- Hill and made us look good too," said another employee. As a McGraw-Hill Higher Education primary vendor, ICC Macmillan specializes in engineering, mathematics, business, and foreign language titles. |
| ICC Macmillan—Your One-Stop Conversion Resource
BY CHRISTINA HOLLOWAY As a recipient of this newsletter, you are likely aware of ICC Macmillan's capability in publishing production. However,-did you know that ICC Macmillan is also your one- stop source for ePublishing and file- to- file electronic conversion? As new technologies for archiving, capturing, and utilizing data emerge, ICC Macmillan is at the forefront, expanding to meet the ever- changing needs of its clients in the corporate world. SUPPORT We provide the highest level of support to all clients and projects through the experienced Portland-based project management team. We have a full IT department with more than 200 people in New Delhi, India. This department consists of designers, programmers, technical artists, content engineers, and administrative staff. Do you have technical questions that need answers? Ask us! Our research and development team will be happy to assist you. CAPABILITY We have the technology and expertise to manage any volume, source, or delivery format in print or electronic files. Our production services are integrated to provide our customers with multiple options for each project. With more than ten years’ experience in converting and tagging data, we are extremely proficient in converting to and from a wide range of file formats, including:
COMPETITIVENESS We provide the most attractive pricing for organizations requiring the highest performance and quality. We can provide you with nocost estimates and samples based on your specifications, and we work with you to achieve your objectives. ACCOUNTABILITY We stand behind our work. We guarantee the highest quality with each project regardless of volume, complexity, or schedule. At the start of each project, we evaluate DTDs, file setup, and customer specifications. We work to fully identify all information and materials requirements at the beginning so that the production cycle is problem-free. Regardless of your data management needs, ICC Macmillan offers a solution. By using us to digitize, organize, and convert data into SGML, XML, or other formats, your company is not only preparing itself for the future but also advancing itself today. When your content is managed more effectively, your business is more productive and efficient, resulting in an increased return on investment. In today's competitive corporate climate, what company doesn’t desire that advantage? For more information on ICC Macmillan’s conversion capabilities, contact Christina Holloway, Account Manager, at (503) 221-9911. |
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Artificial Font Styles… Beware! BY ROSE RUMMEL-EURY,
WITH JIM LINK
Our customers occasionally receive pages from us with a query attached that reads: "The requested font does not exist; we have used an attribute. Please advise." Although the technically correct expression for "attribute” is actually “ artificial style,” no matter what you call it, use of these styles can wreak havoc in a printed book. Artificial styles, such as italics, boldface, shadows, or outlines, appear normal when viewed on a computer monitor; however, problems may become evident when printed with an imagesetter. Some postscript fonts have been designed so that they will not support artificial styles, whereas other fonts will accept the manipulation and print just fine. When such artificially modified fonts are printed on an imagesetter, they may automatically revert to their roman style; that is, artificial italic or bold styles might print as roman, and shadows and outlines may even disappear! The only foolproof method used to determine whether or not the style will work is to run a printer test. We always notify our customers whenever these styles have been applied, or may need to be applied, so that a decision can be made regarding alternatives. The choices include the immediate replacement of the font in question with a different font or the creation of a printer test to see if the artificial style will work. Whatever the customer’s decision, ICC Macmillan cannot accept responsibility for the appearance of fonts that have been artificially styled, and the printer may not either. If you know which font family will be used and are aware that the book will require styles other than roman, feel free to ask us to check whether the styles exist or if an artificial style is required. Then we can examine our options and make an informed decision before the book is put into production. If you would like more information on artificial styles or general font information, please contact our font wizard and R&D administrator, Jim Link (jim@iccorp. com). |
 This is an example of a poorly created screen capture. Note the fuzzy (antialiased) text.  This is an example of a quality screen capture. Note that the text is crisp and clean. |
Creating Quality Screen Captures
BY KERRY BEEAKER,
WITH JASON McALEXANDER
ICC Macmillan often receives author- created screen captures to place within texts. Sometimes the quality of these files is excellent; other times, each piece needs to be touched up in some way before it is printerready. As a preventative measure, ICC Macmillan Art Director Jason McAlexander has created an easy- to- follow set of guidelines that is useful for those authors intent on including screen captures in their work. Below is a summary of the steps, for both PC and Mac users. To view and print the guidelines in their entirety (including illustrative screen captures), please go to http://www.iccorp.com/screen_captures.html FOR PC USERS:ICC
FOR MAC USERS:
As always, our staff is willing to help you or your author sort out any difficulties you may have when creating screen captures, and these guidelines are a great way to start. |
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 Mou Sen Gupta (left) and Nidhi Khanna.
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INTERACTIONS… with ICC Macmillan
Staff Meet… Nidhi Khanna and Mou Sen Gupta BY GINA GORDON
Nidhi Khanna and Mou Sen Gupta are key players at ICC Macmillan, vital to the success of each and every job that the company handles. As the lead project managers at our New Delhi, India, office, Nidhi and Mou coordinate the traffic of all projects. Mou and Nidhi plan for upcoming jobs, organize current jobs, solve problems, and deal with technology issues. With an honors degree in book publishing and industrial relations from Delhi University, as well as a diploma in desktop publishing, Nidhi always planned to work in the print media industry."It is fascinating to see how great ideas, new scientific theories, or the beauty of a place or person are put into print. I enjoy the process, the way the book is composed from raw form and given final presentable shape for the whole world to read." "It’s the very smell of the new book, the taste and satisfaction of finalizing the design of a book, and most importantly reading and knowing about it much before it actually gets published"that Mou enjoys about her work. A graduate of Lady Shriram College in Delhi, Mou majored in economics, psychology, and English. She also earned a postgraduate degree in public relations and journalism. Although her career started out in journalism, Mou found the deadlines and meticulous planning involved with book production equally as challenging and rewarding. Asked what it is like interacting with coworkers who are on the other side of the world in Portland, Oregon, Nidhi noted, "It's a great, satisfying feeling communicating with our colleagues working across the bridge. The earth has really shrunk. One does not feel the distance. It is always an asset sharing our ideas, enlightening each other about respective work cultures and new technological changes taking place in our field.” Mou agreed, adding that what began as "a professional bond almost six years back, has now been developed in a personal bond. Sailing on the same boat, we experienced ups and downs, inclusion of new friends, parting with some, few laughter and few tears, but all in all, my co-workers on the other side of the world have been a supportive family for all these years." On a personal note, Nidhi enjoys creative writing, reading, surfing the Internet, and playing billiards. Her favorite movie is Titanic and her favorite music artist is Phil Collins. Mou is also fond of Phil, as well as Elton John, Toni Braxton, George Michael, Jagjit Singh, and Kishore Kumar. Two of her favorite movies are The Sound of Music and Roman Holiday. Additionally, Mou can often be found doing community work, writing poetry, traveling, and working on her photography skills. |
