The scanner uses a SCSI interface, and software that only ran under OS 9. So we kept a g4, running os 9.4 and had a number of kludges in place to keep the scanner in our workflow. Sometime over the last 10 years, Kodak released a version of the scanner with a firewire connection instead of SCSI, and new software that would run under OS 10.5x (though that appears to be the end of the line). If I could get my hands on the software, and find some way to plug SCSI into a firewire port there would be a way to eliminate those kludges and make life a little easier for the poor scanner operator. Alas Ratoc, the last maker of a SCSI to Firewire adaptor announced in January that it would no longer offer it, as whoever made the SCSI controller chip no longer made it. All I had to do was find a used on on ebay or something.

The issue was forced upon us a few days ago, when the old G4 up and died. The motherboard was kablewey. No G4 with os9…. no way to scan.

Enter Genesis Equipment Corp. These guys have been selling and supporting used pre-press equipment for about as long as I have been in the business (that is…. a really long time). They could have sold me a new scanner… just like the one I had but with firewire for just under $10,000. Would have solved the problem, but left us broke. But guess what. They had both a Ratoc SCSI to FW adaptor AND the newer software. Yesterday I got a little box via fed-ex… and today… IT IS ALIVE!

I just complete my first scan on the new configuration, and boy am I happy! Faster, easier, no kludges… and I no longer have to look at that old computer.

Yes. We are still doing commercial quality high-end scans from reflective or transparent originals. We even still oil-mount transparencies that require a little extra TLC. As far as we know, this is the only high-end scanner operating in Northern Nevada. Certainly, it’t the only one being operated by a team who are truly experienced in commercial color separation. And if the phone calls and emails we get are any indication, it may be one of the last ones running in the western US.

Who needs high-end commercial scanning? Nowadays since commercial photographers shoot digitally, not many. But if you have a 35mm, 6×9, 4×5 or 8×10 transparency, or if you have an original piece of reflective art and need reproductions to by big and high quality… give us a call!

In the new year, if all goes well, our estimates and invoices will look a little different than they have for the last ten years or so. But you may also notice different prices. Some prices will go down a bit. Some will go up: It’s really hard to get two different systems to come up with the exact same numbers. If you request an estimate, and find that the price is radically different from what you expected or what you are used to, kindly call it to our attention so we can make sure it’s not a screw-up in the new system. It may take us a few months to work out all the “bugs,” and we really appreciate your understanding and help.

It is enlightening to look at printing prices empirically, and to look at prices for offset printing, digital printing and giclee printing on a regional basis.

We typically do about 15 estimates in a day at Reno Type. Usually, we love doing estimates: most turn into jobs that we wil get to bill.

But some estimate requests are not so popular around here. We call them shopping lists. Yesterday we had the “opportunity” to bid on a job — a single piece of printing — that required 480 estimates. It went like this:
Version A = 8.5×5.5. Version B 3.75×8.75. Simple right? Hold on.

Give me prices for each as Black only, 4-color process, 4-color plus a pantone, and 4-color + a pantone + a varnish.
That took us from 2 estimates to 8. Then:

Not sure what sort of paper we want. Please quote on 100# coated cover and 100# uncoated cover and a really nice high-end textured paper. You still with me? 8 estimates just became 24.

Give me prices for 5,000, 10,000, 15,000. 20,000 and 25,000 each. Heh. Now we’re at 120 estimates.

Oh…. almost forgot. Mailing! Give me prices with and without mailing. Now 240.

And please give me a postage estimate… First class, and standard. 480.

This “estimate” will take the better part of an afternoon to complete, and will give a range from $200 to $20,000. The kicker will be when we get the phone call that another supplier is less… can you sharpen your pencil?

Whether Reno Type is your printer or not, do everyone a favor. Figure out what you need (either to print, or to accomplish with the project) BEFORE requesting an estimate. If you really don’t know the answer, share the information you do have with your printer and ask for suggestions! If the 240 estimate client had called and said “We want to send a postcard to everyone within a 10 mile radius of our location, want it to look good but only have a budget of $2500 including postage,” We’d have answered with a few additional questions that would have allowed us to drill down to the real need.

By the way… jobs that start as shopping lists almost always wind up costing more: If we spend 6 hours up front on an estimate, we have to recover those costs somehow

We’d like to thank all who came, Tad and his crew at Ben’s Fine Wine and Spirits for connecting us with the right quantity and quality of beer and wine, Nancy and Joe from Dish Cafe for the awesome spread, Michelle for (wo)manning the Vandercook and printing a little keepsake, Jayne for pouring and smiling, and of course Christine for taking the day off to help us clean, prepare and entertain!

An annual event perhaps? It feels that way right now!

If you missed the actual open house, please know that our door is always open (well… during business hours, and not on Nevada day…) and you are welcome to come by and have a look around.

Have I or someone at Reno Type ever told you that there will be a problem with the cheapest vendor? That they are likely to go out of business and leave you hanging?

These points are being driven home in heartbreaking ways. A few years ago, everyone with an ink-jet printer started doing “Giclée” reproductions. And somehow, they always were cheaper than Reno Type.

Today, for the umteenth time this year and artist walked in the door to say the “cheaper” giclee printer is no more, and now they must start all over again.

Turns out saving money can be a pretty expensive proposition.

The installation is in process right now, and even though there’s still lots work with calibration etc… but right out of the box all of us are impressed by the quality we’re seeing. It feels a little bit like Christmas!

In going over last quarter’s numbers, I realized the COST of giving. I wonder about it’s value though. Are our clients willing to pay a bit more for our work because of our generosity? Are folks who are not currently our clients willing to work with us instead of brand X because of all we do? Sadly not… or at least it does not seem so. The cheapest shop gets the work. In light of this, a smart businessman would cut wages to the industry average, and stop giving away work.

I never said I was smart, though. And there are two bottom lines to look at: the fiscal and the societal. If the only one I looked at was the traditional one, I don’t think I could look at myself in the mirror.

We are excited to announce that once each month we will commission one piece of art to benefit charity.

At our expense we will also create a limited edition print of the artist’s work, with a designated number going to the artist and the charity, and selling some ourselves with a percentage of the profits of those sales donated to charity.

So if you or someone you know has an original work of art that you believe would connect to a wider audience, give Reno Type a call. We believe in spreading the love.

Check out Art Connect Nevada!