What we do?

In 1996 Main Street Rag Poetry Journal was an upstart 40 page poetry journal, stapled together with a gray card stock cover. Over the next 4 years we learned a lot about the printing industry and in 2001 invested in our own equipment so we could have greater control over the product. Having the equipment meant keeping it busy, so we offered our production services to other publishers first, then began publishing books on our own labels later on.

The days we are a PUBLISHER first, production house for others second. Our primary focus is our own books, affiliated publications, and publications of associated presses, but there is still room in our schedule to offer production services to others when their projects and our abilities coincide.

Services we can offer

We can design and prep a book for publication and step it all the way through the production process or we can only do part of the process like designing or binding. We can issue ISBN numbers and create barcodes, but only do so when we are doing the production and the print run warrants it. We are not a Print on Demand facility and are really not interested in print runs of less than 50 copies. Our production options are also limited for print runs of less than 250.

We only do one kind of binding:  perfect binding. For novices, it’s also known as trade paperback or simply paperback, some have also called it soft cover. We do not do coil binding on our own books, so we have no need for the equipment and therefore don’t offer that type of binding, hardback binding, or saddle-stitch binding.

We do not repair books, either.

Our own titles do not use color insides, so we do not have color printing in house. If the project is right, we can offer color inserts, but as a buyer of books, I would not pay what it costs me to produce a book that has full color insides, so it is not something we offer as an option.

Production time

• If we binding supplied materials, regular schedule calls for 3 days from time of arrival in our shop until time of pick up/delivery/ship.
• Designing an entire book can range from 2 days to 4 weeks depending on the complexity and other projects in progress.

Bottom line: production time varies based on what you need us to do, the format of the printing, and the size of the print run.

Pricing/Quotes

Variables for each project are different and must be quoted on an individual basis since page dimension, page count, cover style and quantity all factor into the equation. Quotes made over the phone are considered hypothetical, inaccurate, and therefore, we don’t stand by them. To get a firm quote, please email the project specs to: editor@mainstreetrag.com

Please note the following:

• We require a deposit to start any design or production work.
• Design fees start at $200 and are based on page count, complexity of design, amount of artwork, how the artwork was supplied, whether the image file format is correct or in need of adjustments prior to book design.
• Placement of internal images (design): The first five images are included in the set up charge. Additional images are $5/each to scan/adjust/place.
• Charges for adjustments to supplied files (when possible–we prefer customer supplied files be PDFs) start at $35 and are based on time investment.
• For those who want to design themselves but need assistance to do so, there is a $35 consultation fee per call/email.
• Full payment must be rendered prior to shipping or at time of pick up.
• There is a 20% surcharge for rush projects. Customers will be informed prior to proceeding with production if their project qualifies as a “rush” job.