Con Book

Cover

We need a cover. We generally try to match it to our other marketing files for the year.

Designing

The best way to start is with the previous year's file, gut it of the things we don't need, and start building it back for the new year.

Things to keep in mind:

The con book page count MUST be in multiples of 4
The map should always be at the center of the book (so the book opens to it)
Turn off hyphenation on all text.
All text should be reviewed and proofread by the staff BEFORE putting the info in the con book. It's easier to fix it in BACON and import good copy than to fix it in the book and then go back and fix it in BACON.
For programming and gaming where the format is a title and then some paragraphs description, ideally we want to keep the entire paragraphs on the same column. Sometimes that simply isn't practical, but it's something to strive for.
Try to give some white space around the guest bios for signatures. Many attendees get the guests to sign their books (Beta included).

Ad Space

CMYK, 350DPI w/ a .25" bleed or larger (we can go as low at .125” bleed but sometimes need the extra working room)

Acceptable formats include PDF, PSD, TIFF, PNG, and high quality JPGs. Honestly we can take almost anything.

Full pages are 8.5” x 11” +bleed
Half pages are 4.25” x 11” or 8.5” x 6” +bleed
Third pages are 8.25” x 3.67” +bleed
Quarter pages are 4.25” x 6” +bleed
Business Card adds are 3.5” x2” and should not have added bleed.

We cannot promise a particular location (such as lower right for a 1/4 page) so the bleed needs to go all the way around and we will crop images as necessary.

Pricing for ad space can vary every year but we do generally provide ad-swaps on a 1-to-1 basis with other events.

Vendor

For 2011 - present we have purchased our con cooks from Short Run Printing, Ltd.. Their pricing is decent as and they seem like a "mom & pop shop." They are very nice and friendly, very accommodating, and have top notch customer service.

Lead Time & Pricing

Books will take approximately 2 weeks from date or order to arrive. Make sure to quote multiple possible quantities since apparently 200 books can make the difference of a business day's lead time which *could* mean an extra weekend to prep.

The quotes on their web page include shipping which is extremely convenient. Books + shipping generally work out to about $1.70/book.

At this point in time, the largest job Short Run Printing will run is 2,500 books. As we grow we will probably out-grow their service since runs will probably become significantly cheaper elsewhere in bulk.

Annual Process

Clear out unnecessary files from dropbox; move everything to bitrix
Create new folder in dropbox 'snafucon art & graphics' called "Con Book"
Copy last year's con book files into that folder
Delete the "Final" pdf copies
Open the file in Indesign and start pulling things out, relinking or deleting images where appropriate, and removing old year information and graphics
Make the con book!

Pieces of the con book

Generally the cover is a piece of art from the current year, usually with some con information and a prominent logo.
The front pages usually include: a no-harassment policy, table of contents, sponsors, social media links, an in-theme request for feedback, and our charity's logo.
Pg 4 - theme information, maybe with images for it
Letters from the chairs
Guests. Leave some white space for autograph
Map (center of con book)
Vendors and Artist tables and map
Policies in 5 words or less
Music Performers
Panels and Events
Egaming events
Tabletop events
Staff list on the back cover with a call for volunteering

Games for the con book

Sudoku
Word Find
Maze
Cross word