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Why are so many D&D books exactly 128 pages?
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gvaughn1
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Post Posted: Sun Apr 18, 2010 1:00 pm 
 

Random question for the day..   :lol:
  

wavemotion
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Post Posted: Sun Apr 18, 2010 1:08 pm 
 

gvaughn1 wrote:Random question for the day..   :lol:

Many printing presses print in large sheets that end up being sets of 16 or 32 standard (approx 8.5" x 11") pages. So many of the newer D&D books are 160 pages or 192 pages (both multiples of 32 pages and exactly 32 pages apart). I'm guessing the printers they used were dealing with 32 page increments so it was either 128 or 160 and the later is more expensive ;)

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gvaughn1
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Post Posted: Sun Apr 18, 2010 2:15 pm 
 

Thanks!  Makes sense.
  

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Mars
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Post Posted: Sun Apr 18, 2010 3:30 pm 
 

The world was being revolutionized by computers which use a base 2 number system; i.e. 128 = 2^7.  It was thought that the world would also switch its number systems accordingly so TSR was trying to get a head start.
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ExTSR
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Post Posted: Sun Apr 18, 2010 4:11 pm 
 

It's cheapest to print on the big web presses (offset or litho). The feeder rolls of paper are about 8-10' diameter and usually 34" across. These are kept in a part of the warehouse known as the 'forest' and brought out to the press using heavy equipment. The paper is fed thru the 4 or more* heads (colors) on the press for the actual printing. Thereafter it goes into the "Back End", which is a 4-part process: first thru a heater (to dry or 'set' the ink in a mere 1-2 seconds), then thru a clipper (transforming the long single 'web' sheet into small sheets suitable for handling), then a folder, and finally thru a trimmer, which typically cuts off the excess on 3 sides.

You have to design the page layout on the press (and hence the positioning of text on the pages) so that after a sheet is (automatically) folded & trimmed, all the text is in consecutive order and right-side-up.  The specific setup varies by whether you want a 16-page sheet (8 pages on each side of one piece of paper) or 32-page (16 per side). A Back End capable of doing a 16 is also capable of an 8 (4 pages per side).

Thus, for any printed product, it is exceptionally rare for it to have a page count that's not divisible by 8. Usually a common denominator is 16 or 32.

* Since you can print anything using Cyan Magenta Yellow & Black (CMYK), why would you need more than 4 heads/colors? First, you need another set of 4 heads to print on both sides of the paper. You may also need to add metallic ink to a cover, or a protective poly overspray, or other specialty fluids.

For more info:
http://glossary.ippaper.com/default.asp ... rticle/149
http://www.link-techinc.com/
  

Tharizdun
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Post Posted: Sun Apr 18, 2010 5:03 pm 
 

"or other specialty fluids." am I the only one who noticed that ExTSR sneaks sexual innuendo into all of his posts....


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Post Posted: Sun Apr 18, 2010 5:13 pm 
 

or that your mind is linked to the old English 'Carry on' Films...  :wink:


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SimperingToad
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Post Posted: Fri May 14, 2010 2:42 pm 
 

ExTSR wrote:It's cheapest to print on the big web presses (offset or litho).

Missed this the first go-round.  :D

With the advent of digital presses (direct from computer files to the press, no plates or negs to make), many jobs can be run cheaper nowadays than on the big boys. The company I used to work for until last year has a small size (runs 12"x18" sheets) digital press designed with short run jobs in mind, which could be run cheaper than a web press. It would be perfect to run a couple hundred copies of Daystar West's Rahasia and Pharaoh for example, but at some point the price structure breaks down and the web presses become cheaper for the larger runs, like say 10,000 copies of the DMG.
  

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FormCritic
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Post Posted: Sat May 15, 2010 1:22 am 
 

ExTSR wrote:exceptionally rare for it to have a page count that's not divisible by 8. Usually a common denominator is 16 or 32.


Hence the varying page count on Dieties and Demigods.

The original print run was 144 pages.  When they removed the Cthulhu and Melnibonean pages they simply reduced the page count by one 16 page section. 144 -16 = 128


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vosarnath
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Post Posted: Thu May 20, 2010 5:37 pm 
 

FormCritic wrote:
Hence the varying page count on Dieties and Demigods.

The original print run was 144 pages.  When they removed the Cthulhu and Melnibonean pages they simply reduced the page count by one 16 page section. 144 -16 = 128


...and then took the same amount of money from an excited schoolboy regardless. Said schoolboy, having skipped home proudly with the book for which he had been saving his pocket money so long, opened it up only to find that the best bits were missing. And he's still bitter about it 30-odd years later.
  

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FormCritic
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Post Posted: Fri May 21, 2010 12:51 am 
 

I don't blame you, vosarnath.  :!:

I'd still be pissed off!  :x


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