This is an archive of CompuServe forum messages from 1985 to 1995, as saved in transcripts by John Foust.
Search Results (51 messages)
Mike, I'd love to come back with a brilliant, witty, juicey, comment to continue this repartee, but my sense of humor "dryed up" some years back when my mule died on an expedition into the Superstitions to locate the Lost Dutchman. Yucca, yourself. Ever been to Arizona? –Dennis
From:
Mike Musick/Ass't Sysop
Desktop Publishing Forum
· Making Money w/DTP
January 28, 1990 9:48 AM
I hate to say it, Bill, but the "magic formula" we discussed many moons ago applies to designers, too, which puts this category in the $25-30K range. Your friend should be a bit worth more, however, due to his technical skills, and I'll be the first to comment that agencies…
From:
Mike Musick/Ass't Sysop
Desktop Publishing Forum
· Making Money w/DTP
January 28, 1990 12:17 AM
So it's a "desert joke", huh? Yucca yucca yucca!!! …mm
From:
Mike Musick/Ass't Sysop
Desktop Publishing Forum
· Making Money w/DTP
January 28, 1990 12:17 AM
Jim – Just an observation about all those "squirts" you were getting on a paper-tape driven Lino – an interesting phenomenon that I saw was that semi-automated linecasters tended to get less preventive maintenance that did operator-driven linos, and they were run harder and longer, to boot! The net result…
Thanks for the advice.
I actually got started in school, hand setting type from a California Job Case. Then running it off on an old hand fed letterpress machines. That was real fun but I'd hate to do it for a living. But, I have to admit I do have brief fantasies, now and…
Garry, You (and others) can get a introductory sign-on kit for CompuServe (along with a $15 credit) by calling 1-800-848-8199. This is how I've gotten friends and colleagues a chance to try out CIS. And if you ask for "Representative 153" the DTP Forum will get some "brownie points" (I…
NOW I get it — just the signup, not the account. That DOES make a difference. Incidentally, over the past year I've been deluged with free CIS signup offers — every time I get a modem or telcom program or similar thing for the office. I've given most away, but…
Don't feel too bad about not having a node, it could be worst, you could be down here in the Maritimes where we are lucky just to get Datapac. I must say though I understand your feeling with regard to CIS and Canada. I just finished trying to get Tapcis…
Bill – I don't know what the going rate for traditional designer/production artists/illustrators in your area is, but since he has additional skills (DTP) and additional responsibilities (system manager) he SHOULD be making more than that. Because his tools make him more productive, he should be more highly paid. It…
Mark, Well, besides keeping track of how long a file is open (and who was logged onto the machine when it was open), I guess this "mythical" accounting program should distinguish between the time spent printing and the time spent working on a document. Also, it should probably be sensitive…
#Mechanical Accounting
Message #6354
Just a question for the crowd… Many typesetting systems have built-in systems that will assist in billing procedures. Most of them keep track of things like keystrokes, amount of time associated with a certain file, operator… If you could have anything you wanted, how would the "perfect" system work. What…
Me on salary? Never! 🙂 — I'm too spoiled working from home doing "my own thing." However, what irritates me is that these low "permanent" job prices affect consulting rates tremendously. Again, no salary position for this gal unless it's from a trust fund or some rich CEO who would…
Just a suggestion: Decide what you want to make (which apparently is more than 20-25K) and next time someone asks you to work for them give them a quote instead of asking what they want to pay. If you have a cogent arguement for what they'll save and the skill…
Thanks for the PressLink tip. Just archived it for future reference in the next couple of days. Yes indeedy it's strange that Calgary lacks a CIS node. They've lost a fair number of users because of it. One fnal note, my "buy the client a CIS signup" scheme does not…
I agree with you 1000%, but unfortunately the jobs keep getting filled at those salaries…it's disgusting, frustrating and everything else that matches those two words in a thesaurus.
Martha, I've learned that if a project may be too much of a hassle, quote high. If they get scared off – so be it. If not, so be it. I envision a form that will offer guidelines for types of copy, subject ideas, and a prominent disclaimer dealing with…
From:
Thom Hartmann <HiResOp>
Desktop Publishing Forum
· Making Money w/DTP
January 25, 1990 4:48 PM
Sorry, Brad – $25 – $35 K per year. Things are soft here in Atlanta.
Valerie, Thom and Brad-Philadelphia at least, are so taken by Apple's implied promise of "cheap type", that it becomes clear to them that once the _system_ is paid for, the type and layout and design and art will somehow just crank themselves out, unassisted. This sort of situation evolved when…
I tried asking for a Saskatoon node once, citing the university and everything else I could think of, and was diplomatically told it was hopeless. But it's strange Calgary doesn't rate. FYI, the newspaper Mac graphics network PressLink has a Calgary node and plans to install a Saskatoon node soon.…
Brad, you mean you work for a living??? I thought you spent your days wandering between forums and threads of CIS! I haven't heard of Visual Business Systems No. 5…I'll file this info for future reference. Betty
I live in Los Angeles, and I keep getting phone calls asking if I want to go permanent and give up working from home doing design, layout, coding and DTP. I just say "no", but ask for the salary anyway — and get a whopping quote of $20,000 to $25,000.…
Um…$25 – $35K per year (which is only $12.50 – $17.50 per hour)? Or $25 – $35 per hour? (I usually try to stay out of these discussions because my views are skewed greatly by living/working in New York City, but I did try to help get Bill a raise…
From:
Thom Hartmann <HiResOp>
Desktop Publishing Forum
· Making Money w/DTP
January 25, 1990 8:15 AM
Bill, A _good_ designer, with solid credentials in _design_, who also knows how to use Quark, PM, or other DTP programs, can usually pull between $25 and $35 here in Atlanta, depending on his/her speed, experience, etc. –Thom
#Compensation
Message #6228
All– An artist/client/friend of mine isn't comfortable with what his employer is paying him; his boss tells him that "since your job position is so new and unique, we don't know just what it's worth yet". Anyway, knowing I have access to this forum, he's asked me to poke around…
Really, Rick, how did you know that's what I'd say! 🙂 the convention organizers might ask you do last-minute program-change inserts for them, too? maybe too much hassle? or an extra source of income you wouldn't mind? "Be prepared!"
Granted, there are potential problems with my "buy the client a CI$ signup" idea. In the two instances in which I've done it, I've provided a new Navigator along with scripts for Datapc sign on and for up/downloading binary files in EasyPlex. Both restrict knowledge of the current CIS password…
Hi Jim, While hot metal type has always held a certain allure, paper tape…never! I have a friend in the business who tells me his first job was cleaning space bands! I get a real kick out of that one. Betty in Orange County
#Of Use To Canadians
Message #6104
As a fairly heavy user of CIS and Canadian e-mail, I see a few holes in your idea: 1. Most places don't have a CIS nore, so CIS has to be reached via Datapac at a surcharge of $9 or more per hour. 2. It's risky to give remote staff…
Betty, "…If you have a market for producing slides," That's the ultimate keyword here, "market". One or two inquiries stimulated me to ask – not to buy. Rick
Bob, The "Convention/Meeting Attendees" newsletter idea is still only a pitch that I made. While there is quite a bit of interest in it, the final structure and content end is still being kicked around. Some of my observations to date: Pricing would be on an hourly rate, since I…
Betty, I never thought I'd be doing slides, but the other day I needed to use a slide making program for something else. A client needed some 3-dimensional pie charts and bar charts as part of a financial statement of an annual report. I quickly picked up Visual Business Systems…
#finding clients
Message #6058
Rick, If you have a market for producing slides, Persuasion would probably be a worthwhile investment. I haven't been asked to do any…yet. I worked on info for my accountant last week and was slightly surprised to see that I spent $2,000 on software last year! No more for awhile.…
finding clients
Message #6022
The formatting of this book is not very complex; having worked a couple of years on an IBM memory typewriter, I'd find preview wonderful if I hadn't also been introduced to WYSIWYG in VP. I, too, had gotten M Word (3.?, then update to 4.0) "for clients" but have never…
#finding clients
Message #6012
Rick: I'm intrigued with the pitch you made to Westin re the customized newsletter. Would you be willing to share info re 1) what kind of price you quoted; 2) If this a one-pager or more; 3) what kind of info would you plan to put into it? This sound…
Mike, Preformance or construction? Niether. It's Organ Pipe as in cactus. Please don't "needle" me about our co. name. Dennis
Newsletter advertising
Message #5986
Triple T, Thanks for the info. It looks like I'll be upgrading first — and soon. Rick Ornberg
Newsletter advertising
Message #5985
Louise, I'm presently getting the monthly packages from Dynamic Graphics. I'll check out their literature again for specialized packages – Thanks! Rick
What am I? DTP?
Message #5982
Naomi – The first rule I established for myself, when I started my own business, was to not work for donkeys' hind ends. I'm pretty outspoken, and can usually tell at an initial session whether someone resents an artist with a mind (and a mouth), and pass on the project.…
When you figure out the costs of advertising, don't forget two things -1. How much it would cost you to add pages, the ad rates should make it desirable to do so, not costly. 2. Even thou the circulation may be only a thousand, publications sell on demographics. If the…
#finding clients
Message #5958
Hi Betty, I worked some in hot type in the early seventies. It was a very interesting process. Then the company bought in a paper tape system. This wasn't as much fun. There were a lot of errors where the rail would go up without enough keys on it and…
Doug, I received your plex and will be faxing all info Monday. You'll see what we charge for ads. The circulation is 800 and it come out monthly. Again, I think people maybe unsure in the beginning, so its best to set a reasonable rate then discount only the 1st…
From:
Thom Hartmann <HiResOp>
Desktop Publishing Forum
· Making Money w/DTP
January 21, 1990 9:38 PM
Doug, When you reply to someone's message, choose the REPly option, rather than COMposing a whole new message. That way your reply will be "attached" to the previous message, and people can read them as a continuous thread. Otherwise, it gets rather disorienting to anybody trying to keep track of…
Newsletter advertising
Message #5833
Thom, you make a good point. I may still have trouble getting these in the first issue. We're starting to approach deadlines. I will definitely give it some thought for the future. Thanks, Doug
From:
Thom Hartmann <HiResOp>
Desktop Publishing Forum
· Making Money w/DTP
January 21, 1990 7:31 PM
Doug, Don't you think that perhaps future potential members would be interested in reading personals and classifieds? Just because they're not the most elegant type of advertising doesn't mean they're not appreciated! I wouldn't postpone running ads until you have new members on the theory that people will be turned…
Newsletter Advertising
Message #5828
Thanks for your input on my newsletter advertising questions. It's nice to see so many of you are willing to help a new member of DTP forum. I look forward to more interaction. Now, if I could only figure out how to add a multiplication factor to my usage credit…
Newsletter Advertising
Message #5826
Valerie, Finding one sponsor would certainly reduce the amount of effort required to get the newsletter out. My thinking at this point is to do some market research, as you suggest, with members of the club. We do have a number of local business people on our membership list. I…
#Newsletter Advertising
Message #5825
Louise, thanks for the info. and fax offer. I would like to see your sample rate sheet and contract; they would be very instructive at this point. I don't know how to e-plex but I hope to figure it out on my next login (I'm uploading messages, and lack a…
#Newsletter Advertising
Message #5824
George, you've hit on some excellent points. I've brought your suggestion up at the club, and we've already agreed to post a flyer and contact specific members. I'm not against adding extra pages to the newsletter if sufficient demand for space dictates, but I'll have to work the numbers to…
#Newsletter Advertising
Message #5823
Bill, After I check e-plex help, I'll be in touch. Doug
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