FMF - Friends of Minerals Forum, discussion and message board

[Jordi Fabre]

I would like to say: Good job! to Marie Huizing and all the Rocks & Minerals staff for their great job improving the printing quality of the last issues of the magazine. The first issue of 2013 was already excellent in terms of quality printing, and the March/April issue is even better with a superlative photo of a Merelani Diopside on the front cover and many great photos inside. As usual, the articles are very interesting, with many authors that we know well here like Peter Megaw and John A. Jaszczak. The list of the articles of this issue (and the previous ones) and summaries of some articles can be seen on line in its Web page and if you are a subscriber to the magazine you have the right to access the whole issues on line which is extremely convenient.

The reason for this large improvement in the quality of the color is, according to Marie Huizing :
"The new process involves providing color-match glossy prints for all illustrations. These are used by the graphics dept. and the printer and are then returned to me by the printer along with a glossy copy of the entire issue for color-proofing before going to press. Terry, John, and I (or just John and I) do the proofing, photo by photo and page by page, noting any color delay changes that need to be made. Starting with the Jan/Feb issue, Mark Mauthner (bless his heart) has been providing the glossy match prints."

Again, congratulations to Rocks & Minerals for its constant effort to improve this fine magazine.

[Jordi Fabre]

More infos coming from Marie Huizing:

"...when I start working on an issue, I forward all the photos to Mark either as attachments or on disc. He in turn makes color-match glossy prints of each one to his exacting standards and sends them to me via the U.S. postal system. The prints are then used by our graphics department and by the printer to adjust the color. Before publication, glossy pages of the entire issue, along with the color-match prints, are overnighted to me for approval/correction. Terry, John Rakovan, and I go over the pages together, noting any color changes that need to be made. Mark Mauthner's tireless efforts are key to making the new system work, and I cannot thank him enough."

[Malcolm Southwood]

Jordi,
I absolutely agree with you - the layout, the presentation and the printing quality are all really superb. But I'd also like to note a more gradual improvement (at least from my perspective) in that, over recent years, the quality of the articles and the mix of the articles has improved massively as well. Again, I think congratulations are due to all concerned!
mal

[John Jaszczak]

I heartily agree. I can also attest to the fact that the care that the editors give to the articles, including the text, is truly excellent.