N Gauge Now

[scotsoft]

I received an email on Saturday informing me my copy had been dispatched.  So far it has not arrived but neither have two items posted first class on Monday, so I think the Royal Mail must be feeling the Christmas pressure and are behind on their deliveries 

cheers John.

[portland-docks]

Well a parcel i ordered off rails on saturday arrived yesterday, iv not even had an email about my book just confirmation i bought it

[STEVE44]

Hi,

I work for Royal Mail and the only thing we are struggling with is the volume of packets. All letters are running fine. That's in the Birmingham area.
Steve.

[scotsoft]

It is two small packages I am waiting for, but there is no great panic for them as one is some n gauge figures and the other a wheel puller 

cheers John.

[red_death]

Howard

I'm still far from convinced that we either need another dedicated N gauge mag, or that there is sufficient material for it! But that is your decision to make and fair play to you for taking the risk.

On the postage thing, particularly for overseas it is a fine balance between number of pages and paper weight and the tipping point for Royal Mail is 250g (rate jumps from £4.70 to £7.55 for Australia!).

On the images thing, make sure that you get high quality images (preferably straight out of the camera unless the photographer knows what they are doing!) with a decent resolution ie you want something capable of producing >= 300dpi print resolution.  Even printing out test proofs on your home printer should give you an idea of whether the image will be sharp enough or not.

Hope that helps

Mike

[CarriageShed]

The overseas postage issue seems to be a bit of a lottery. I regularly post books aboard, the same essential size and weight, but the cost seems to depend on which Post Office branch you use, perhaps which day of the week it is, who's working behind the counter, and perhaps even whether the sky is blue. I've had costs ranging from £5.50 to £7.20 and I haven't yet figured out why. All thing being equal, the PO will charge you what they like - that seems to be the maxim here.

I should also mention the delivery time for my copy of N Gauge Now. I placed the order on 26 November (eight days ago), and received a dispatch confirmation on 30 November (four days ago), but there's still no sign of it. Now I realise that four days isn't that long in the scheme of things, but N'spirations arrives at a UK address within 48 hours of being ordered (72 if you order on a Saturday), which is an absolutely great service. I realise that N Gauge Now is a one-off publication for the moment, or at least a brand new start-up publication, and perhaps needs a bit of fine-tuning and experience on the distribution front, but it's something to bear in mind for the next edition, chaps. 

[portland-docks]

The overseas postage issue seems to be a bit of a lottery. I regularly post books aboard, the same essential size and weight, but the cost seems to depend on which Post Office branch you use, perhaps which day of the week it is, who's working behind the counter, and perhaps even whether the sky is blue. I've had costs ranging from £5.50 to £7.20 and I haven't yet figured out why. All thing being equal, the PO will charge you what they like - that seems to be the maxim here.

I should also mention the delivery time for my copy of N Gauge Now. I placed the order on 26 November (eight days ago), and received a dispatch confirmation on 30 November (four days ago), but there's still no sign of it. Now I realise that four days isn't that long in the scheme of things, but N'spirations arrives at a UK address within 48 hours of being ordered (72 if you order on a Saturday), which is an absolutely great service. I realise that N Gauge Now is a one-off publication for the moment, or at least a brand new start-up publication, and perhaps needs a bit of fine-tuning and experience on the distribution front, but it's something to bear in mind for the next edition, chaps. 

like i said though i ordered mine over a week ago and still not had a dispatch email yet...

[CarriageShed]

like i said though i ordered mine over a week ago and still not had a dispatch email yet...

Okay, you win the worse case scenario award. I was beaten by a better man. Or at least a less lucky one.

[Newportnobby]

Hi Howard,

Although I echo some of the statements made above regarding the photos/paper I appreciate the cost/repro factors involved.
I found it a great read but wasn't entirely sure what section of the N gauge modelling community the first issue was aimed at.
Personally I wish you all success (in the hope we get more issues) and wonder whether there are particular articles you would be seeking for follow up editions? Feel free to let this forum know in advance if possible, and we'll do our best to help

[H]

I'll add a couple of tips regarding ways to improve the photo quality.

High resolution is required (at least 300 DPI for printing) otherwise they'll end up blocky looking (as some were). Also many other pics were out of focus/suffering camera shake, lacking in DoF and/or suffering a colour cast (due to incorrect white balance setting and taking pics under exhibition hall lighting). It's best to use a tripod and timer release (to stop camera shake), a small aperture/high f stop number (to increase DoF) and light the subject yourself (to get correct colour balance).

Plus most 'layout' shots were taken from a high level. Add some variety by getting down low and filling the frame with the subject.

HTH. Good luck.

H.

[NGaugeNow]

Hello again - and just a quick note on distribution. We have had a big influx of orders via the website and I am doing my best to get them all out as soon as possible.

Because of being away for the weekend at Warley and again at last weekend's Wakefield MRS show with our club layout, there hasn't been as much time as I would have liked to deal with all these orders but they are being processed in the order received and hopefully within seven days of receipt. (I should perhaps also mention that I've also been chasing around after my 86-year-old mum - who lives 30 miles away - who fell and broke her hip the weekend before Warley and only came out of hospital - with a new hip - on Monday).

If you get an email message that the mag (or other item) has been set for dispatch, that means it will be in the post within 48 hours. Such is the volume of mail that I'm sending everything out by second-class post and the Royal Mail says this can take two or three days from posting to reach the intended destination (or sometimes even longer).

HOWARD FOY (Editor, N GAUGE NOW)

[CarriageShed]

Thanks for the response, Howard. It certainly helps that you are quick to provide an explanation, so we won't hold it against you. It's probably a bit of a learning experience anyway, and the next issue's distribution will be much smoother. Were you expecting quite so many orders all at once?

[OwL]

Good question Owl 

On another note,has anyone seen or heard about any new issues of N'Spirations magazines due for publication?

Things seem to have gone a bit quiet in that regard.

Pete

Rest In Peace Buddy ,

We are all gonna miss you so much :'(

[1936ace]

that would be right!

mention the postage and it goes up more 

that will teach me, should of ordered it first up, it now makes it A$18, oh well

maybe it could be made into a digital copy for overseas customers

bart

[Brinley]

How about a soft copy and save on postage?