ABSTRACT
The publishers of academic journals now must pay more for printing and binding at the same time as they are reducing print runs. They must also farm out the of purchase expensive equipment to engage in small-run printing. One area that has received increasing attention is standardization–ranging from copy editing through printing and binding. The age of a single university or department within a university, or even a professional association engaging in all phases of production, design, and delivery of scholarly journals has drawn rapidly to a close. The issue of standardization vs. diversification exemplifies the fact that what initially appears in publishing as prosaic may, in fact, raise profound considerations. The search for a balanced approach between standardization and diversification takes a different form in different segments of academic publishing. Responsibility between the publisher and the journal is a negotiated order of things, settled upon in the crucible of supply and demand.
