This week at CW, we're just relaxing and reading our favourite magazine: Wisdom Monthly. Now here's an interesting ad: "How to make more money from a weekly column." It's on page … er … um …
THE QUESTION
In magazines, why are the pages that contain full-page ads hardly ever numbered? asks Shirley Grant of Toronto.
THE ANSWER
"I am not sure why it continues today, in the age of electronic layout and publishing," writes Peter McGuinness of Toronto, "but back in the old days when I worked in the field, full-page ads were rarely made by the magazine in-house; they were sent directly from the advertiser or their agency as finished artwork" that would be photographed and turned into a printing plate.
He says that since the agencies and advertisers used the same ad in many publications, they didn't include a page number, and it was too much trouble to try to strip a page number into these ads, especially ones that were intended to "bleed" - that is, they had an image or colour background that went to the very edge of the page.
Also, if there were late changes in the magazine layout and the ad was moved to a different page, it would have required changing the page number. "As a result," he says, "the unnumbered-page ad became the norm."
That's right, says John Gerish of Vancouver, who used to be a production co-ordinator for a magazine publisher. These days, "ads are sent by the advertiser as electronic files, but the same result remains - no page numbers."
He notes that, nowadays, page numbering is automated by
publishing software such as QuarkXPress and InDesign.
"However," he writes, "the colour of the full-page ad (which is often a 'bleed') can overwhelm the ink colour chosen for the page number. A harried production assistant with tight deadlines is more likely to just suppress the page numbering for that page than to adjust the ink colour of the page number for that page alone."
Also, adds John Vickers of Calgary, there's the question of aesthetics. "Page numbers are omitted on full-page advertisements that 'bleed' to respect all the space the advertiser has paid for. … A page number, as small as it is, can add an unwanted visual distraction, spoiling the look of the ad."
THE QUESTION
Canadian car commercials sometimes say, "U.S. model shown." Steve Hayman of Toronto wants to know why. "Is that car different from the one we can buy?"
THE ANSWER
Car companies say this so they are not accused of false advertising in case some options on the car, such as a spoiler or alloy wheels, are different in the United States, says George Niblock of Toronto. "U.S. cars also have slightly different safety standards and features."
Also, says Fernando Larrea of London, Ont., some colours may be exclusive to the United States. For these reasons, car companies add the disclaimer so that nobody in Canada can complain about being misled about the car he or she might buy.
HELP WANTED
How do they randomly distribute the prize-winning cups in Tim Hortons's Roll up the Rim to Win contest? Doughnut lover Bill Fosdick of Victoria wants to know.
Why do recipes specify using unsalted butter, asks Michael Moore of Toronto, when another one of the ingredients is salt?
Edward Holmes of Toronto wants to know why railway tracks aren't laid on something more rigid than gravel. He thinks gravel would compact over time under the weight of passing trains and the track would become uneven.
Send answers and questions to wisdom@globeandmail.com. Please include your name, location and a daytime phone number.