504 - Type in Context - Developed MockUp

I wanted to carry out a test print of the finished publication so I could hold it physically infront of me and develop my plan for binding; and also take it to the crit to get any final bits of feedback ready for my print slot at the start of next week. My plan was to go to a Mac Suite and test print the first and last few spreads in sections 2 and 4 and then I was to fill the inner pages with the correct number of spreads of plain paper to reduce printing prices and inks, being more economical but also still giving me a solid mockup which is accurate to experiment with. I did initially struggle with doing this alone but with some guidance from one of the tech guys, Mike, I was able to construct my finished mockup ready for the crit. 

From this print test I realised a couple of things before taking it to the crit. I needed to go back in now the layout has been confirmed and check the DPI's of each image as the test proved some to be blurry than others and over-contrasted. I loaded them back into Photoshop to adjust the dimensions based on its position in the document, re-set its DPI and also checked the CMYK settings were compatible. Especially on the map, as it was too detailed with its labelling at such a small scale. So I replaced it for a better photograph I took of a pin on the map..

I proof read all the written and content and decided I was happy with the chosen typeface, it reads well and is very legible. However I did need to go back in and take out all of the 1st person that I initially used. This will just make it feel more professional when reading through, rather than feeling like a travel journal or something. I decided that I did want to wash out the cover of section 2 abit more just to soften the overall colour balance of the whole front when bound together. 

I had the crit session and again got some very useful pointers to just help finalise and clean up the publication. For example, the paragraph on the front of the first section just needed to be ragged better and to rid of the orphan on the bottom line. Also Simon picked up on the guy who is standing in the bottom left corner of the cover image on section 2 and suggested I just cropped him out as it will look peculiar him stood at the bottom of the finished bound book! And also we came to the conclusion that the book will not require a hardback cover around, aslong as I purchase my coloured stock to be slightly thicker, just to provide that bit of structure from the smaller sections(less folding, thus less creeping at the spine.
My next steps were to order my stock and figure out the bind.