When I was first contacted by David Tregunna from IAP Fine Art in early January 2010 I was genuinely excited about the prospect of working on the project outlined, this being a book on the life and work of renowned British artist Chris Gollon.
The book is written by leading art historian Tamsin Pickeral, published by Hyde & Hughes Publishing and to ensure the quality reproduction of the 180 paintings, Chris Gollon and David Tregunna were allowed by the publisher to choose and liaise with the printer for the book, in which they chose PrintHouse Corporation.
On sight of the specifications I knew that this was a perfect project for the team and set up here at PrintHouse Corporation. From the proofing process we use, ISO colour standard using FOGRA certified paper which simulates litho coated materials (perfect for when replicating works of art and the colour consistency required for such an item,) to high grade papers and printing one of the latest Heidelberg B1 presses on the market.
After meeting with David and Chris to discuss aspects of the book and to confirm that we were the book printer they were after, the next stage involved was to get some dummies made up in various stock weights to get a feel of the final product.
Having a dummy helps with getting exact measurements for the design and layout; for example having an exact spine width for the cover design.
After seeing the dummies it was confirmed that the book would be printed using a 170gsm triple coated silk stock for the inner pages with a cover weight of 350gsm in the same range. This particular silk stock is extremely smooth so has excellent reproduction abilities and as it is FSC we were able to print the FSC logo due to the fact that Printhouse Corporation is indeed a FSC printer. Special finishes to the cover are a gloss lamination to the outer with front and back throw outs that finish flush with the text pages.
It is important for such a book to fit within a certain ilk and after comparing various binding options it was decided that a thread sewn finish would be best. As a professional London printer, having had these details confirmed, I knew that this book would look absolutely amazing once completed.
Our next step was to run a set of scatter proofs of the images to be used in the book so David and Chris would get an idea of how they would reproduce once printed. Producing scatter proofs also reduces delays at the final proofing process when a tight deadline has to be met.
With artwork being supplied in InDesign and all images now approved to be used in the final file, a full set of imposition proofs were run for approval and to use in colour matching when the book went to press.
One thing that I welcome with my clients especially for such a project where colour accuracy is extremely important, is to pass on press for final approval of the actual printed product. Being a London based book printer means we are easily accessible if a pass on press is required.
The team at Printhouse Corporation, from repro to press are easily approachable and are able to offer advice and answers to any queries that you may have on the more detailed aspects of print.
So once all queries have been answered, book sections are passed on press and approved with words like ‘spot on’ (music to our ears) it is then prepared for finishing. Having now seen the completed book my earlier thoughts have been confirmed and the book looks brilliant, a professionally printed and finished item that is definitely to the standard for selling on Amazon and most importantly Chris and David are also extremely happy with the end result which makes everything worth while.
Amber Bantatua is a Senior Sales Executive at London based printer PrintHouse Corporation. If there is a query in regards to a print estimate or receiving a quote contact us here.
