Contrary to various reports on the demise of the printed book format, at PrintHouse we’ve completed more book projects in the last 18 months than during any other period of our 20+ years of production. Subjects are wide ranging: a garlic farm on the Isle of Wight, a guide to weight management & lifestyle improvement, Nordic pop group AHA’s farewell tour commemorative publication, a complication of women’s fashion stories and the British theatre guide to name a few …
One subject area currently seems to be outshining all others, for us at least – the Art Book. Aside from the obvious revenue potential for book sales to audiences at accompanying exhibitions, there’s a very strong argument to suggest in many cases printed hard copy is the natural – and best – way of showing art, when not in the presence of the original piece in question. A coffee table can look bare without a cup of coffee and quality bound publication.
Aside from the visual aspect, we’re often told the feel & smell of ink on paper enhances in a way that an screen equivalent will never ultimately compete with. It addition, it’s possible to design/produce an outer cover with real individuality, be it with choice of material (textured, cloth, the choice is endless) or finishing process (embossing, de-bossing, metal foil blocking, spot UV varnish, machine varnish etc)
Sure, the e-reader format has changed the way many of us purchase & appreciate books – each year there will be less squeezing of holiday reading paperbacks into bags, as several thousand will be stored onto a single device the size of one book. But watch out for the sand, sun and water – it’s far easier to hang out a paperback to dry than a submerged Kindle.
Screen and various reader enhancements now make e-reading a practical and pleasurable experience. It’s also radically changing the avenues of setting up and distributing, with self-publication a growing trend – what a fantastic opportunity to test the market with only a small financial outlay.
In my view there is definitely room for both formats – having asked around, people are perfectly at ease reading a single section or article on screen, but many would not react with the same enthusiasm if required to read than the majority/all of a larger publication in the same way. Maybe I’m not totally out of touch after all …
From small initial print runs come amazing results: one November we printed 5,000 copies of an individual’s labour of love – 4 weeks and 190,000 copies later, it had become top of the Xmas best sellers list. So you just never know …
To discuss any upcoming projects, please contact us directly at 020 8963 0123 or visit our website.
