My fiancee recently bought two copies online of the same lenticular book as gifts from two separate vendors. When she had both in hand, she was surprised to see differences between the two. Naturally enough, when she had bought the books, since they were two copies of the same title, she expected them to be the same. So she brought this to my attention and asked me what had happened. (more…)

As with anything else in life, a discount often comes with a cost. Maybe not in cash, but in time, effort, and diligent study.

I’m brokering three jobs for three clients at the moment. All three jobs are books (two case-bound; one perfect-bound). In light of their due dates, I am entertaining the possibility of printing one or more of the jobs abroad, in the Far East. This would be my first time. One of my clients has been printing in China for a number of years, successfully. She gets unbeatable prices. (more…)

I was very pleased to come upon this article recently: “Kids actually like reading paper books more than screens.” It is from The News and Observer, 3/10/17, and it was written by Teresa Welsh. (more…)

I believe in synchronicity, or “meaningful coincidences,” as described by psychologist Carl Jung. Sometimes important things just seem to happen simultaneously, and if I’m aware at the time, I can learn from them. (more…)

I read two articles online this week that have reinforced my belief that the print book is still going strong.

“Book Reading 2016”

The first article is from the Pew Research Center (Internet, Science & Tech) website. Dated 9/1/2016, this article, “Book Reading 2016,” makes a number of claims about the state of the print book and reading in general, which it then supports with charts and statistics. (Over the years I have developed an unreserved trust in the Pew Research Center.) (more…)

One of the many things I do in addition to writing is to analyze and help to improve clients’ publication design work. I help them with overall design, typeface choice, eye movement around a double-page spread, color, overall concept, you name it. I just did one of these sessions with a client who had hit a wall and didn’t know how to fix the design for her print book. (more…)

I just received advance copies of a print job I had brokered. It’s a 6” x 9” perfect-bound textbook, but it actually could have been any printed product. My approach would have been the same. I did what I always do first, whenever I receive samples. I checked them thoroughly for any flaws. (more…)

I am brokering the custom printing for a 272-page, 6” x 9” perfect-bound textbook, printed on 70# opaque text paper with a 12pt UV coated cover. The press run for the print book is 3,000 copies. (more…)