Offset

Even as more readers switch to the convenience of e-books, publishers are giving old-fashioned print books a makeover. Publishers are putting more thought into books' aesthetics. Many new releases have design elements usually reserved for special occasions deckle edges, colored endpapers, high-quality paper and exquisite jackets that push the creative boundaries of bookmaking. If e-books are about ease and expedience, the publishers reason, then print books need to be about physical beauty and the pleasures of owning, not just reading. When people do beautiful books, theyre noticed more, said Robert S. Miller, the publisher of Workman Publishing. Its like

Sales of print books fell 18.6% in the first nine months of 2011 in the major trade categories, according to figures reported to the Association of American Publishers. And although e-book sales jumped in the nine months—ahead 137.9% at the 15 reporting houses—the gain was not enough to offset the declines in the print segments. As a result, combined print and e-book sales fell 5.7% in the January–September period at the companies that take part in the AAP monthly survey.

ROCHESTER, N.Y., Dec 1— Digital inkjet book printing first began to draw the attention of printers and publishers at drupa 2008. Today, just a few years later, Kodak has multiple customers in Europe, North America and Asia producing and selling millions of digitally printed books that are virtually indistinguishable from their offset counterparts. Kodak and other leaders in digital book publishing recently gathered at the InterQuest 2011 Digital Book Printing Forum to discuss the latest trends, opportunities and success stories in an industry brimming with change. During the forum, many leading book publishers, printers and distributors highlighted their success

Germany, which invented the printing industry more than 500 years ago and dominates the market to this day, has lost its talent for making money from the presses. In the weeks before manroland’s insolvency filing, the company negotiated with Switzerland’s Capvis Equity Partners AG, before talks broke down amid “differing ideas” about the company’s future, Capvis Partner Daniel Flaig said yesterday.

“All solutions failed because of a lack of financial support,” deputy chairman of the supervisory board Juergen Kerner said.

manroland’s collapse highlights the threat to manufacturers as banks curtail financing of machinery that sells mainly to small- and mid-sized customers.

We are always just “that close” to putting paper publishing out of its misery and tossing words like “binding” into the same nostalgia heap where “film” and “camera ready graphics” live. Yet the success of books like "Reamde" tells a different story.  Their defiance of digital bliss has little or nothing to do with what’s more efficient or sustainable or convenient.

Edwards Brothers announced that it has received chain-of-custody certification from the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC) for both its Ann Arbor and Lillington, North Carolina, offset manufacturing facilities.  Edwards Brothers now carries certifications from PEFC, the Forest Stewardship Council®, and the Sustainable Forestry Initiative® programs.

Yurchak Printing has acquired the intangible assets and select equipment of Gonic, NH-based Odyssey Press. Details of the transaction were not revealed. The NAPL mergers and acquisitions team advised Yurchak Printing on the deal.

(h/t Printing Impressions)

At the Postpress Commercial Information Days held in Leipzig from Nov. 1-11, Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG (Heidelberg) unveiled an inline system combining a digital book production line from Hunkeler AG, Switzerland, and the Eurobind Pro adhesive binder. This makes it possible to switch between digital and offset print content on a single adhesive binder.

Ricoh, a leading provider of digital output solutions, today announced that BR Printers has chosen the InfoPrint 5000 to meet the high demands of its customers who sought both color and monochrome short runs of books.

Local readers and writers packed into Politics & Prose on Wednesday night for the official launch of “Opus,” Washington, DC’s first print-on-demand Espresso book machine. It’s one of only a handful operating in independent bookstores worldwide.