Offset

Publishers looking to cut costs and production time face a wealth of challenges, not the least of which is shaking off old conceptions. Putting the focus on content, rather than on books as manufactured objects, can paradoxically help to uncover new ways to speed up the workflow (or, more accurately, customize the workflow to meet the needs of individual projects), and do so in as cost-effective a manner as possible. Common themes among those who shared with Book Business their cost- and time-saving production tips are planning and adaptability, which depend on effective communication. Despite all the technological advances of recent years (and

When the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association (ECPA) hosted its annual Publishing University conference in Chicago in early November, publishers, printers and vendors who attended the “Offshoring” session were provided with tips, advice and a few fair warnings about partnering with offshore manufacturers. Jennifer Butenschoen, director of production at Harvest House Publishers, which publishes Bibles, self-help titles and gift books, presented a 90-minute crash course on the topic, during which she offered tips that Book Business readers should find useful in evaluating their own offshore manufacturing strategy. More than 100 million Harvest House books have been sold worldwide since the company’s conception in 1974. Now

As Kermit the Frog used to say: “It’s not easy being green.” While the beloved puppet was referring to his skin color, the saying has been applied to being “green” in the environmental sense. And, not to make light of a serious situation regarding our environment, the saying has been relevant in book publishing for years—many publishers have “good intentions” (as Book Business columnist Gene Schwartz suggests in this month’s “Gene Therapy”), but they struggle to balance those good intentions with negative impacts on their bottom lines and/or their lack of know-how for making their intentions realities. But as Kermit’s outlook changes in the

Longfellow’s celebration of the forest primeval finds its echo today in the green revolution taking place along the supply chain of the paper industry. Although—as I learned from interviewing people who prefer not be quoted on the subject—good intentions are ahead of actual practice, it is a harbinger nonetheless of the revolutionary transformations taking place in the paper industry’s business practices. Which brings me to the subject of this column: a snapshot of the globally transforming paper industry, the state of book-paper supply, and how the present outlook shapes your paper usage and purchasing strategies. As long as print products are foundational to the

The 20th year of the Gold Ink Awards—the industry’s most prestigious print competition—featured some of the storied awards’ most impressive and highest-quality submissions to date. A talented team of judges poured through more than 1,400 entries in this milestone year, awarding Gold, Silver, Bronze and Pewter honors in 46 categories spanning a wide variety of printed products. Printers and publishers submitted their finest pieces, and more than a dozen judges rolled up their sleeves to scrutinize and examine the entries’ each and every detail over four days in May at the Philadelphia headquarters of North American Publishing Co.—parent company of Book Business and Publishing

Muller Martini U.S.A., a book-manufacturing equipment provider, headquartered in Hauppauge, N.Y., has released a gluing solution to meet a wide range of bookbinding needs. The company’s Collibri backgluing machine allows bookbinders to glue-off thread-sewn books in a variety of ways, using dispersion glue, hotmelt or PUR (polyurethane adhesive) and applying the glue once or twice. The Collibri is available in two different lengths and with one or two interchangeable gluing stations. The Collibri with one gluing station is offered in two versions: one for melting adhesives and one for dispersion glue. The machine with two gluing stations was designed to enable highly flexible

If 2007 goes down as “The Year of RR Donnelley,” it will do so as a result of a 65-day span at the turn of the year during which the conglomerate announced it would acquire three industry stalwarts: Perry Judd’s, Von Hoffman and Banta Corp. But the past year has been about more than consolidation and leveraged buyouts. North American printers continue to grapple with the mounting menace that is offshore manufacturing, fluctuating paper prices amid a series of mill shutdowns, and the ever-evolving technological demands of their customers. And yet, despite these challenges, there are also a number of opportunities facing the market.

Océ N.V., an international provider of digital document management technology and services with North American headquarters in Trumbull, Conn., announced the introduction of its new BLM500 book maker. Designed to enhance the productivity of Oce’s current offerings of cut-sheet systems, the BLM500 is being marketed by the manufacturer as a complete booking system for digital print applications, as well as a fast, cost-effective alternative to perfect or tape binding. The book maker attaches to a cut-sheet printer to provide online finishing. “With the introduction of the BLM500, we can help ensure print operations have all the tools they need to maximize opportunities and profits

At the 18th Annual Galaxy British Book Awards ceremony in London, Lightning Source UK—a subsidiary of La Vergne, Tenn.-based Lightning Source Inc., a provider of digital publishing support and print on demand services—was honored with the Nielsen Bookdata Award for Innovation in the Book Industry. The company was recognized for the success of its Pilot Large Print Initiative, which makes books available on-demand in large-print format for the visually impaired. The initiative is the first of its kind in the publishing industry. “We’re absolutely delighted to win the award for innovation in the book industry,” said David Taylor, senior vice-president of global sales for

In Part I of this series, I described how supply chain thinking can be applied to business and career decisions. Correctly identifying your “value proposition” is the key to being able to diagram where in the chain of buying and selling relationships you can be most effective. Building on your core competencies, and recognizing that you need to manage your supply chain relationships becomes the business proposition. Chances are that when you first examine your supply chain, you will find that you have been a slave to it, rather than a master of it. I also noted that by rethinking and realistically recasting your