Chris, can they do a run or say 100 copies? And then you and the printer check those copies and if they’re good, then you can continue the one. But if they’re bad, you can make adjustments?
They can't do 100. They have to set up the binding machines to join the signatures. Then the book blocks have to go to the bindery. And those machines have to be set up. Once the machines are set up (a time-consuming process) then they do the entire run.
Doing 100 would cost as much as printing 3,000 because of the set-up time. I know it seems odd if you make things one or 10 ast a time, but machine setup is a big part of publishing and mass production in general.
One of my brothers is a journeyman bookbinder. Many years ago he worked in the hand binding department of a large printing and bookbinding business, and while his department would certainly do single volume bindings for private customers if asked to, the bread and butter part of the hand bindery business was low-count editions -- from a couple of tens to a few hundred copies -- where binding by hand was less expensive per copy than setting up the big machinery to only do a very short run.
The really, really good news is they care about quality. Quality outlasts posts, bold statements, and people. Thanks for creating books my grandkids can use long after I'm gone.
If the printing on money is off, do they have to pulp the money? If they pulp the money, what does it cost? Do you add the value of the money to the cost of the pulping? When does money become money? When it's printed, or when it first gets spent? If it just sits and never gets used, is it still money?
Apparently today, money becomes money whenever someone (either being mysterious of unknown origins or being famous - take your pick) decides to “mint” their own fiat coin and sell it to others…….
Just to note: it took me some time to sort out a pdf-readability issue (iPhone super unsuitable, ok?) but now I’m 1/3 through and haven’t spotted any typos. Which, if I may say, is highly unusual. Kudos to your proof team.
Someone suggested you share your publisher's name here. I suggest instead you share (if you haven't already) their quality as a partner with others looking to publish. I wish it weren't true, but it's likely someone would attack them, because they did the right thing, if you bandied it about. 😒
Would you want to name your printer along with this story, so they can benefit by the internet seeing that they have the integrity and ability to make these decisions, and ensure that they produce work of the highest quality?
I’m not looking to print a book anytime soon, but thankfully other people are :)
I bought a softcover edition of "The Workbench Design" book printed in China and published by the firm that bought out Chris's former employer. Photos were awful, too dark, and made reading painful. So kudos to the printer who binned their run of the ATC book for that reason. Quality approach is rare nowadays.
Taking a hit like that over a quality just earned your business for life and of untold others. That was budget dust to big companies but a solid investment in their future. Kudos to them.
Very sorry to hear this, Chris. Just this morning I received my copy of 'The Stick Chair Book: Revised Edition' and I've been admiring it's high quality (understatement) all day. I can't imagine how you could have made it one bit better; every opportunity for quality of text, illustrations, layout, binding, was taken, it's all there, first class. I'm sorry for the loss your publisher suffered, they're clearly good people.
Looking forward to it coming out in print. Thanks for the transparency around the delay and kudos to the printer for their standard of quality.
Chris, thank you I did not know all that stuff. Actually, there’s a lot of stuff I don’t know.
Chris, can they do a run or say 100 copies? And then you and the printer check those copies and if they’re good, then you can continue the one. But if they’re bad, you can make adjustments?
They can't do 100. They have to set up the binding machines to join the signatures. Then the book blocks have to go to the bindery. And those machines have to be set up. Once the machines are set up (a time-consuming process) then they do the entire run.
Doing 100 would cost as much as printing 3,000 because of the set-up time. I know it seems odd if you make things one or 10 ast a time, but machine setup is a big part of publishing and mass production in general.
One of my brothers is a journeyman bookbinder. Many years ago he worked in the hand binding department of a large printing and bookbinding business, and while his department would certainly do single volume bindings for private customers if asked to, the bread and butter part of the hand bindery business was low-count editions -- from a couple of tens to a few hundred copies -- where binding by hand was less expensive per copy than setting up the big machinery to only do a very short run.
The really, really good news is they care about quality. Quality outlasts posts, bold statements, and people. Thanks for creating books my grandkids can use long after I'm gone.
Integrity. Can't ask for much more than that.
In ~400 years those bad printings will be worth more (cf. the "Wicked Bible" https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wicked_Bible)! 😉
But I am sorry ... and, selfishly, was hoping a visit to Cincinnati in a few weeks might align with an opportunity to pick up a copy in person.
If the printing on money is off, do they have to pulp the money? If they pulp the money, what does it cost? Do you add the value of the money to the cost of the pulping? When does money become money? When it's printed, or when it first gets spent? If it just sits and never gets used, is it still money?
Apparently today, money becomes money whenever someone (either being mysterious of unknown origins or being famous - take your pick) decides to “mint” their own fiat coin and sell it to others…….
I wasn't having an ATC emergency, so I'm happy to wait. Even happier that quality matters.
Whoa.
Just to note: it took me some time to sort out a pdf-readability issue (iPhone super unsuitable, ok?) but now I’m 1/3 through and haven’t spotted any typos. Which, if I may say, is highly unusual. Kudos to your proof team.
Someone suggested you share your publisher's name here. I suggest instead you share (if you haven't already) their quality as a partner with others looking to publish. I wish it weren't true, but it's likely someone would attack them, because they did the right thing, if you bandied it about. 😒
Would you want to name your printer along with this story, so they can benefit by the internet seeing that they have the integrity and ability to make these decisions, and ensure that they produce work of the highest quality?
I’m not looking to print a book anytime soon, but thankfully other people are :)
We publish their name in the front of every book (most publishers do not).
Signature Book Printing
8041 Cessna Ave.
Gaithersburg, Maryland 20879
https://www.signature-book.com/
This just doubled the chance of me buying the revised edition even though I got the first not that long ago
I bought a softcover edition of "The Workbench Design" book printed in China and published by the firm that bought out Chris's former employer. Photos were awful, too dark, and made reading painful. So kudos to the printer who binned their run of the ATC book for that reason. Quality approach is rare nowadays.
Chris can't the run say 100 and look at those. What will become of all those bad copies?
Thats a lot of money
The interior book blocks will be pulped, recycled and used again in other books. The covers and endsheets will be used on the new book blocks.
I understand your point, but my name is on this thing. And it will be long after this substack is forgotten.
Taking a hit like that over a quality just earned your business for life and of untold others. That was budget dust to big companies but a solid investment in their future. Kudos to them.
Very sorry to hear this, Chris. Just this morning I received my copy of 'The Stick Chair Book: Revised Edition' and I've been admiring it's high quality (understatement) all day. I can't imagine how you could have made it one bit better; every opportunity for quality of text, illustrations, layout, binding, was taken, it's all there, first class. I'm sorry for the loss your publisher suffered, they're clearly good people.