After nearly 10 months of work making corrections and adjustments to both the Gnome-sized and Big People's Books, I finally printed the next proof of the Gnome-sized. I'm very pleased with the results so far.
Along the way, a few months back, I printed what I thought was the finished product. Well, of course there were errors. On that version the spine was not correct, so I altered the gutter on the pages to accommodate the incorrect spine width. It was ok for a prototype. So I glued the cover on, as I had done on the last batch of books. Only this time the cover came off, after a time. Why? Right now the only answer seems to be that the paper on this cover has a different coating, which didn't allow the glue to soak into the fibers. Well, that's an issue to look at when it goes into production.
As I proceeded to correct the spine, I decided to increase the size of the Gnome-sized book. Now, I like the smaller book, but frankly, the bigger one is easier to read. I made other corrections and adjustments, which arose as a result of changing the size.
Now, with the new size conformed to a single book print file, I printed a batch of sample books. Of course, as usual, I have modification to make. Only this time the adjustments are not to the book, rather they are to the format. I'm satisfied that I have the files I need to print small quantity runs without any real issues, at least from a printing standpoint. Now I need to address issues pertaining to production.
There are a number of options, in terms of the layout. Firstly, there is my need to have files I can work with to put the material into multiple applications, without having the layout components shift around on me. That has been a big ongoing problem with the layout. I chalk that up, in large part, to computer anomolies. Secondly, I need a layout that conforms to what the printer wants to work with. That is yet to do, not that my main files don't conform, but that with all the adjustments that have been made, and all the revisions, I need to cross reference the material and craft new printing files that can be used to create the material required for high quantity printing. Those materials are conformed differently than small production runs (ie: if it goes to web).
So, now that I have what I need for small quantity printing, I have set-up a binding table in-house. I can bind using a number of methods, although my intention is only to do small quantities and after some experimentation and time studies, I'm leaning toward hand-stitching for some editions of the books. (I'll address those editions in another post)
I have found that the hand-stitched books immediately attract the most attention. Every single person I have show those hand-stitched versions to, loves it. I'd say that a pretty strong cue that I need to make that available. It has a very Gnomish feel to it. So, for the sake of grabbing a niche, the first books will be released with hand-stitched bindings. Doing this, not only, adds to the aesthetics of the book, but also eliminates the fear of the cover becoming unglued.
I'll continue this line of thought in the next post. AG
