Graphic Arts Magazine September 2018 | Page 36

Feature story

Books aren ’ t going anywhere

Tony Curcio

Despite a slow decline , book printers find ways to stay competitive

“ The reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated .” Mark Twain speaking to reporters in London , England , in 1897

The current state of affairs in book printing and publishing is best summarized by the above quote . Yes , printed books are in decline , but they ’ re not disappearing any time soon . A report from Smithers Pira titled The Future of Digital vs Analogue Printing to 2020 , revealed that sales of printed books ( a $ 32.1 billion market in 2016 ) were down from $ 38 billion in 2010 . And yet , digital equipment that adds value to offsetprinted books is enabling many businesses to stay competitive , the report stressed . But one must also include the ingenuity of today ’ s traditional book printers .

Book printing – the good news

It ' s been about 15 years since the first e-readers were released . Today , only 20 % -30 % of books sold are e-books . Also , e-reader sales peaked in 2011 . For the past several years , according to the Association of American Publishers , e-book sales have actually not risen at the expense of their printed counterparts ! Furthermore , seldom mentioned are the health benefits of reading printed materials . No matter what e-device you ’ re using , you ’ re exposing yourself to the same blue light that ’ s affecting the melatonin in your brain – which can make you feel tired . Other studies have found that found that children aged 3-5 had a lower comprehension when they were read to from an e-reader , rather than from a printed book – and that news stories consumed via e-readers weren ’ t recalled as well as those that were read from a printed page .

Today , book printers are also looking at new business models . One is ‘ long-tail ’ publishing . Established publishers usually hold a backlog of titles still under copyright . Demand for these is limited , however , and can rarely justify print runs of thousands needed to make offset cost-efficient . So publishers are monetizing these titles thanks to digital printing , making very short runs , or even single editions , financially viable . Also , the rapid turnarounds enabled by digital also allow publishers to exploit time-sensitive opportunities , such as a biography following the death of a famous person , or the winning of a sports championship .

The role of variable data

Variable-data print on digital platforms is ideal for printing personalized books . A more commercial application of this principle is in the textbook industry . Web-to-print interfaces linked to digital presses means that lecturers or teachers can design customized textbooks for their students . This valueadding option , said Smithers-Pira , is becoming increasingly lucrative , with the U . S . market alone worth over $ 8.5 billion in 2013 . The price of books printed this way is obviously more than for mass-offset-printed titles . But these higher costs seem to have little impact , as customers are willing to pay more for a personalized product .

Book printing ’ s outlook

Overall , book printing will see the most radical switch to digital during this decade . Digital had only a 14.2 % share of the world market by value in 2010 , but Smithers Pira ’ s analysis shows that this will rise to 46.1 % of world value by 2020 . And most experts agree that the key in coping with all this is to be agile in combining traditional offset with value-added digital , while keeping a close eye on future trends . A great example of this mindset is employee-owned Friesens of Altona , Manitoba , one of Canada ’ s largest and most successful book printers . They ’ ve been in business since 1907 and specialize in largerun and short-run books , yearbooks and history books , to name a few . And they ’ ve been able to thrive in a very competitive market through innovation and strategic investments .

“ We have a proud tradition of staying on the leading edge of technology by imagining what future markets will look like , then investing in the best possible solutions to fill the needs of today and tomorrow ,” said Byron Loeppky , book / web general manager and corporate vice president of operations . Though primarily an offset shop , Friesens has also made major investments in digital short-run printing . Using LED technology has also been huge , enabling faster turnarounds while accommodating different papers – especially uncoated covers with heavy ink coverage . “ Our ability to accommodate a broad range of print runs , increase output speeds , achieve plate savings , and accurately estimate a press ’ s life expectancy , are all keys to our success .

In June 2015 , Friesens nearly quadrupled its productivity by installing North America ’ s largest perfecting press from Manroland Sheetfed Canada – an 8-colour Roland R900 HiPrint XXL with several automation modules . This allowed expansion to include books in the 20,000-run realm . It also invested in Canada ’ s first Roland Evolution R708P – a high-speed perfecting press with optional LED UV technology . This was Friesens ’ first entry into the UV market for an offset press . Another recent investment was a new Muller Martini Diamant MC Casing-In Bookbinding System that significantly improved book production efficiency . A second Muller Martini line will be installed early in 2019 .

Now while all this technology drives sales , Loeppky stressed caution . “ Yes , we continue to invest in new offset technologies like LED , and are ‘ bullish ’ regarding the book-printing market , but we always proceed with caution . We got into digital about

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