Grub Street Printing Newsletter #14 Dec./Jan. 2009 - 2010

Less Capacity & Higher Prices

By the end of 2009, International Paper will have shut down paper machines that produced over 10 million tons of U.S. paper products annually.

And, my paper insider at Central Michigan Paper, Mark Bultema, points out that pulp prices have stabilized at the increased levels mentioned in last month’s newsletter and further increases are being considered if demand remains steady.

Bureau Grotesque…

...is one of the typefaces, along with Interstate and Antenna, allegedly used without authorization by NBC shows such as Saturday Night Live and the Jay Leno Show.

Font Bureau, the designer of the fonts, has sued NBC for $2 million for trademark infringement. Font Bureau claims NBC purchased one license then disseminated unlicensed copies of the fonts to be used throughout the company.

Getting Better All The Time?

An unexpected increase in September book sales was reported by the American Association of Publishers. The 12.3% increase boosted YTD sales 3.6% over 2008.

Book Industry Study Group had forecast a 1% overall increase for 2009.

Opt-Out vs. Opt-In

September’s 28 page critique of the Google Book Settlement by the Justice

Department sent all parties back to the negotiating table.

Google has dug in its heels over the ability of copyright holders to opt-out of Google’s “orphan” book reproductions while most informed copyright advocates demand an opt-in option.

Stay tuned for the February 4, 2010 Justice Department’s response.

M & A

In a merger that apparently will challenge HP’s dominance of the digital print and office machine field, Canon, Inc., known for its cameras and midline office products, has purchased Océ N.V. whose digital presses revolutionized print on demand books.

Also, the proposed merger of Heidelberg Druckmaschinen AG and MANRoland AG, both top of the line German press manufacturers, was surprisingly put on hold, allegedly because Heidelberg’s financial house has some serious issues.

Heidelberg has received assistance from the German government this year to forestall possible liquidation.

Will More Mean More?

Jared Friedman, the Chief Technical Officer at Scribd (aka The YouTube for Books) has prescribed increasing the number of titles published yearly from 300,000 to 3 million to strengthen the publishing industry.

Friedman maintains that there are sufficient writers and readers but the current structure of the industry prevents such expansion.