Grub Street Printing Newsletter #11 June/July 2009

Google Settlement

Orphan works are books whose copyright holders cannot be located. Last year the House of Representatives let a bill expire without a vote that would have opened access to these works. Now Google has taken it upon itself to seek monopolistic rights (“the Settlement”)to these works via the legal system.

Global Paper Demand Rebounds

Domtar Paper has announced that it’s reopening its Baileyville, Maine pulp mill due to an increase in global paper demand. The plant produces 398,000 air dry metric tons annually. It closed May 5.

The Bad News is Good News

Borders and Barnes & Noble reported 1^st quarter losses in late May. B&N lost $2.7 million while Borders lost $86 million. Expectations were so low that both stock’s share prices rose after the announcement.

Flat is the New Up

Or so we were told at a Book Industry Study Group seminar at Book Expo America. Overall book sales climbed roughly 1% with 1.8% growth expected in 2010. For an overall look at the sector by sector sales analysis go to http://www.slideshare.net/bisg/bookexpo-america-book-industry-trends-2009 .

The Last Quebecor Story?

R.R. Donnelly, the world’s largest print services provider, has retracted its offer to purchase Quebecor World before it emerges from bankruptcy this July.

Had the offer been accepted by Quebecor’s directors (and U.S. and Canadian courts) Donnelly would have acquired all five of its largest competitors in the past decade.

Donnelly profits declined 92% in the 1^st quarter.

I doubt this story is over. Donnelly began speaking with key participants in the bankruptcy filing last September.

B&T do P.O.D.

Baker & Taylor has contracted with R.R.Donnelly to establish a book “print on demand” division in its Momence, Illinois distribution facility to compete directly with Ingram’s Lightning Source.

Digtal vs Offset 2008

Bowker reports that the number of titles printed “traditionally” (offset) declined 3.2% while “on demand” titles increased 132%, the third straight year of triple digit growth.

Beware of Scammers

Hucksters abound in the publishing services business. Go to http://www.sfwa.org/Beware/, the SFWA site that identifies and details most of the scams and how to recognize them.

Heidelberg Presses

Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG, makers of legendary Heidelberg presses used by book manufacturers around the world announced that new press sales declined 18% last year.

Grub Street Printing Newsletter #7 Sept. / Oct. 2008

Brand New –Acrobat 9

Acrobat 9 has just been released as part of Creative Suite 3.3. Best new feature? Acrobat 9 makes collaboration on documents easier, especially with the ability to access the new Acrobat.com, a free online service and library that allows file sharing and real time discussions with other users.

Orphan Works

In late September the Senate passed the Shawn Bentley Orphan Works Act of 2008 (S. 2913).

The bill deals with copyrighted works whose authors or copyright holders cannot be located.

Warehouse Cleaning

Whether it’s because of a new edition or declining sales, occasionally some titles need to be disposed of.

If remaindering isn’t practical, consider donating those books to the Books for Asia Program.

Program information is available at http://asiafoundation.org/program/overview/books-for-asia.

The books won’t compete with your other editions and you’ll get a tax break.

The Future of Print

Check out www.atdrupa.de to see videos of the newest print technology from Drupa, the world’s largest print show. Andrew Tribute’s analysis is worth watching twice.

Rainforest Blues

International Paper has announced plans to build a pulp/paper mill in Indonesia where the rainforest is disappearing at the rate of 7 million acres per year. Most of Indonesia’s timber is taken illegally.

Indonesia’s deforestation creates more emissions annually than all of the cars, planes, buses and trucks in the U.S. according to ForestEthics.org.

Printer Profit Squeeze

American printers continue to struggle with profitability in the transition to digital output. Profits declined 35% in the 12 months ending June 30, 2008.

In a Related Story

Quebecor World is being sued by a group of its suppliers for repaying $376 million of bank debt just days before its 2007 bankruptcy filing, leaving the vendors with a much smaller pie to share.

Despite its bankruptcy, Quebecor remains the second largest commercial printer in North America (behind RR Donnelley) with annual revenues exceeding $6 billion.

The top 13 North American “mega printers” saw revenues decline 6% since 1999 in spite of completing some blockbuster mergers and acquisitions (think Banta and Perry Judds). The mega printers control over 30% of the North American print market.

Grub Street Printing Newsletter #6 July / August 2008

Amazon vs. Ingram

The Lightning Source reps in Ingram’s booth at BEA were kept busy discussing its expanded ability to print full color books on demand.

Asked about Amazon’s new requirement that POD books offered by Amazon be produced only by Amazon’s POD producer BookSurge, a Lightning Source rep just smiled and said everything would be resolved in six months. He just wouldn’t say how.

Merge Out of Chapter 11?

American Color Graphics, an 80 year old printer with 14 locations will emerge from Chapter 11 proceedings by merging with Vertis, a print advertising supplier with 100 locations, also emerging from Chapter 11. (?)

Digital High Speed Ink Jet

Conventional wisdom held that toner based digital printing provided the fastest output speeds consistent with quality demands.

That truism may have run its course. Digital printer manufacturers like Xerox, Kodak, and Oce are introducing high-speed, full color, roll fed ink jet printers that use permanent inks.

While generally intended for direct mail and personalized billing applications, full color book production is also being offered. Kodak claims “offset quality” from its model.

High-speed ink jet printers for digital newspaper production were shown at Drupa 2008, the world’s largest print exhibit, in June.

Paperback Dreams

A new documentary film by Alex Beckstead entitled “Paperback Dreams” chronicles 50 years of two San Fransisco independent bookstores, Cody’s Books and Kepler’s Books. It debuts in November on PBS.

UAC 2008

Ray Merriman and his crew staged a terrific convention in Denver. The unity theme seems to have renewed dialogue that was suspended years ago. (And the book room was fantastic.)

Are You A Speaker?

Publishing Business Conference is accepting speaker proposals for its annual conference in New York next March.

There’s more information at http://www.publishingbusiness.com/speakerproposals.php

Update

Quebecor World has received bankruptcy court permission to find buyers for its facilities in eight European countries. The web site no longer displays a European presence.

Grub Street Printing Newsletter #5 May / June 2008

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Borders Watch

Unlike Yahoo’s rejection of the Microsoft buyout proposal, Borders Group has been blowing kisses at Barnes & Noble as a possible suitor for some months (if not years) now.

And while it seems that Barnes & Noble has finally noticed, the prospect of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) blessing this union seems very unlikely.

Quebecor Update

Quebecor World continued to address its bankruptcy by closing plants in Lincoln, Neb., Magog, Quebec, North Haven, Conn., and downsizing its Islington plant in Etobicoke, Ont. so far this spring.

Quebecor common stock is trading around 20¢ C, down from its $40 C high in 2002 and $15 C just a year ago.

Amazon’s Rules

In March, Amazon.com announced that any print-on-demand (POD) book sold by Amazon must be printed by Amazon subsidiary Book Surge, a POD manufacturer.Publisher associations are outraged and BookLocker.com, a well known POD producer, is suing for restraint of trade.Affected publishers are encouraged to contact the Federal Trade Commission Commission to plead their case.

Coming Soon - FSC Paper

Everyone seems concerned about their business’ environmental footprint, which explains why book paper certified by the Forest Stewardship Council is gaining in popularity.

There are a number of factors and aspects involved in certification such as:

FM – FSC Management Certified company

FM/COC – FSC Forest Mgmt. And Chain-of-Custody certified company

COC – FSC Chain of Custody certified companies

FM/COC-NTFP – FSC non-timber forest product certified company

SS – Smart Step Certified company

CW – FSC Controlled Wood certified company

VER – Verification of Legal Origin, or Legal Compliance, or other Verification programs

SL – Smart Logging certified operations

Many printers are beginning to offer FSC certified text paper at no additional charge. FSC certified post consumer recycled book paper is in the works.

PDF Proofing

When you want to take a quick look at your PDF cover file, make sure you’re using Adobe Acrobat. Adobe Reader or other PDF programs may not render your cover properly.