Hi Lynn,
How have you been?
I am in touch as I am working on a project at the moment that might interest you. Last year, I published a book using Print on Demand. I ordered a few copies for myself and asked my dad (who lives in Germany) to order one as well, in order to get some feedback on my publication. When I went to see my dad, I had a look at the publication he ordered and noticed that the paper stock was completely different to the one I had received in London, even the colours looked different. After that, I figured that POD firms usually operate several facilities indifferent continents, each one printing only for nearby countries, thus offering savings and sustainability on shipping costs, as well as potentially producing less CO2 emissions.
I believe that these variables allow for some interesting results in terms of production and printing, what would you say? I would like to run asmall experiment, where I sent one identical PDF/publication off to be printed in different countries.
The PDF publication will be specifically designed for this experiment and will include roughly 150 pages with font samples, colour and images. I am hoping to examine how the global book market differentiates culturally in the print industry through digital technologies.Although I know that blurb for example, has an Audit Room where a specialized team is dedicated to ordering and reviewing dozens of test books every week (Behind the scenes, 2014). I am curious to see how this control has an impact of the publications. Is the control based on industrial standardization or does it only look at general standards?
For now, I am planning to produce a test book that I will be sending to two different countries; one to Korea and one to myself in the UK.Would you be interested in discussing this project with me further and see whether it would be an interesting project that could potentially be part of And Public? The project should provide useful data for other designers and self-publishers to judge the possibilities and quality of online print-on-demand around the world.
It would be great to hear what you think about my first ideas, concept and implementation.
Looking forward to your reply.
Very best,
Rahel