For print management company Imago, its partner network has remained the same in the past year. “We continue to source from China, India, South Korea, and Southeast Asia, as well as Europe,” says president and CEO Howard Musk, adding that China remains the most significant location. “But we are seeing growth in other regions as our clients look for diversification and to avoid problems with content unsuitable for production in China.”
Trend-wise, Musk is seeing new trends making their way into book manufacturing, including digital and silk-screened cold foiling. “Unlike the traditional hot-stamping method, adhesive foil that is digitally printed onto the substrate allows for finer details as well as varying thickness to create sculptural effects and textures. Combining these techniques with color printing and metallic inks can produce spectacular covers and jackets,” says Musk, whose team recently used UV cold foil for the production of The Midnight Order for Magnetic Press.
Special and limited editions have now grown beyond books. “Take tarot decks: a standard edition will have just the deck of cards in a custom box, whereas the deluxe edition will have giltedged cards, a reading cloth, and probably a signed art card, stickers, and pin badges,” Musk says. “Then there is the limited edition, with all the extras of the deluxe version as well as with an enamel badge, perhaps a sewn patch, and an additional sister tarot deck placed in a beautiful tin with its own mailing carton. We are finding that our clients get really inspired and creative with more add-ons to their projects that we can suggest.”
The Imago team has also completed several book projects in which the difference between the standard edition and the collector’s item can be anything from a foiled slipcase to a signed or numbered tip-in. “We have just delivered a seven-book slipcase set for a religious publisher, where the strength of the slipcase material is of paramount importance,” says Musk. The team also recently worked with Artisan Books on their heirloom deluxe Philip Glass Piano Etudes boxed set, which required meticulous printing of varying four-color tints on uncoated stock while maintaining the translucent white effect on the text for each cover as well as the silk-screening on the box itself.
Then there is manga, another fast-growing sector at Imago. “Often, the manga artists will lay film tints to add background effects or grayscale to their illustrations, and so our team has to take extra precautions during the file handling, preflighting, and platemaking processes to avoid potential moiré effects during printing,” says Musk. “All these point to Imago’s strengths and expertise in getting everything together seamlessly—and from different suppliers at times—in order to deliver projects on time and on budget.
