A sold-out crowd of 140 participants joined the Book Manufacturers’ Institute in Boston on October 1 for its Book Manufacturing Mastered event, which examined a number of hot-button issues in the production side of the book business, including paper standardization, digital vs. offset printing, paper availability, and what to do about the approaching European Union Deforestation Regulations (EUDR).
Speakers from printers and publishers alike generally agreed that first printings, especially for hardcovers, have gone down in recent year,s and that publishers are more willing to use digital print-on-demand. Joe Upton, of digital printer Gasch Printing, said that publishers appear to be more appreciative of the “total cost” of printing, including the cost of books sitting in inventory. This makes them willing to do more limited digital print runs, which are generally higher per copy but don’t result in excess inventory, he added.
Karen Pavlicin, publisher of Elva Resa, said she is using more digital printing, but quickly added that “unit sale costs remain important,” noting that, as distribution changes, she is doing more drop shipping. Pavlicin, who is also the previous board chair of the Independent Book Publishers Association, added that she is looking into ways for small presses to work together on distribution issues.
Whether the printing is offset or digital, it depends on paper, and the cost and availability of the resource remains a concern. Marco Boer of IT Strategies said that if new tariffs are placed on paper from China, the market could become a “hot mess.” The other wildcard Boer spoke about is EUDR, which will require any company that sells a product that contains a wood product in the EU to prove that the tree was not cut down from a deforested region. Boer speculated that if the rule goes into effect on December 31, some paper suppliers may opt not to sell to EU book manufacturers next year—possibly giving a boost to the U.S. paper supply.
Paper’s availability is still contracting, according to Bill Rojack of Midland Paper, who observed that, for most mills, paper comprises only 5% of their total output. Rojack and Matt Baehr, executive director of BMI, were two of several speakers who said that the EUDR is almost certainly going into effect at the end of the year, and that the best the industry can hope for is that enforcement will be delayed—something a number of BMI speakers said they believe is possible.
To cut costs, the idea of limiting the number of paper sizes for boiks has been floated in the last few years, and that notion was endorsed by several speakers at the meeting. The speakers quickly noted that they were mainly referring to trim sizes when confronted by publishers over the suggestion, one of whom noted the demand from Barnes & Noble for more “bells and whistles on the cover.”
Other common themes that emerged from the meeting were the need for more communication from publishers to printers about what their needs are, and that publishers should, rather than spreading work around to various manufacturers, choose one company— preferably a printer that only prints books—and develop a close relationship with that firm. Asked about prospects for 2025, Andrew van Strange of Maple Press said that he expects it to look a lot like 2024, which has been characterized by conservative print runs, higher usage of inkjet printing, and more attention paid to sustainability. Kent Larson of Bridgeport National Bindery agreed: “We talk about sustainability every day.”
