For the last 13 years, our books were printed on a reliable schedule. Five weeks after we sent a book to press, a semi would show up at my house (in a torrential rainstorm) with pallets of books for us to unload.
During the last 18 months, however, the printing industry has turned upside down. There are crazy paper shortages. Getting the cotton cloth we use for our hardcover books has become impossible. (Holliston stopped making it because it can’t get the raw materials.)
The pandemic is to blame in part. But U.S. printing plants were shutting down and consolidating before the first COVID cough.
What does this mean for Lost Art Press and y’all? Well, we are better off than most small publishers. We have long-term relationships with our printing plants, so we can still get time on press. But the big publishers are bullies, and they are first in line thanks to their fat checkbooks.
So the biggest change ahead is that our books will take longer to come out. In the olden days, “The Stick Chair Book” would be sitting in our warehouse right now. Today, we are negotiating to get it printed in October.
Other changes ahead: We’re going to have to change the cover cloth colors of almost all of our titles in the coming year. So some of our books will look different. We’re switching to more expensive cover cloth, but we hope to hold retail prices where they are. Also, some books will have to use a different paper (I can’t get 70# opaque at a decent price to save my soul). But again, we are opting to use better paper and eat the extra expense for as long as we can.
There are some quick solutions available to our problems. We could print overseas, switch to web-press printing for all our books, use perfect binding and softcover (which are easier and cheaper to do). We could also stop using cotton cover cloth altogether and switch to another cover material (rayon? vinyl?).
None of those solutions appeal to us. So instead, we’re going to keep on the same course. This might result in some books going out of stock for a month or two. And for that I apologize. We are going to do everything we can to stay fully stocked until the industry regains its balance, but I’m sure we’ll make some mistakes.
Sorry that this reads like an automotive recall letter.
— Christopher Schwarz
We must be patient. Simple.
Wow! Interesting information, it explains why companies do what they do to stay in business.
Personally I don’t mind waiting for quality …..
Fingers crossed for a reliable supply of paper/cloth/whatever in the near and far future. It must be pretty stressful thinking that the things you can do now might not be possible/be really hard in the future just because of the race to the bottom line 🙁
All the PPB (paper, printing, and binding) details are critically important to publishers for many reasons, not least of which is cost. They are even MORE critical for small publishers like Lost Art Press. We appreciate your openness and honesty about these challenges you face and deal with every day. Perhaps on the bright side though, for customers and readers, “Content is King!”, and assuming you can always find effective ways to deliver it, THAT is your “secret sauce”. In the niche you have chosen, nobody does it better, and they can’t take that away from you.
That. Exactly.
We can wait, the quality of your books is special and very much appreciated.
Keep it up! And I would say “don’t fret about that too much”, but this is what got LAP where it is now. Just try not to lose sleep over it…
Yes, yes. Exactly.
I’ve no problem waiting a bit longer. I already have a large stack of your books I haven’t had time to read yet. Gotta get busy framing that gorgeous poster, as well.
Saturday’s open house was a real treat.
Thank you.
I am seconding Tom’s stance. I much prefer waiting for a quality product than falling into the mindless mainstream. Kudos to you and the rest, Chris, for keeping us informed on the progress, as you have always done. Patience is the virtue when it applies to quality
The quality of your production choices perfectly matches the quality of the content; it would be sacrilege to use cheaper materials and bindings.
Please carry on as you are, we will wait, and pay, before the best.
You call yourself Americans. You need to sell off to an overseas investment group. They will then print all of your titles in china as cheaply as they can. While using the integrity of the Lost art press name. Oh and don’t forget that they will recycle old blog stories of you all to give it that LAP fill. Now that’s the way you do it money for nothing and the chips for free.
Crazy world in which we live! Thanks for your attention to detail and quality. That is one of the many reason I buy your books.
Doesn’t read like a recall letter at all. Reads like a “we want to make you a quality product so it will take a bit longer before we can deliver” letter. Two thumbs up.
Hi Chris,
No apologies needed, but the explanation is most appreciated, as you have always kept your patrons well informed on LAP books’ progress. You have to do what is needed to keep the high quality at the level that you and your patrons want. I am thankful to you for that, and delays are a non-issue for me.
Thanks.
This is happening everywhere. In Italy there is a can shortage. Tomato sauce may not get canned and the tomatoes may not get picked. That’s a major problem for Italians. The lockdowns have done far more damage than the media will report. Supply chains of all kinds have been severly disrupted some of which will cause death. A warning went out for Christmas toys, there may not be enough because of the backlog in manufacturing and shipping costs increases along with shipping container shortages. Everything is dependant on everything else which helped create a very effeciant manufacturing and supply cycle. On demand inventory was a booming business model. Not now, everything has been turned upside down and prices have inflated because of scarcity. More lockdowns on the way? I’m buying a freeze dryer for food preservation, this could get ugly if not deadly.
Time for Naugahyde covers!
I like this idea, but Maybe only on smaller format books.
Yours are the books we will hand down to our grandchildren…The quality of your books are worth waiting for…in the meantime…I’ll go sharpen some chisels in anticipation.
If we need to pay more due to material costs we’ll pay it since LAP’s product is excellent. We all know that when/if costs return to pre-COVID you’ll also pass this along.
What about moleskin covers, no shortage of moles right now, or did PETA finally get to LAP? Shortages are rampant in so many supply lines but I am happy to wait.
I agree with Bradl – there is a stack of LAP books on my side table waiting to be read that will keep me entertained/amused/informed/perplexed. I’ll keep ordering as new titles become available to maintain my backlog!
Glad to see you’re sticking to your guns while you can.
Stay the high road. Manufacture here. I don’t want to read a book that came off the water, unless it’s a barge on the Ohio.
Use leather harvested from the backs of the bruised for we are not one to choose!
I second that. Leather is bether (pronounced better).
I would rather pay the price and wait a little longer for a quality book.
I’m willing to pay more for a quality product. The times are crazy! Stick to your principles (like you need to be reminded!)
It’s ironic that you write about chairs. You don’t appear to sit very much.
I’d like a book printed on a series of bandanas. Keep up the good work.
I can be patient for quality, or even pay more if necessary to keep a good company in business.
How about two price options on website? Regular price and a higher optional price for what the extra costs are. Some of us are willing to pay for quality.
Open press project does something similar for their pricing.
We’ve seen pricing options such as this on Bandcamp and other platforms. We prefer to keep things simple and we will try to live with less. But I appreciate the your generosity.
Question, not a comment- would you please explain the differences in the various cover materials, and paper. And what is “web-printing? Thanks.
I could write a book about this topic. But too-briefly:
The boards of a book can be covered in cloth, typically rayon, cotton or vinyl. We use cotton for our fabric covers, though the rayon isn’t awful as it’s made from cellulose. The vinyl is slick and cheap-feeling.
You also can cover the boards with printed paper – called “paper over boards.” We have done this on a few titles, such as “Kitchen Think.” It’s less expensive than some options.
On paper… https://blog.lostartpress.com/2020/09/09/making-book-part-9-dont-be-a-dumb-sheet/
On web-press printing: We use two different types of presses: sheet-fed presses and web-presses. Sheet feed works like a copier. A big sheet of paper goes into the press and the inks are added to it via aluminum plates. It’s best for color work in my opinion.
A web press is like the newspaper presses from the movies. The paper is in a giant roll and rolls over the plate. It’s best for black-and-white work in my opinion. It is also considerably cheaper than sheet-fed work in my experience.
Finally, all my investments into papyrus manufacturing are about to bear fruit! Now is my moment! Bwa ha ha ha!!
Hi Chris, in my birthplace, just about ten miles from where I live now, there is a company that produces the stuff you need. And they have a great selection of colours etc.:
https://www.vanheektextiles.nl/en/products/cover-materials/
I guess they export to the USA too. If not I could be your intermediate.
Thank you!
As of now, we still have two domestic suppliers available to us. If things get worse, we will definitely reach out to VanHeek.
Hi Chris,
Thanks for the update. It’s all good. For myself, I’d gladly pay a little more (5 or 10 bucks?) a cover for good quality books. Of course, I’m also in a position to be able to, so I won’t speak for others.
Keep up the great work….and thank you!
Derek
Keep doing what you’re doing.
It would break my heart just a little if future titles went straight to softcover. We can all be patient. October is a fine reading month.
Thank you for keeping the quality
Quality. For this, we salute you.
From what I have experienced, you do at least two things well: making quality products (in this case books) and keeping customers aware of the whys and wherefores, the ups and downs. You care, and it shows.
Anxiously awaiting this fine book! I like to order the book along with the pdf. I hope that procedure is available for this one, too. Keep up the great work!
Thank you,
Greg
Good choices
Although when can I order ATC in sequin spandex
😉
For the record, Chris, I’ve bought a LOT of your books and gear. Price and delivery time have never been much of a consideration. I appreciate the quality of the content and the construction of your books. None better. Your books have been treasured items since I first started following you (from the olden magazine times!) Take your time. Quality above all else. If the price has to get bumped, let it be so. My Lost Art Press books will be gladly handed down at some point. Vinyl covers would somehow… make it less of a treasured moment!! Hold to the line, my friend.
You could go Canadian – that’s kinda America Lite. Mind you, those Canadians will try and insist every book needs Moose antlers as well. Probably better to have nothing to do with them: dreadful people the Canadians…
Ya, I’m Canadian… well, Vancouver…. which isn’t really Canadian….
Quality always – so thank you. We international types sure also appreciate the PDF option. Cheers
We don’t buy your books because they are cheap. We buy them because they are worthy classics.
Don’t try to cheapen them. They don’t deserve it.
Could the pdf be made available for those of us who read the books for the stuff in between the covers (especially those who are in lockdown in Sydney NSW and have read all their backlog of LAP books)?
Chris, you bring clarity and understanding to the table even before one realizes the question to be asked. In my world, you have more than earned the valued trust to find comfort and best-interest in your advise and leadership.
I love the color, i love the design i know and love the quality of your books (it also gave me the opportunity of increasing my english thanks for that), i would personnaly don’t mind/prefer to pay an extra 10/20 Dollars/euros to keep/increase the quality than the opposite, as for so many things beautiful books can’t be cheap. I am very impatient to open your Stick Chair book. Wish you the best.
I don’t know if it is even a thing, but hemp cloth covering would wear like leather and have no end of off-color marketing material.
I guess whoever buys books at LAP prefer quality in any case. We can wait for it.
Best regards from austria!
Lorenz
As a hobbyist woodworker that has worked in the publishing industry, I can’t tell you how much I appreciate not only this post, but Lost Art Press as a whole — all that you stand for, all that you’ve done, and continue to do. PLEASE KEEP IT UP. I toiled in the publishing industry for 9 years; at both a large international publishing group and a small independent publisher. Then I moved into the software industry. That was 10 years ago. I’m sure the challenges and frustrations I dealt with back then pale in comparison to what you face today. I am filled with admiration, respect, and gratitude for the work that you all do. And I will gladly pay higher prices for your outstanding books when that day comes.
you make good books, i have 7 and another on the way. the boards are curling on most of them. its the only physical flaw they have. i have your 3 anarchist and the hayward books.