Little, Brown Book Group is part of Hachette UK, and has a long track record of producing bestselling titles across both fiction and non-fiction topics. Authors published by the company include Stephenie Meyer, Iain Banks and Alexander McCall Smith. Bestselling Harry Potter author JK Rowling has chosen to work with Little, Brown on her first adult novel, and its title and publication date have just been announced: The Casual Vacancy will be published in September. Little, Brown production director Nick Ross provides insights into the group’s printing requirements.
Do you print in the UK or overseas?
The majority of our books are trade hardbacks in royal and demy formats. We print in the UK because of the price and speed of service we require. Timeliness is absolutely crucial, not just for new titles but for reprints as well.
Are you producing shorter runs, more frequently?
Absolutely, yes. We would rather have tight stock where we know we can replenish it. Of course, we will plan and aim to sell ‘x’ number of copies based on expectations and the level of promotion for any particular title, but we don’t just print books and hope to sell them.
In the case of paperbacks, we are producing a lot of short runs. For short-runs the ‘up to’ boundaries are changing all the time. It was up to 500 last year, it’s 900 now, next year it will probably be 2,500. Reprint quantities are reducing while the amount of orders is increasing. Digital printing will help the bottleneck trade printers are finding. With digital printing, there are no start-up charges so a single copy price is just that. It’s very exciting. We’ve been doing short-run production for about three years now. Titles that might have been out of print are still in stock. It seems as though our print quantities are shorter than the page extents.
Are you making use of special print or finishing techniques to create higher-value products, such as the matt laminate jacket on Walter Isaacson’s biography of Steve Jobs published last year?
We always try to make the jacket or cover as attractive as possible, though I hope that’s also true for the product itself, including the quality of the paper and printing. We’re just about to publish a book with a lenticular effect cover which works particularly well for that title.
With jacket and cover finishes, short-run digital production doesn’t sustain special finishes in the same way. If you start adding additional processes then you can lose the just-in-time benefits of that sort of production.
Do you require your print suppliers to provide additional services?
There is greater call for our suppliers to help with fulfilment. This might mean stickering or putting books into packs. They also make direct deliveries.
We are close to implementing automatic stock replenishment on established backlist titles. If stock goes below a certain quantity, it will trigger a notification at the printer. There will be a validation process, but basically the printer will fulfil the order and deliver books to the warehouse, ensuring we don’t go out of stock.
How are e-books affecting your requirements for physical books?
Well, of course, we no longer produce a single PDF file to just create a book. It seems the emphasis on the physical book is to produce an attractive product within the boundaries of what we can do.
What are the trends from your point-of-view for paper stocks and covers?
As I said, attractive cover finishes, quality paper, responsibly sourced materials – we use FSC-accredited papers.
THE SPECIALIST PUBLISHER
The United Bible Societies (UBS) encompasses almost 150 individual societies spanning 200 countries, and is the world’s biggest publisher, translator and distributor of Bibles. There are more than 450 complete translations of the Bible, and Scriptures are available in an amazing 2,527 languages. Brian Lawson, head of production in Europe, Middle East and North Africa at United Bible Societies, explains the challenges.
Do you print in the UK or overseas? Is there any shift in the share of work done here or abroad if so?
We print mainly in China and Korea. We are a global charity and we are linked to the Korean Bible Society and the Amity Foundation. So we use those printers mainly, and European and UK suppliers occasionally.
Are you producing shorter runs, more frequently?
Yes. That’s where our UK suppliers such as Berforts come in. We produce scholarly editions that are used by translation consultants and for those we only need 20 copies. They take the books with them when working on translations in different countries. It’s a very difficult job. In Kenya, for example, there are 45 languages. And some languages are only oral and have no alphabet so the translators start with phonetics. But they always work from the original Greek and Hebrew texts.
Do you need quicker turnaround times on your titles? If so, how quick?
When we are sourcing from Southeast Asia, there is a lead time of four-to-five months. We also have requirements of a more timely nature. At the moment, I am working on a project that involves 140,000 New Testaments needed by the end of May, so production will be in Europe. Bible printing is a never-ending requirement.
Are you making more use of special print/finishing techniques to create higher-value products? What sort of techniques do you use?
We print sheet work in Korea on paper down to 22gsm. I can’t do that in Europe and I’ve no idea why. Printers in Europe say it’s impossible and it can’t be done, yet Korean printers are doing it and it’s the same equipment as far as I can tell.
We produced a bestseller in Norwegian last year and one edition was voted the most beautiful book in Norway – it had beautiful design, typesetting and covers. We produce many different size editions; a leather bound volume has just sold out.
One of the most popular cover materials at the moment is PU (polyurethane). It’s such a wonderful material and you can get finer details with it than with traditional foiling. With PU, we can produce covers with intricate designs and much finer detail.
Do you require your print supplier to provide additional services, such as storage, fulfilment and logistics?
Occasionally we require storage, but normally, no.
What are the trends from your point-of-view for paper stocks and covers?
More and more people are concerned about environmental issues. We are trying to standardise on 25gsm paper. In general, we are moving away from cheaper products to more quality work. Good quality will always sell. Ultimately, we have to balance price, quality and time."
How are e-books affecting your requirements for physical books?
E-books are a very good tool, especially for translations, because you can have two or three Bible translations on the same page. But I feel there will always be a case for the printed book.
What else could your print suppliers do for you?
Nothing. They are brilliant. They all go the extra mile and help as much as they can.
THE CHILDREN'S BOOK PUBLISHER
Walker Books founder Sebastian Walker formed the company in 1980 with a vision of creating a publishing business dedicated to children’s books. The company now creates more than 300 books per year. Among its famous titles is the Where’s Wally series, which celebrates its 25th anniversary this year and has sold more than 43m copies worldwide. Production director Alan Lee answers PrintWeek’s questions.
Do you print in the UK or overseas? Is there any shift in the share of work done here or abroad?
All our black-and-white mono printing is done in the UK, and we have a great relationship with Clays. Four-colour books are mainly produced in Southeast Asia.
There hasn’t really been a shift in that apart from pop-up books. Labour rates have gone up in China, so our design team have to put more work into designing the books to reduce the assembly time and make use of automation where possible. We’re also looking into alternative locations including Thailand and Laos.
Are you producing shorter runs, more frequently?
There’s a push for lower runs and faster runs, so we are looking at Europe for some four-colour work.
Are you using print-on-demand services?
Yes, we work with our UK supplier base on POD for black-and-white books, and I expect there to be more of that in the future.
Children’s books use a lot of special finishes. What sort of techniques do you use? What sort of techniques would you like to use?
Special finishes are of paramount interest to us. With many of our titles it’s all about perceived value and stand-out – getting someone to pick the book up.
We use holograms, holographic foils and various special finishes and packaging materials. We need to be very creative and innovative and we’re constantly working with our print partners on that.
Do you require your print suppliers to provide additional services?
Book packs are made in Southeast Asia. We work with our UK partners on fulfilment and logistics.
What are the trends from your point-of-view for paper stocks and covers, environmental certifications etc?
As a children’s book publisher, it is very important that we know the provenance of all the materials we use. We only use materials that are made to a specific standard or above, and we don’t engage with any Indonesian paper makers.
How are e-books affecting your requirements for physical books?
We have them in the department. E-books work well for young adult titles.
What else could your print suppliers do for you?
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