This time, Beacon submitted the first facsimile reproduction of an 18th Century book, The Temple of Flora. The challenge was to reproduce the different techniques originally used: letterpress, engraving and hand-painted plates. The pre-press process took a mammoth 400 hours over a three month period. In comparison, printing was a breeze taking 62 hours on two six-colour presses. According to the customer, the 232pp publication was “one of the loveliest books in the world”.

For the full rundown of the PrintWeek Awards 2008 winning and commended companies, click here