The free publications are designed by creative agency John Brown Media, which also works in partnership with Southernprint to produce the retailer’s regular seasonal customer magazine Edition.
In the new 324-page full-colour publication, which is also available to download as an iPad version from iTunes, John Lewis has combined its usual Christmas Edition with a 150-page gift guide rather than producing a series of separate printed magazines.
John Lewis head of brand creative Paul Porrell said: "The Christmas annual is all about producing a beautiful keepsake for customers, so producing it as a print version is absolutely key to our strategy.
"Our customers still see the value of having a beautifully produced annual which they can refer back to again and again in the run-up to Christmas."
The retailer commissioned a print run of 680,000 paperback versions of the Christmas Annual and around 3,000 limited edition hardback copies, which are intended as "coffee table-style" keepsakes.
Porrell added: "We see the print versions and tablet working together so customers can browse the annual in the format which suits them best."
Poole-based Southernprint was commissioned to produce the paperback versions while Butler Tanner and Dennis was selected to produce the hardback versions due to its large format capabilities and expertise in hardback book printing.
The paperback version uses 200gsm Sappi Furioso Matt for the cover and 80gsm Sappi Furioso Matt for the inside pages while the hardback is printed on 100gsm Sappi Furioso Matt with 150gsm Sappi Furioso Matt for the endpapers. Both versions also feature foil blocking on the covers.
Alongside the gift guide included in the Annual is editorial from columnists India Knight and Jess Cartner-Morley as well as comedienne Miranda Hart.
