When Katie-Lou Mackenzie came to publisher Paul Naylor with a personal story, based loosely on her family, about a young boy whose brother has Down syndrome, he knew it had to be a job well done.
What was produced?
Mackenzie’s youngest son Alfie was diagnosed with the condition soon after birth. Two years of dispelled myths later, she decided to write a book for young people that would help educate those who have no previous experience of it.
Feeling that family members of those with Down syndrome were often overlooked, Mackenzie wrote the book from the perspective of a sibling of a child with the condition.
Naylor contacted Welshpool Printing Group (WPG), with whom he’d had outstanding service before, and put in an order for 1,000 perfect-bound books.
What did the job entail?
Naylor supplied print-ready PDFs to WPG, which then used Kodak’s Prinergy workflow software to impose them before they were outputted through a Magnus CTP platemaker, also from Kodak.
The book, and full-colour cover, was then litho printed on WPG’s Komori Lithrone LS829P LED, folded on an MBO folder, then perfect-bound on a Muller Martini Pantera adhesive binding machine.
An 80gsm uncoated Edixion substrate was used, with covers of 250gsm Claro silk.
What challenges were overcome?
“One thing that was obvious early on was the importance of the project,” Naylor said, adding: “Everything had to be spot on.”
With this in mind, therefore, he asked Alfie’s brother Jack to design a poster that appears in the book – and Mackenzie to sit Alfie down with some paints and a sheet of paper, and to let him leave his mark on what would become the book’s cover.
WPG welcomed Mackenzie and Alfie to approve the press pass in person and see the project to completion.
WPG litho printer Neil Boag said: “It was great to be involved in printing such an inspiring book. Getting to meet author, Katie, and her son, Alfie, when they came to see the book being printed and approve a press pass made the project so much more personal. The whole print run went without a hitch.”
What was the feedback?
Mackenzie said: “The fact that myself, Paul Naylor, my mum and Alfie were invited down to actually witness the book being printed was a special memory for me.
“Kelly [Griffiths, WPG’s sales executive] was professional, welcoming and not a bit phased at having to catch Alfie’s shoe and being railroaded into singing a rendition of ‘Wind the Bobbin Up’,” she added.
Naylor said the whole experience was one of professionalism.
“The quality of the product, the attention to detail and friendliness of staff during the site visit added to the process. Most importantly of all, the book has been so well received by the general public.”
