A Thing to Hold in Your Hand

Hollywood, FL. I am still thinking about a comment made by a speaker at the Museum Publishing Seminar in Washington: a writer from The New York Times, she said that the book as a physical creation was on its way out, except, perhaps, "as a fetish object."

This information was received with some consternation by an audience made up mostly of those in the art-book publishing world. There were also those of us who found this rather amusing: we are a group of individuals who are mostly be-speckled and quirky, and not accustomed to thinking of our interest in books as something as sexy and forbidden as A Fetish.

This past week I read about a young designer, living in Brooklyn, who has achieved sudden and unexpected fame for his beautifully hand-crafted axes. I wonder if we are in a period that is not unlike the Arts and Crafts Movement in Britain in the late 19th and early 20th centuries - the world is moving so fast and the changes are so unsettling. Back then, artists responded to the industrial revolution by creating everyday things by hand - not machine. Now, with the internet revolution, maybe what we are losing and want to hold on to is something that is real - that exists outside of a computer screen.

Like a simple tool - or a book.

Fortunately Imago is ahead of the curve, firmly positioned with the creative and manufacturing resources to provide books and related products that are beautiful, well-crafted and most definitely a pleasure to hold in your hand. Long live the book!
Christina McEntee, Imago US

We Won!

The 34th Galley Club Awards for Excellence were held in Sydney on the 6th of August 2010 and brought together 160 professionals in publishing and printing. Imago picked up three awards having had two titles short listed in two categories this year:

Category Seven: Sheetfed - Limited edition book, no price limit
A Picture Book, First and Foremost. Published by Story Road. Printed by Imago Australia.

Category Eleven: Non-standard - Novelty book or stationery item (bath book, board book, calendar, diary)
Six Scents Global Fragrance Initiative Box Set. Published by Six Scents Parfums. Printed by Imago Australia.

We were also surprised on the night to receive an award for Innovation in Publishing and Printing for A Picture Book, First and Foremost.

A big congratulations to all those who were involved in the production of both titles!

The Imago ladies on the night:

France passes new law that impacts on School Books

A piece of environmental news which may affect you and which we thought worth sharing.

The French National Assembly published a law on July 13th 2010 which adopts several measures relating to consumer products and environmental concerns. Amongst several other key points relating to air quality, collection of waste and environmental labelling we noted that as of 1st January 2013 all school books must be reprinted on recycled paper or on paper coming from sustainable managed forests.

Printed Edges

Edges are so often overlooked and here at Imago we absolutely encourage you to go to town on them!
People tend to think of foil blocking as their only option but what about using a matt coloured foil - stunning:

It doesn't there however and full on printed image edges are becoming increasingly popular to add real charm and make your item stand out. This is just one of many samples.