The importance of substrate selection in the production of aesthetically pleasing books.
When choosing the print substrates to produce a boxset of children’s story books for retail, print consultant David Arkell, working on behalf of publisher Tricorn Books, had no hesitation in selecting three Antalis products he knew would offer affordability without compromising quality.
The Wise Bear Stories is a boxset of six children’s storybooks written by author Scott Cranfield. They cover a range of topics to help children “dissolve anxieties, develop confidence and master their emotions”. Targeted at families and schools, they are designed to help raise happy, confident and independent children.
As the books were to be retailed, it was important to consider both aesthetics and affordability, and finding the right print substrates was key to meeting these criteria.
For the slip case, David selected Invercote G, a one-sided solid bleached board with an ultra-smooth surface, commenting, “It’s a good, substantial product that holds up very well as a slip case”. The cover was printed on Claro Silk 350gsm, which David has used many times before on account of its reliability. Claro Silk is part of the Claro range of high bulk, high white papers with a unique feel. For the text pages, Edixion Offset 170gsm was used for its good value and, according to David, its “lovely crisp bluey-whiteness” that prints well.
An initial run of 1,000 sets was litho printed and a second smaller run of 500 was printed digitally. “The great thing about these Antalis papers is that they run brilliantly on both litho and digital presses, so we were able to use the same stock for both runs”, commented David.
Both Tricorn Books and the books’ author were delighted with the finished result which they were able to pitch at just the right price point.
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