New Naturalists / Editions of our books / Print on Demand

POD dust jackets

S.W.Mott — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 21:04:11 GMT

An excellent idea. I could do with putting a dust jacket on those of my collection which have lost their original ones!
How long before we can order these?

Will POD continue to expand?

DanSalter — Thu, 15 Apr 2010 19:17:59 GMT

Hi Collins folks.

As im not fussed about 1st eds or rarity (im a countryside officer by trade and view the collection as a resource/reference). I plan on collecting (slowly) the entire set on POD...

Now...as they differ slightly in cover design/texture and markings...i wonder if the POD thing will expand past the current 98 books or whatever it is?...so that as the newer titles go out of print they then join the POD list yes?...for example...WOODLANDS...will it end up as a POD

Im a bit anal/completest so want (as backwards as this will sound for die hard collectors) ALL of my books to be POD...not POD up to 98 or so ...then original 1st Eds...from 98 onwards?...I realise it will be a long time till the newer titles make the list so i plan to start at the earlier end

P.s. Also looking forward to the monograph POD's

Dan

What have you ordered?

SimonRead — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 12:02:15 GMT

I've just placed my initial order, for The Folklore of Birds.

It'll be interesting to see how the scanned pages from one of the older books look - I'll post my thoughts on production quality and so on once I get the book.

Great to see that Collins have moved to using proper forum software, too!

New Naturalist First

RowanTree — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 21:47:16 GMT

In this rarified world where a first means everything can I claim one myself I wonder? Collins were at the Bird Fair this last weekend - Friday through to Sunday. This in itself is a 'first'. Anyone studying the programme in advance may have noticed before they got there and looked forward with some excitement to the display that Collins would surely bring along - stand one in marquee four. Perhaps one could have guessed that a well known publisher of such renoun and long standing was hardly going to turn up with anything so mundane as books, but the thought hadn't occurred to me. I was convinced there'd be some, and really it seemed obvious that for the Bird Fair they would have the new New Naturalists hot off the POD presses. As anyone visiting on Friday now knows however the display comprised a table with a smart white paper cloth and a single large (or may be, these days, modest-sized) jet black wide-screen TV/monitor. Not a book in sight. This was all about web-based publishing - Collins bird guide (out-of-print) is soon to be available on a website and ultimatley to down load - if not actually to your binocular objectives (at least not immediately) then at least to an e-book and before you know it your phone and any other life-governing electronic device.

But back to NN PODs - they did appear in the end but not until early on the Saturday afternoon - and here is my claim for a first - they were still in the hessian carrier bag they'd been brought in when I inquired and were only then got out and set up on the table for the remainder of the weekend. People who placed an order might have got theirs on the Friday - though not if they had come to the Bird Fair - so this was certainly a first sighting at the Fair and amongst the first outside of Collins. I'll come back to describe them another time...

Rowan Tree

Any update on delivery timescales for Print-on-Demand

Brendan — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 11:11:05 GMT

Would someone from the Collins team be able to provide an update on the volume of orders already placed for Print-on-Demand, and how the fulfilment is going? I know that it's already been mentioned that the printer said the initial orders could take 28 days, but now that the actual volume of orders has been seen, I was wondering if there was any new information?

The making of Print on Demand

Collins — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 17:57:19 GMT

The technology which now lets us print individual books in response to individual orders - print on demand - is a real breakthrough and one we recognised would be of value to the New Naturalist series.

Collectors will doubtless continue to seek out first editions, but a print on demand copy will fill gaps or provide a spare edition to read and enjoy. Subject enthusiasts who want specific books for their content can finally have a copy at the standard hardback price. The full set also looks extremely impressive on our bookshelves here at Collins and would make a spectacular personal library, not to mention a useful resource for academic institutions.

We have been careful to ensure quality is of the upmost standard and we're proud to have created the first ever hand-crafted, hardback, full-colour, print on demand series, working closely with Martins the Printers. This is an historic moment in publishing!

KEY STAGES OF MANUFACTURE

While digital printers mean we can provide high quality pages, the manufacture of New Naturalist print on demand titles uses traditional book binding methods. In fact, more personal care and attention goes into the making of these editions than in the mass printing of standard editions.

The following steps are undertaken by Martins the Printers to create an individual bespoke volume utilizing a digitized version of the original printing.

Text pages printed digitally on Genuine Traditional Cream Bookwove.
Colour and Black & White Plate sections printed digitally on Gloss Art paper.
Plates cut up and manually inserted into the correct position within the book.
Book is Glued and Lined to form the inside Bookblock of all pages.
The Bookblock is trimmed on three sides to the correct size.
End Papers and a Crepe Lining are glued onto the Bookblock to give strength to the book.
The Case Material, which is Genuine Cloth Library Buckram in the original green colour is cut to size.
The front and back boards for the Hard Book Case are cut and the Case is hand made by gluing the Cloth to the Boards and sized to match the Bookblock.
The finished Book is now assembled by Pasting the End Papers and attaching the Bookblock inside the Case.
The Book is now put in a traditional Book Clamp overnight for the glues to dry.
The final process is fitting the Jacket, which has been Laminated , to the finished Book.
Your Hand Made book made specially for you is now ready for shipping direct to your door.

DIFFERENCES FROM FIRST EDITIONS

We have been careful to differentiate the print on demand editions from the original first editions:

Print on demand jackets are all laminate
Print on demand jackets and inside edition pages state that the books are print on demand.
There is no title printed on the spine of the book casing - technology dictates this, not choice.
The casing is square back not curved - technology dictates this, not choice.

TIME FOR MANUFACTURING

Because your book is individually made to order and hand made using traditional methods, it takes 5 days for us to Print and Bind your individual copy of the New Naturalists, after which it is ready for dispatch. For initial orders please allow 28 days for delivery in case of high demand.

CM, Martins the Printers, June 2009

We hope you are interested in trying out these new books - please do contact us if you would like to purchase the full set at a discount.

The Highlands & Islands

ButterflyDisplay — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 14:40:50 GMT

Is there a POD of Title 6B "The Highlands & Islands" as only 6A "Natural History in the Highlands and Islands is listed for POD.

A collection needs both to quote Peter Marren.

6A had a print run of 25,000 against the print run of 16,500 of 6B, so is slightly rarer.

Another minor point New Titles prior to 102 had the backlist on the rear of the DJ, when most were not obtainable without a very deep pocket. Now they are as POD there is no mention on new titles DJs. It must be good to advertise the fact as many people are after older NNs and may not know about POD.

It took me 5 years to find a colour Summerhayes, I have 6 or 7 now. A funny typo also exists on the POD listing for NN19. I dont think VS would like to be known at Kew as Dr. Dummerhayes. I will ask next time im there in the Lower Nursery Orchid complex and find out if he ever was :-o.

------->
Now published in a revised edition, with a complete set of new distribution maps from the Atlas of the British Flora, this beautiful book remains the standard work in its subject, a treasure for all lovers of wild plants. Dr. Dummerhayes, in charge of the orchid collection at Kew from 1924 to 1964,
<-------

Martin

excellent service

maultby — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 11:49:55 GMT

I placed an order on 11th August 2009, sent a polite email to New Naturalists requesting the expected delivery date as it was intended for my Son's birthday on 19th August, 2009. Received an excellent reply from Alex who promised to try to "fast track" the order.

The book arrived on the morning of 19th August.

Superb and many thanks.