Publishers Weekly

While the publishing industry had a relatively stable 2020 and a pretty sunny 2021 thus far, we are definitely not out of the woods yet, not with the pesky mutating virus around. For Hong Kong/China print manufacturers, pandemic-induced challenges outside of their control are hampering the efforts to deliver the final goods to their clients.

Spiraling costs of raw materials, freight, logistics, and procurement due to pandemic-related restrictions have resulted in soaring prices

With budget constraints and shorter times to market, publishers are turning to digital proofs.

The last time 'PW' wrote about Artron was in 2016, soon after it completed Peter Lik’s epic 'Equation of Time', a 528-page large-format photography book that was printed digitally on a Screen TruePress Jet SX inkjet press. Since then, the company’s digital/on-demand printing business and machinery lineup have grown significantly.

Publishers discuss producing books that celebrate the breadth and diversity of Asian American and Pacific Islander experiences

Last year, C&C Offset celebrated its 40th anniversary by embarking in earnest on a path toward transforming its printing floor.

Expansion continues at Hung Hing Printing Group’s main production site in Heshan. The capacity expansion has culminated in a new plant in Hanoi, Vietnam, which officially opened for business in November 2019 and has since received a host of certifications, including ISO90001, ISO14001, FSC, and ICTI.

Travel restrictions and shelter-in-place advisories at the start of the pandemic dried up orders from clients in the travel books and maps segment very quickly. “But now that travel has become possible again,” says Howard Musk, president and CEO of print management company Imago, “we are seeing these publishers placing orders for new and backlist titles. There is clearly a lot of pent-up market demand to meet.”

Working around pandemic-induced constraints has been keeping Jade Productions managing director Ken Kong busy. With cross-border travel restrictions still in place, his team is unable to visit factories in mainland China to supervise the manufacturing process. And while the pandemic is largely under control within Hong Kong, with most workers having returned to the office, Kong and his team continue to limit the number of visits to business partners.

There is certainly no lack of complex and astounding projects manufactured by Hong Kong/China print players. But non-disclosure agreements often put the kibosh on discussions that PW is interested in having about the intricacies involved in such projects or the approval process, tedious as it is, for a specific book, which somehow gets lost in the urgency to create and deliver the next project. Here are several amazing examples that managed to make it to the page.

Pragmatic optimism, continuous business process re-engineering, and a steadfast innovative spirit are steering Hong Kong and China print players through chaotic pandemic-induced challenges

Unit sales of print books fell 3.9% in the week ended July 17, 2021, compared to the similar week in 2020, at outlets that report to NPD BookScan.

In 2006, Jason Hafer and Paul Oliver opened Wolfgang Books in Phoenixville, Pa. After working in bookstores for years, owning one was Hafer’s dream come true, but the town was still emerging from decades of economic depression after its steel mill closed, and the time was not yet right for a bookstore to thrive. Oliver left for New York City, where he works as director of marketing and publicity at Soho Press. When Hafer closed the store in 2011, he took his knowledge of books and went to Rittenhouse Book Distributors.

The Revolution Might Be Televised

Guidebook publishers emerge from 2020 with new approaches to travel.

Recent months have brought several travel books that put environmental awareness front and center.

New guidebooks and narrative nonfiction spell out the rewards that travel can bring: pleasure, enrichment, even sanity.

“Congress is getting the message that libraries of all kinds are key to the vitality of communities,” said ALA president Patty Wong in a statement.

A plunge in book fair revenue led to a 12.5% decline in sales at Scholastic in the fiscal year ended May 31, 2021, but the publisher forecast "significant growth" in 2022 revenue and an improved bottom line.