Turbulence

I recently spent the week in Washington DC and then New York City.  These are such crazy times, with publishers, directors, managers being laid off right and left.  And yet at the same time, it seems to me that people are starting to focus on what comes next. Whether that means honing in on That One Special Talent or Market, or trying something completely different. Maybe we are all starting to come to grips with the complete shock of seeing friends and colleagues and respected mentors get laid off - and beginning to focus our energies on what each of us can do to keep business moving.

Some people are focusing in on their specialty. John, a packager I know who combines incredible good taste with charm and good looks, is overwhelmed with work at the moment, all of it celebrity-driven. "These clients are so high maintenance" he sighs, "but it seems to be the work I'm known for".  Doesn't sound too bad, being the book packager to the stars!  

Others are exploiting a niche. My friend Steve is doing incredibly well selling something called components: those items like book jackets and covers for bestselling books and kids books, that have all the fancy foil stamped type and special sparkly varnishes.

Other people I know in the printing business are taking a look at some of the non-traditional applications of their technology. A friend of mine at Toppan showed me samples of a new, high-grade lenticular printing, which made me think of William Gibson's holographic rock diva in Idoru...

And some people are just completely re-thinking what they want to do next. Mary, a friend who worked for one of my biggest customers, just got laid off and is thinking of starting her own "green" publishing company, something she's had in mind for a while. This change in employment status is the motivation she needs to take a serious look at this idea. Her friends have rallied to help her: "I've got a lot of contacts, and people have been incredibly helpful with introductions and support."

And then there are the entrepreneurs like Bahar, who see this time as an opportunity to experiment with and exploit new forms of communication, through his podcasting company Sonibyte. I think Bahar is determined to turn everything in print into a podcast! Books, magazines, even blogs, are all possible sources for this new audio tool.

In the world of traditional book printing and publishing, it is definitely a challenge trying to cajole clients to spend the extra money to print in Italy. Then, once the job is printed, the next challenge is getting paid! Just in time, Mondadori's director of Sales and Marketing flew in from Italy last week to spend quality time with some of our best customers,  administering a combination of arm twisting and good old Italian charm. We are nearly out of ammunition at this point, so let's hope this works!

By the end of the week I am trying to nail down my schedule for the London Book Fair. But who is going to the London Book Fair in April? Is anyone going to the London Book Fair in April?

Washington DC - National Geographic Society

The National Geographic Society is my biggest customer for Mondadori Printing, which is fine with me since it allows me to spend the day with this crazy, funny, hardworking group of people every couple of weeks. This trip, my mission is to try to convince VP of Manufacturing Phil Schlosser that even though we have the exchange rate against us at Mondadori, and even though it might be faster to manufacture right here in the U.S. of A. -- his plans for 2009 would not be complete without awarding a significant number of projects to Mondadori. 

Phil lets me know that I have some serious competition from Asia, the U.S. and even other European printers. By noon, after reviewing a long list of possible titles, my mission is not going well.  This is getting depressing. It seems like a good time for lunch.

We round up a group for lunch including Monika and Nicole who are Production Managers in Phil's department, and Mike who handles international co-edition printing as well as silly remarks at any gathering. We head over to the Mayflower hotel, which Phil tells us is one of a handful of hotels in DC that is "pre-cleared for security" so that all important Washington bigwigs can hang out here with confidence. This makes us all feel much better. At lunch Monika has issues with the size of the tables (too small) and the entree selections (too few).  Mike wants us all to order martinis. Nicole is pre-occupied with her James Bond-themed Halloween Party (which has got to be the best idea of a theme party in terms of cute outfit options).  And Phil is trying to persuade me that I need a new photo for my blog -- at which point everyone wants to take my picture, and I gotta say the results of this free-for-all only confirm that the picture I have now is still my best option.

Alas Production Manager Rachel has the day off today, and cannot join us - while Director Chris Brown stays back at the office, remaining incognito....

After a good lunch, and a stroll through the Mayflower, we get back to the office and have another discussion about book projects for next year. I talk to Mike and Gary and it turns out that there just might be a couple of multi-language projects that would be perfect for Mondadori. Maybe some other things will come up too. Phil is willing to take another look at the numbers, and so 2009 is starting to look a little better than it did this morning.

These meetings are more like a day spent hanging out with your friends, and it always is a little sad to leave. So, until the next time...

Great Photography Books that Document the Human Condition

Every day we are bombarded with trite commentaries that cynically reduce the important issues of our day to cliché. I find this frustrating and discouraging, because at the same time we know that the world is experiencing enormously complex conflicts and change.

Two new projects that I’ve been involved with remind me that there are people out there – and there have always been – who put heart and soul into examining in a meaningful way the complicated issues and realities of their day. And even more, they try to communicate to us the nuances of the human condition.


The Likes of Us, published by David R. Godine, is a collection of photographs from the archives of the Farm Security Administration that was meant to document life in America in the late 1920’s through the onset of World War II. These photos were meant to document real life as it was lived by a cross-section of Americans – and to counter the “cheese-cake photos” favored by many politically correct editors of the day. It is a project that was years in the making, and for publisher David Godine, a labor of love. Included are the works of photographic giants like Walker Evans and Dorothea Lange as well as images from lesser-known photographers. Explaining the mission of the FSA project, photographer Russell Lee said in 1941, “ I am a photographer hired by a democratic government to take pictures of its land and its people…. Pictures which may endure to help the people of tomorrow understand the people of today, so they can carry on more intelligently.” Beautiful duotone images are reproduced from the original photos in the Farm Security Administration archives.


Reza War + Peace is a stunning book of photographs by Iranian-born photojournalist Reza. Published by Focal Point (an imprint of The National Geographic Society), the book is a collection of 30 years of photographs spotlighting some of the most turbulent places and events of our time. The text is written by Reza himself, and is a blend of straightforward reportage and emotional storytelling – with a thoughtful dose of poetry from Reza’s favorite poet the Persian Rami. Reza focuses our attention on the cost of war – but also on love, friendship and loyalty. “ Though the world I have seen and photographed is a story filled with war and tragedy, injustice and heartbreak, I have come to see that it is also a tale of the power of hope and the incredible resilience of the human spirit.” Oversized, with beautifully reproduced color images. With an intro by Sebastian Junger.

More about Reza and his work can be found on Webistan.com.



This week Reza was in Verona signing a special limited edition series of his book, at Mondadori Printing. He's pictured here with my Mondadori friends Paola Bogoni and Lorenzo Bogoncelli. I wish I had been there too!

Are You Going Green?

A burning issue for those of us in the graphic arts? Or just a fad? Whatever your position, these days it is easy enough to check out where the companies you do business with stand on environmental issues. Most top quality vendors are happy to give you this information, and to offer you lots of great recycled and environmentally-friendly material options.

Here are some questions to ask your vendors. Click the links for more info:

ISO Certification. Is your vendor ISO certified? ISO 14000 is a series of environmental and organizational assessment methods developed by the International Organization of Standardization. There are different labels within the ISO 14000 series, but any facility you work with around the world should have the basic ISO 14000 certification.

Recycled. There are tons of great choices these days, for text stock of course, but also for binder boards, packing cartons, and other materials. Many of them are not much more expensive than the non-recycled options.

FSC Certification. If you're not going with recycled, find out if your paper selections are coming from mills that are certified by the Forest Stewardship Council. If you don't see the trademark, ask. This is a really basic qualification for being certain that the timber you are ultimately using was not harvested illegally.

Be sure, too, that your suppliers are using inks that are free from heavy metals like mercury, cadmium, chromium and lead.


For more great suggestions about Going Green on the job, check out True Green at Work, published by The National Geographic Society. This is a title I recently produced at Mondadori in Italy using a really nice recycled sheet called Symbol Freelife. The book has some thoughtful and very do-able suggestions for helping to make our work life have less of a negative impact on the environment (including working from home - who could argue with that?). What's next in this series? True Green at Home out in early 2009. Check out Nat Geo's on line Green Guide for more green suggestions.

Are environmental concerns part of your business decisions? Let me know!

Talking About: Art and the Printed Page

Print lives!

Despite the fantastic uses of the internet as a source of knowledge, information, and connection, at some point most people will still pick up the occassional book, magazine, or newspaper.

But today I am not writing for those people. Instead, I am writing for those among us for whom buying a beautifully produced publication is a deliberate act. We are the type of people who really LOVE the look and feel – the smell, even! – of the printed page. And whether we are looking at a glossy fashion magazine or a limited-edition artist's monograph, we wonder what kind of paper was chosen, or how many colors were used in printing (was that a PMS or a tint match?). Who was the designer? Who shot those photos? We are excited when a publisher hits the market just right with a new idea – and we love when someone comes up with a unique and unexpected way to put the whole package together.

And as it turns out, we can take heart, at least for now: in 2007, according to R.R. Bowker, 277,000 new trade titles and 135,000 on demand titles were published, an overall increase over the previous year. Graphic Arts Monthly reports that among the largest print operations in the US there was an aggregate revenue leap of 12% in 2007, indicating an increase in printed publications. At least in general terms, there are more books and magazines being printed than ever before.

For two decades my professional life has been connected to the world of print through advertising, design, and publishing. Over the years, I’ve had the good fortune to work with some great companies and institutions – The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Aperture Foundation, The Creative Black Book, the Italian publisher and printer Mondadori – where the translating of important images to the printed page is itself considered an art. I include among my friends and colleagues terrific artists, photographers and designers; top-notch editors, publishers and packagers of art books; tireless production managers; knowledgeable agents and sales people; and some of the best printers out there in the US, Asia, and Europe who specialize in serving this fussy group of people.

This blog is meant to serve as a forum for commentary and opinions – hopefully some other than my own! – on subjects related to the interconnected worlds of art, photography, advertising, design, printing and publishing.