Bookbinding can flourish in the digital age

I just found a very interesting interview with bookbinder Michael Greer.  While some folks are quick to suggest that high quality bookbinding is a dying art Greer feels that this doesn't have to be the case.  He sees the expansion of print-on-demand publishing as the perfect partner for his luxury craft.

In the US, hand bookbinding as a trade has been nearly dead for many years. A few of us quixotic dreamers hang on. Still, the revolution in the last decade in on-demand publishing could create a space for us. Twenty years ago, self-publishers paid a hefty sum to print maybe 250 copies of their family history. They gave away ten and the rest went into the attic. For about the same amount of money, I can print and bind ten full leather volumes and create others on demand. The difficulty is letting people know that this kind of thing exists. When I do fairs, people often approach my table full of books with a mystified smile and say, “I didn’t know anybody did this stuff anymore.” If bookbinders can get the word out, we might be able to carve out a place for our services in the growing world of digital publishing.

I think this is a fantastic coupling of old and new technologies.  Imagine your own family history album, complete with photos, bound beautifully in leather and preserved for your grandchildren.

(Via Moby Lives)

Comments

[dr sandeep s kate]

could you post a sample of the bound volume you mention. i am not sure what it looks like.

[StanislavLukin]

не представляете как лучше организовать хороший тур для туристов, просто закажи [url=http://www.bustrans.com.ua/category/6]прокат микроавтобуса[/url], так как это удобно.

[Arthur Secunda]

I have a rare book and signed art catalog collection of 140 items in several languages. What is the procedure to post and sell them on your site?

[Scott]

Arthur,
BookFinder.com is a search engine which lists books that are offered for sale on various other marketplaces. If you want to sell books online you should see about listing your books on one of the bookstore sites that we search (ie: Chrislands, AbeBooks, Alibris, Biblio, Amazon, etc). I would advise checking into several as their prices and services offered can differ widely from site to site.