Sheep magazine Archive 2: issues 10-17

NEGATIVE CREDIT,
CULTURALLY …
A while ago I was happy and fortunate to be asked to prepare artwork
for the reprint of an acknowledged photo/art book (a classic some would
say). The reprint of the classic 1990 photobook turned out fine. It was an
interesting project and I did get ‘paid’ for my services, but, as usual when I
like a project (and also when I heard the photographer/author is ‘precious’
about his work), I did push all buttons to overload on my input to ensure
everyone would be happy with the resulting book. Hopefully they are?
25
Here is something I wrote at the start of the process:
“This book deserves to be reprinted. Apart from the photographs, it is
the historical commentary, that makes it a document worthy of greater
dissemination … it is a valuable resource.
Artwork: Alan Rutherford
The publisher wants quality (to please author and publisher’s reputation)
but also wants cheap (to please unit price and make book price a
reasonable £25 or so) … In ideal terms it should be a prestige 4 colour
print job which should have a posh specification of papers to make up for
the fact that it is a facsimile … and it should be priced around £40.
Facsimile … How to achieve a good quality reprint today from a book printed
to so-so quality in 1990, while being constricted by unit cost and being steered
JULY & AUGUST 2016