[BKARTS] blurb SPOD books

[Transient Books <erzike@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

   As a business that offers custom binding services, I can say that Blurb 
books have definitely filled what used to be a huge void: the need for full 
color books to be printed on demand, at a reasonable quality, at an 
accessible price. We used to get inquiries for this sort of books regularly. 
But because of technology limitations here in the studio (we decided to NOT 
invest in a large format, full color printer), we often did not take these 
jobs on. For us, the nice thing about offering custom bookbinding services 
is that the field is so hugely infinite, one gets to choose which parts of 
the field one wants to concentrate on and play in most.
   What is noticeable is that we are making lots of slip cases and clam 
shell boxes for blurb and lulu books. For the most part, clients seem happy 
with Blurb. Interestingly enough one client did complain about the Blurb 
logo being in the book. I have not used them yet for one of my own titles, 
but I can certainly see the appeal. I also see many people making wonderful 
books that they never would have dreamed possible even just a few years ago. 
This is very empowering.
   When it comes to my own artist's books, the balance between books that 
are accessible in price and books bound in editions that are as complex as I 
dream them to be is a constant internal discussion. I have found that often 
times I make an affordable edition of a book, and then a collector's edition 
that is more expensive, but that has all the design elements I dreamed of 
for the book. I feel that I am a writer first, who learned how to make books 
as a solution within a nomadic lifestyle. If my books are only available in 
expensive editions, they have a very limited audience. And, ideally, I'd 
like my books to be enjoyed by a wider audience.  At some point I will enjoy 
experimenting with SPOD books for full color projects that are hard to keep 
affordable.
   As for the question of whether or not SPOD books are artists books are 
not? That seems one for the academics. I don't feel passionately one way or 
the other. I think each book, or each creation, has it's own solution. 
Defining it or categorizing it is for those who like to do that, really. I 
think it was from a Keith Smith book that I grabbed onto the concept that 
each book has a triangle to keep in balance: content, design, and the 
binding style itself. The interaction of these three elements is something I 
keep alive with every new title I create, and I love to see how each of the 
three elements feed off each other, and leads me to solutions and new 
creations I never would have imagined at the outset.
   Happy binding to all!
Alex Appella
www.transientbooks.com

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