I'm a Book Publisher!

I was recently asked to design and publish a book by friend Randy Efros. Randy was Brett Weston's last assistant. The book is a portfolio of 10 platinum prints made during Randy's last trip to Scotland in 2008.

We had talked about all the current self-publishing options out there. Blurb was considered, but I have yet to see a Blurb book that I considered a quality product. Quite a few of my photographer friends have gone this route and all have consistently had quality issues. Another thing that made me cringe was that, until very recently, you could not design your own book. You had to use their software which did not leave much room for being in total control of the design. We finally went with Edition One in Berkeley. They are a small boutique shop utilizing the latest technology (HP Indigo, same as Blurb), but with a personal touch and a traditional book publishing background. Overall, we were very pleased with the quality of the product AND we had total control over the design. The book features a linen cover, foil stamp and dust jacket.

I did all the scans of Randy's original platinum prints, spotted them and adjusted the contrast. I then did a test with Edition One, sending them both RGB and CMYK images for some test prints. The CYMK images ended up looking most like the original platinum prints.

The book is available as a limited edition of 15 (plus 1 artist copy, 1 presentation copy, and 3 artist proof copies), signed and numbered book with an original 4x5" platinum print made by Randy. It will be available as a non-editioned book, as well. The limited edition is priced at $300 for pre-publication orders, and $400 post-publication. Currently there are 10 copies already pre-sold. Non-edition books will be in soft-cover and sell for $50. Books are available by contacting Randy directly at randy@randyefros.com.

Next up is a portfolio of 8x10 silver prints from his Hawaii Portfolio, which will be available for pre-publication in December with a publication date of January 1, 2011.

If any of you out there are interested in this book design service, please contact me at rich@rcodaphotography.com.