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Making the book. Getting closer. Soon.<\/p>\n
Soon there will be the official book dummy and I can’t wait to hold it in my hands and kiss it! Yep, it\u00a0really is\u00a0that exciting and\u00a0I have a feeling this\u00a0version might just be the one closest to my heart.<\/p>\n
In the meantime here’s an update on the process so far:<\/p>\n
I’m becoming adapt at InDesign.\u00a0Teaching myself through trial and error and more error. I’d like to thank all those YouTube folks for their ‘How to..” posts. Don’t know how I’d do without those videos.\u00a0Each time I learn a new trick I feel like jumping up and down. Literally!\u00a0By now I’ve gotten a nice groove going where it no longer feels like I’m in a foreign country and can’t speak the language.\u00a0Seeing the page spreads roll out of the printer is akin to magic.\u00a0At times\u00a0I’m reminded\u00a0of the darkroom days when the photographic image began emerging in the developer tray.<\/p>\n
The Epson 4900 is a beauty. The print quality is really superb although I will need to tweak settings here and there. Mainly the shadow areas sometimes go too dark, especially when the image is contrasty to begin with. The paper I chose to print on is Hahnem\u00fchle Photo Rag Book & Album. It’s coated on both sides and it’s 100% cotton with a dreamy smooth matte texture that gives the images a kind of a depth. The weight of the paper\u00a0has a pliability I was looking for – when your turn the page it feels like a page should, it bends and curves. It unveiles and covers.<\/p>\n
The editing and sequencing of the layout so far looks good.\u00a0Of course using double-sided paper makes the printing take longer since the printed pages should be left for a least 24 hours to dry properly.\u00a0For the actual edition production I might even give it 48 hours just to\u00a0make sure the image weds with the page.<\/p>\n
The book dummy is a companion – your guide – to the finished product. Each step informs the next.\u00a0Just the other day I made a page\/image change.\u00a0 At this point I just need to print the last two spreads, which will have text.\u00a0In couple of days when all the pages will fimally work together, the next exciting stage of this journey will begin: making desicions on bookbinding, end-pages, cover and all the related matters. I’m set on printing an edition of 30 books and three APs.<\/p>\n
Since\u00a0all books will be hand-made\u00a0each one will inevitably have its own uniquness.\u00a0I find that very appealing. It makes me think\u00a0of the kilim weavers inserting a secret message that is just slightly off the pattern, not easily visible but there. In a way each book has its own\u00a0mystery to be discovered. That’s the way of books. And photographs.<\/p>\n
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