Automobilist Century

Beneath the radar.

   Sometimes the subtlest changes can have the greatest impact. In 2021 it was noticed that there had been an unusual upgrade in the press OS. Moon Ma, my master printer at KK Graphics in SF, and I have been standing over printing presses since the Seventies, and it seemed this in-passing observation required investigation. I'll edit out all the technical pre-press and on-press terminologies of process and method and merely say, we found something interesting.
   Part of this plot involves one of my collectors, a PhD MD in Spain. He noticed I had mentioned that I was preparing a new edition, the third, for Automobilist Century, and ordered one. So using this as a basis, I scrapped the second edition galleys (2 volumes over 650 pages) and began completely anew. This required going back to the original slides and completely rescanning and reprocessing hundreds of them, while art directing new galleys (now three volumes at 887 pages, in a new format of full frame aspect ratio: 12" x 8").
   All targeted at an experimental new pre-press process.

   After 18 months of testing we have innovated a new pre-press and on-press method and process. In doing so we have upended traditional four color press work. The result is that we are now producing four color printed images that have the look and feel of Ilford photo enlargements right out of the developer.
   Even more remarkable, the images color match the E6 process 35mm slides from which they originate. Traditionally you had to create an inter-negative from slides to reproduce them for enlargement or printing, which takes the images a step away from the original color spectrum of the slide. Then for press work take them through the four color plate process, further compromising original color quality.
   Yet now we have innovated a process that maintains their full original as-shot color depth and spectrum. This photo enlargement character is further enhanced by the silk composition archival paper stock, which reads the images brilliantly between Matt and gloss finish paper stocks.
    After numerous tests over these 18 months, and a press upgrade from 1500 dots per inch to 2500, just last November the first three printed galleys of the new three volume Automobilist Century came fresh off the press. The first complete books using the process.
   Next stop, binding.