I talked to a team that has been publishing high-quality coffee table books for more than 30 years. Printing these books in the U.S. was never an option due to poor quality and high costs. “Italy was and still is a great place,” said one of the managers, “but it is expensive so we used to go to Japan.” What about today? “China. When you go to Japan it is kind of sad because everything is stuck where it was 15 years ago.” So China is now as good as Japan but cheaper? “No,” she explained. “China has newer and better equipment so the end-result is actually better.” In other words, once a country falls behind and stops being the volume leader it also may lose its quality edge.
How does it actually work? Can you send a PDF to China and then wait for a container of high-quality color coffee-table books to show up? “That’s how most people do it,” she said, “but we always have someone on press to ensure quality control.”
Let’s be honest. Like…almost everything is made in China today. The quality…umm well… Yes, if you have someone on site to ensure the quality control, that’s another story. Otherwise, you will end up with unusable products. Cheaper? Yes, It is cheaper! Because chinese people are working for a very low salary.
This is surprising (although, I suppose, the more you do of something, the better quality you’ll be likely to achieve). They do make a lot of beautiful things in China, but they also make a lot of junk; I wonder how you make sure you’re getting the former.
This one still makes me smile: http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2007/11/-quot-the-quot-way-vs-quot-a-quot-way-japan-v-china-dept/7835/
A good example of how negative interest rates & government stock buying have allowed Japan to stay frozen in time. The good news is no-one carrying their coffee table books on their 3 hour commutes. They’re all reading from the Kindle app.
I am not so sure Japan wishes to compete in producing coffee table books. They have a long history of targeting high tech, high growth, industries where they can develop an edge.
Industrial policy is not perfect, but it does exist, in most Asian economies.
In my opinion, Japan’s economic stagnation is greatly overstated in the US media. Last time I visited (2008), they seemed to be doing very well, with much more uniformity in education, and with much less unemployed and substance abuse, compared to the US.
I’d refer anyone who is interested in Japan’s economy to Eamonn Fingleton’s books.
Some of the work is now moving to Indonesia. They have a lot of trees and turn it into paper. Having a local printing industry is a great way to capture a larger part of the value chain.
I would buy a Phillip Greenspun photography coffee table book.
Rick: https://www.amazon.com/Travels-Samantha-Philip-Greenspun/dp/1588750019 shows that, for minimal dollars, you can!
A bargin at $0.40
@Reduciri and superMike
A lot of people (westerners and Americans especially) like to remind themselves that “yeah, well China also makes a lot of junk too”. Maybe you guys are still stuck in the 1980s. Sure the USA is not making cheap plastic stuff to sell in dollar stores or Walmart. But we also aren’t making the massively popular consumer electronics the Chinese make (smartphones, computers, gadgets, and xboxes for the young men chilling at home and not looking for work, etc). My Kindle HDX? China. My Macbook Air? China. My wife’s Lenovo? China. My GPS/Navi? China. I’m not that old, but some of you might remember than Japan was known for making ‘junk’ before they got into consumer electronics and automobiles (used to be they made children’s toys, cheap novelties, etc like what you’d find in a dollar store today). You won’t be singing that ‘china makes junk’ tune for so long…
btw Phil – off topic, but good story:
Title: Jets, vacation homes, Botox all factors in cancer center founder divorce
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/ct-cancer-treatment-center-divorce-met-1021-20161021-story.html
“All so far have been witnesses for Alicia Stephenson, intended to establish how she lived during the marriage as her lawyer argues she deserves to maintain the same standard in her divorce settlement.
She is seeking $400,000 a month in maintenance plus a portion of other assets. Lawyers for Richard Stephenson, who founded Cancer Treatment Centers of America, want a prenuptial agreement enforced that would provide Alicia Stephenson with considerably less, including $250,000 toward the purchase of housing and $5,000 per month.”
“But since the couple’s separation, Alicia Stephenson has had to curtail her lifestyle considerably, Davidson said, and has to pay bills, live on a budget and fly commercial.
“It’s been very stressful. I can tell,” said Davidson, who also previously worked for Cancer Treatment Centers ….. Grund later asked Davidson if Alicia Stephenson was under stress because she has to “live like an ordinary person now.”