5 ms·

It would be difficult. The modern mass-produced book is first bound/glued and then cut to size, and consequently has page offset tolerances measured in millimet

It would be difficult. The modern mass-produced book is first bound/glued and then cut to size, and consequently has page offset tolerances measured in millimeters. Something like this would require printing precision and page offset measured in microns.

xwdv 4y ago
I expect to see it mass produced in a few years.
- _nalply 4y ago
  It's a niche feature on a declining medium. Probably not. (By the way, I didn't downvote you.)
  - leto_ii 4y ago
    I don't think physical books are really a declining medium. As Taleb would put it, they're 'Lindy' [1]. [1] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lindy_effect https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lindy_effect
  - xwdv 4y ago
    Declining mediums are great for adding niche features because the people still buying them are enthusiasts who will tolerate higher prices, thus you can add features like this to increase the appeal.
jfoutz 4y ago
I'm not sure - if you're willing to tolerate more gunk on the edge of the pages. say the book is cut +/- 2.5 mm - each page has .5 of print on the edges, and each page image shifted by .01 mm (or whatever is appropriate). cut the edge wherever, it'll work out. Glued edge registration needs to be super consistent though - micron accuracy. Maybe you mean the page on the binding/glue needs to be super accurate. I guess, yeah, if pages shift in binding all bets are off. So if there is a shift, or different pages expand or contract under binding differently than their neighbors, that would make it super hard. another approach might be printing right on the edge of the cut pages, let the ink diffuse into the side, then apply the gilt over that to hide the picture. Neat problem to armchair. I'm not really willing to put in the time or money or both to figure it out. So ultimately, I'll take your word.
- andreareina 4y ago
  I think the printing process itself lacks the requisite accuracy. If it were in the cutting I'd expect to see more instances of the cuts being crooked wrt the printed matter.

xwdv 4y ago

I expect to see it mass produced in a few years.

_nalply 4y ago
It's a niche feature on a declining medium. Probably not. (By the way, I didn't downvote you.)
- leto_ii 4y ago
  I don't think physical books are really a declining medium. As Taleb would put it, they're 'Lindy' [1]. [1] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lindy_effect https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lindy_effect
- xwdv 4y ago
  Declining mediums are great for adding niche features because the people still buying them are enthusiasts who will tolerate higher prices, thus you can add features like this to increase the appeal.

jfoutz 4y ago

I'm not sure - if you're willing to tolerate more gunk on the edge of the pages. say the book is cut +/- 2.5 mm - each page has .5 of print on the edges, and each page image shifted by .01 mm (or whatever is appropriate). cut the edge wherever, it'll work out. Glued edge registration needs to be super consistent though - micron accuracy. Maybe you mean the page on the binding/glue needs to be super accurate. I guess, yeah, if pages shift in binding all bets are off. So if there is a shift, or different pages expand or contract under binding differently than their neighbors, that would make it super hard. another approach might be printing right on the edge of the cut pages, let the ink diffuse into the side, then apply the gilt over that to hide the picture. Neat problem to armchair. I'm not really willing to put in the time or money or both to figure it out. So ultimately, I'll take your word.

andreareina 4y ago
I think the printing process itself lacks the requisite accuracy. If it were in the cutting I'd expect to see more instances of the cuts being crooked wrt the printed matter.