Ten Thousand Prosperities (萬興利) - Part 7

Compare the original (left) with the reprint (right) and see the difference. Note: I've intentionally blurred out part
of the right image but I assure you that they are as clear as the first two paragraphs. I hope to show the whole back
cover in detail sometime in the future.

I returned from a trip to the Phoenix Press printing plant a few hours ago. Had to make a special trip there at the Prai industrial zone to pick up my 10 copies of the reprinted book jacket for Ten Thousand Prosperities, the story of Ban Hin Lee Bank. 

The reason, you see, was that the printer had mucked up the first print of the jacket. Although the same shown to us followed the specifications laid down by the designer, the final product came out wrong: the size of the bank logo was wrong, the logo itself was skewed towards the left and white was used as the colour of the narration on the back of the jacket. Against a light grey background, the narration was too light to be read properly, if at all.

So we made representations to the printer's owner. How could the finished product turn out so different from the sample? At first, the plant manager denied that the specifications were not followed but his denials were over-ruled by the owner. 

Whether or not he liked it, he had to print the book jackets for us again. And it was completed a few days ago. It could have been done sooner if not for the imposition of the second Movement Control Order last month.

Now starts the rather difficult task deciding how to exchange the original book jackets with the reprint. The problem is that the book had been factory sealed. To replace the jackets will mean having to remove the plastic seal for almost 1,000 copies. I doubt we would want to do this ourselves. Anyway, a decision will have to be taken soon before the publisher releases it for sale in the bookstores. In the meantime, the next milestone will be the launch.