The Console Chronicles, A Handheld History: 88-95, and The HORROR: Mansion production update

With The Horror: MANSION, A Handheld History: 88-95 and The Console Chronicles close to the finish line, we’d like to provide you with a little peek behind the curtain at the production of these three titles.

We caught up with our Design Director Rachel Dalton to get an in-depth look at the near-final stages of each book:

“First come the blank dummies [below]. They are a chance for us to see how the book feels in our hands, the quality of the binding and the materials we are using.”

Final files are then prepared and sent to the printer. “After that we receive these plotter proofs [below and top of newsletter],” Rachel told us. “These are a very low resolution print out on cheap paper from the printer – they aren't bound. They're a chance to sign off on the whole book’s content”

The next step is to create colour proofs. “At roughly the same time we also get a few spreads printed at a high resolution,” explains Rachel, “mimicking the colour and quality of the final print, so we can check any retouching we have done.”

Once proofs are approved, they are sent off to print. Rachel and Lost In Cult founder Jon Doyle visited our printer in Italy for this next step, known as a press pass.

Rachel and Jon were able to review the final sheets coming off the machine, checking them by eye.

“This is where the print technicians might adjust ink levels to make colours stand out more,” Rachel told us. “They also check each colour is registering correctly so that everything lines up.”

These important steps and quality checks ensure every page of every book we create is of the utmost quality. Thankfully, all three books above are progressing well and hitting our quality standards.

The Horror: MANSION, A Handheld History: 88-95 and The Console Chronicles are all on track to ship this August. We thank you for your patience as we create the best version of these books possible, and will keep you in the loop every step of the way via our newsletter and social media channels.

You can still order your own copy of each book!