Canon Europe, world leader in imaging, is working in partnership with German children’s book publisher Goloseo and Room to Read, a global organisation focused on literacy and girls’ education, to deliver books produced on the Canon stand at drupa 2016 to school libraries supported by Room to Read in South Africa.
Munich-based publisher Goloseo specialises in reviving treasured children’s literature in both printed and digital formats. The company has an established partnership with Room to Read, a non-profit organisation that transforms primary schools into child-friendly learning environments that enable children to develop the skills and habit of reading and become life-long, independent readers. Room to Read’s Literacy Program ensures the school has a library with books in the children’s local language, as well as teachers and librarians who are trained in the best practices of reading and writing instruction.
For this drupa 2016 project Goloseo translated three German picture book titles – ‘Pling, Plang, Plung’, ‘Cordula die Brillenhexe’ and ‘Pummel’ – into English and two African languages, Sepedi and Xitsonga. Canon will ship over 3300 finished books to South Africa for distribution to 176 schools whose libraries are supported by Room to Read.
The books were produced in an integrated workflow in the Publishing zone of the Canon stand at drupa 2016. Text pages were prepared using specialist Impostrip book imposition software from Canon partner Ultimate TechnoGraphics before printing on the Océ ColorStream 6000 continuous feed inkjet press. Cover pages were produced on the Canon imagePRESS C10000VP, the flagship 100 page-per-minute colour digital toner press.
Printed pages from the two presses were brought together on the Tecnau Libra 800 books-on-demand production line, which integrates variable perfect binding processes and three-side trimming to automate the high-speed production of books to individual specifications.
This integrated books-on-demand workflow demonstrates how digital print technology, combined with a highly flexible automated book finishing solution, makes ultra-short book runs a reality. This is ideally suited to the revival of out-of-print books and to the production of books in minority languages, which would be uneconomical in an analogue publishing model requiring minimum production volumes. Innovative solutions such as this enable publishers to unlock the commercial potential of their back catalogue and to deliver books to match the most individual consumer demands.
Peter Wolff, Senior Director - Commercial Printers & Continuous Production CRD at Canon Europe comments: “We are proud to have been able to help Room to Read towards such an important objective, and it’s very rewarding to know that the beautiful storybooks we produced at drupa 2016 will be enjoyed by children so many thousands of miles away in South Africa.”
Heather Simpson, Room to Read’s Chief Program Officer states: “Canon’s and Goloseo’s in-kind investments in our Literacy Program are an inspired response to the lack of quality reading materials available for children in so many communities around the world. By partnering with Room to Read, they are impacting thousands of deserving children in South Africa, instilling in them a love and habit of reading.”
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