Becoming a published author has already given me the chance to do some things I never would have dreamed of . . . and one of the first was heading to
CPI Print in Chatham, Kent, to see my book being printed. All I can say is Wow
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It all starts with a lot of paper. One roll is enough for 700 books and will fly
through that first machine in a staggering 15 minutes. |
The pages are printed on large sheets, then it's a matter of a lot of cutting, binding, pressing, buzz saws, hot glue and giant guillotines to turn them into the right size. Honestly, a printers would be a great place to write a great scene with a really evil baddy.
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| CPI print 100 million books a year so this paper will barely last a day. |
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| Covers are printed elsewhere. Yes, these are just the covers. Some exciting names to be printed alongside I can tell you. |
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| My guide, Kevin Martin and my excited smile as I take on the scale of the whole process. |
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| Everything whizzes past so fast you can barely see it, but this is The Last Chance Hotel going into production. |
Lots of printing, binding, gluing and cutting and the books are nearly ready.
The pages are bound in sections and put into place. I spy my lovely inside pages. I spy Nightshade!
The whole of the inside of the factory is my book, whizzing on conveyor belts in every direction as my book fills the whole room as it flies through varies parts of the printing press.
And this is where the finished copies appear! (Note my excited smile as I see them for the first time.)
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| My first ever copy of my first ever book. In my hand. |
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| Thanks to all at CPI for giving me an Inside the Factory day to remember. It was amazing! |
