Chinese quality

Hi, I would like to ask the group what are your thoughts on the Chinese printed books that folio has to offer, as I have heard the quality is poor. Is it even really that bad? If so, how bad? And would it be worth it to avoid purchasing a title specifically because it is printed in China? Please let me know

I can’t tell the difference between Chinese-printed books and any other. Some people avoid Chinese products for political reasons, but I think quality printers should be rewarded wherever they might happen to reside.

I’ve ordered two titles that had been printed in China. The two copies I have now are as good as any from elsewhere, however, I had to return four damaged copies with poor quality control.

When it works it’s as good as anywhere else, but you’re far more likely to get a dud.

As far as I know the only printer from China FS use is C&C Offset Printing. I believe it's headquartered in HK, a former colony, if that makes any difference to one's perception, however I can't find any information whether their FS orders are actually printed there or with their mainland locations.

I own 6 titles printed by C&C and read 4 of them; only one had qc/qa issues to do with misalignment of their page cutter rather than the printing itself. Replacement had no issues, nor have I seen any issues with the remaining 3 titles I've read.

The number of complaints I've noticed about C&C printings seemed to have tailed off in the last year or so suggesting they have tightened their qc/qa.

There are good printers and poor printers everywhere, but I think we can trust FS to know the difference.

Most major publishers now use Chinese printers because they are the only ones capable of handling such large jobs, and I haven’t noticed any reduction in quality.

>4 wongie: Their Sales/Marketing offices are in HK but all of their print production is done in mainland China - mainly in Guangdong Province.

The very small number of books (maybe 4 or so) I got from FS that were printed in China were okay inside, but one had exterior damage / deep scratches in the cover. That probably happened there, it certainly was inside the slipcase. I haven't been affected, but I remember reading complaints about more recent reprints of the Tolkien editions from China being very poor quality. There were many complaints about the poor quality of the rather expensive Book of the New Sun, which I didn't buy / only read about. It seems to depend on the books in question to some degree. Some are fine from the start, others not at all, though there's improvement after enough problems / complaints. That being said, this kind of issue can also occur with printers elsewhere. The recent Tolkien LE had a lot of issues, and that wasn't from China to my knowledge. So unless you have other reasons (political / ethical ones) I wouldn't say that FS books printed in China are generally to be avoided because you always get poor quality. I'd keep an eye on threads here, though, since any editions with large quality control issues will be talked about here, Chinese or not.

One thing to keep in mind is that C&C Offset often uses Yu Long Pure paper, which has a slightly smoother texture and is somewhat brighter compared to some other papers that FS printers commonly use. So if you don't like Yu Long paper, that might be a reason to avoid.

The one book I have printed by C&C Offset is well done (The Structure of Scientific Revolutions). Printing is fine, and the somewhat technical nature of the text harmonizes with the more clinical feeling of the paper.

They have had a few notable blunders (the standard edition of The Book of the New Sun, mentioned above, and also issues with reprints of the Tolkien books). In my mind, I have them "on probation" but I don't avoid them categorically.

If relations between the US and Communist China were to get really bad, it is possible to envisage the situation of the US imposing penalty tariffs - or even an outright ban - on Chinese exported good to the USA.

If that situation ever came to pass it would presumably apply to Chinese products exported by third party countries to the US.

Where would that leave The Folio Society's sales of their Chinese printed books to the USA?

>9 English-bookseller:

It would have to be an arbitrarily selective ban on goods but I can’t imagine why books would be the focus.

If you set your mind to buy something “Made in USA” or made anywhere else for that matter, especially for common products, it’s nearly impossible to do so since nearly everything sold here is made in China. For example, about ten years ago, I had made a concerted effort to buy USA-made garden tools. It took me years to find certain hand tools and even then, in some cases, I just to settled for “made in not China”. Power tools were absolutely impossible, though.

Books seem like a pretty low volume product compared to other common goods, so they wouldn’t be a strong choice as an economic sanction or pawn. There aren’t exactly a lot of us reading folk out there. It would probably take an all out war to stymie the influx of goods to the point where Folio’s C&C Offset books are affected.

Does anyone have Moby Dick? Ive been looking for it but haven’t really been able to find more than a few for sale. I know it was printed in China and has some complaints. Also, what good alternatives are there to Folios Moby Dick?

>11 Geo135: Mine is beautiful; one of Folio's nicest productions. Sometimes it does seem that people go out of their way to find fault if a book comes from China.

>12 red_guy: that’s good to hear. I missed it when it was in stock and when I emailed they gave the standard response of not having any plans to reprint. Maybe they’ll surprise me. It seemed like a successful run.

>11 Geo135:
Mine is gorgeous and in excellent condition. No complaints at all.

>11 Geo135:

Alternatives. Try the Folio first edition from 1974 with fabulous wood engravings by Garrick Palmer, usually pretty abundant and quite cheap on the secondary market. Then there's the Folio LE (2009) which is the basis of the 2017 reprint you're talking about here. Same illustrations etc etc but difficult to find and, when you do, it'll cost you a pretty penny.

Of works by other publishers I know nothing as I collect only Folio.

As someone who's complained vociferously about the current printing of Lord of the Rings, I don't think the fact that it's printed in China is the problem; I think the fact that they're printing from worn-out plates is the problem, and that's on Folio, not on the printer, since my understanding is Folio supplied the plates. Other printed in China Folio books I've had haven't presented similar problems.

>16 ambyrglow:

I'm no authority on printing methods, but is there really a way worn plates could be responsible for the distinct pixellation ( https://pics.cdn.librarything.com/picsizes/d2/be/d2be03a3387d009636b77777551434b... ) that's been the main complaint I've seen regarding recent Folio Tolkien printings?

>17 terebinth: honestly they just need to start from scratch with the Lord of the Rings SE set. It’s a tired design and the quality leaves a lot to be wanted for the price.

>18 Geo135:

It does seem likely that they'll decide before long that their edition is due for re-imagining, if they haven't already. The current design (as distinct from its Chinese implementation - my twenty year old set is fine) isn't far from being among my favourite Folio books, so I'll probably like its replacement less, but if a new one succeeds it should be a good money-spinner for the next couple of decades or so.

>17 terebinth: That's the Silmarillion, right? I've heard it had pixellation problems, but I have no comment on that, having not seen it. My Lord of the Rings had a whole different set of printing issues (but no pixellation).

>11 Geo135: had two copies, the first the page marker was stuck to the paper with glue and tore the page. The second, had some badly creased pages in the last 1/3 of the book, which I only noticed after it had sold out.