"Designer Books are the Rolls Royce of the book world," says Aspi Forbes of Jak Printers

The book, Lights, Camera and Masala, has to its claim a gold medal and the title of the ‘Best Designed Book’ at the New York International festival. “The credit for the book,” Aspi said, “goes to the designers, Divya Thakur and Sheena Sippy and team Jak.

Jak, who has established a solid reputation for its uncompromising stand on quality, considers designer book production as an art which amalgamates the expertise and passion of both the designer and the printer in question. “Designer books are similar to designer cars and designer wears. A lot of efforts go into making them.”

Lights, Camera and Masala is a hard bound book with produced with varied process on varied material and with varied fabrication and gimmicks.

The audience was captivated while Aspi presented glimpses of a popcorn holder, a fan mail, the wheel of fortune, and a folded poster popping from between the pages. The books takes one back to the days when a film reel was used to make movies, with a printed image on the photographic film.

“These gimmicks,” Aspi said, “are not pasted but stitched between the pages. The inside pages has foiling. All these gimmicks, for execution eight years ago required a lot of hard work and engagement between the designer and the printer.”

While saying so, Aspi enlisted ‘the must-haves of producing a designer book’: A concept to start with; a print partner, who will discuss and give inputs before the design is finalised; product sampling that will evolve the design further; tonnes of patience; a budget to support your vision. 

Jak Printers won the Book Printer of the Year award for the fifth year in a row. Between Bombay and Mumbai, Dome over India, India’s 100 Best Destinations and Light and Shade in Life’s Glade were the four entries submitted by Jak Printers for PrintWeek India Awards 2013.