Vanity Fare

Vanity Publishing has been around a long time but modern technology has really enabled it to take off. Print on demand and ecommerce have meant companies like Lulu.com have been able to publish many books that commercial publishers wouldn't consider. Unfortunately some Vanity Publishers (not Lulu) have a terrible reputation for quality and service and many have been accused of misrepresenting the service they provide to authors.

Now colour digital printing technology has developed to such an extent that Vanity Presses like Bob Books have appeared. These aren't really publishers – they don't make your books generally available to the book buying public – but they do allow people to produce 'books' of their photographs.

I saw this advertisement for Bob Books yesterday on the station platform.

Now on their website they claim 'The thing is, we love books and we're more than a little obsessive about quality. Our books are made in Switzerland – home of really well made things™ – combining traditional book-binding craftsmanship with state-of-the-art technology.'

However, I think I'd be wary of any publisher who could design, print, distribute and display this 6 foot poster featuring this terrible typo.

What were they thinking of? This?

P.S. Apologies for the quality of the photos taken with my mobile phone in very challenging lighting conditions.