Photo-book publishing in India

I am a photographer, printer, and publisher of coffee table books. Over the years, I have come across several photographers who are looking to publish their work in the form of a book.

Especially in India, it is very rare that a photo-book publisher would publish a book for a lesser-known photographer. Some of these photographers also try to self-publish their book by commissioning a designer and a printer. However, this arrangement turns out to be an expensive affair because one must print high volumes for the per-copy cost of the book to achieve economic viability. Unable to afford the project cost, 90% of photographers pack up and move on.

‘The ultimate form of a photograph is print.’

Gerhard Steidl, the iconic German printer and publisher, has said that ‘there is a haptic value to a printed book that you cannot find in digital media.’ This ‘haptic quality’ — the feel and smell of paper, the visual weight of a photo-book, the quality of print and the way light reflects on it — is in totality a dimension that cannot be experienced on a digital screen. The iconic portrait of the Afghan Girl on the National Geographic magazine cover was in print, not online.

We have developed Binder:

Binder is a platform where amateur and semi-professional photographers can easily design their books online and receive single or multiple copies printed within 4 days, anywhere in India. The online editor at binder.co.in is extremely easy to use, yet has very powerful design and layout tools that are essential to photo-book publishing. Users can choose between binding types, as well as whether to print on coated or uncoated paper. All Binder photo-books are printed using HP Indigo Digital-Offset printing press and bound with carefully chosen materials.

Several photographers are now able to publish their work without having to depend on a publisher or high volume printing. Binder is also developing an online book store as well as a book distribution network where these published books can be placed for sale.

Ultimately, the idea is to make publishing easy and available to everyone, so that no potentially great book goes unpublished.