The Best Of Both Worlds!

Stitched and Bound by Bob Gallo

Stitched and Bound:
Tales from the Front
By Bob Gallo

The end of modern civilization is upon us. And it isn’t coming in the form of swine flu, tsunami, meteor or Sanjaya CD. It’s coming from a little silver slab, possibly under your Christmas tree. It can hold 9 billion books, unless you count the really thick Harry Potter ones. Then it’s only a dozen. It weighs as much as a bees wing but is only half as thick. It’s the Kindle! And I don’t care.

I’m sure all the suits in Marketing are burning the midnight oil in an attempt to convince you that the paper book is on it’s way to the hopper along with your word processor and disco trimmer, but let us take a minute to ponder the case for a moment.

For the past few hundred years, folks have been buying books that they then take home or to the beach, where they gleefully thumb through it page by captivating page until they have had their fill. Then they place it in the bookcase next to all the other books they’ve read where it becomes pulpy testament to their wealth of knowledge, their ever-growing arsenal of fact and fiction. Friends and neighbors pay homage to their worldliness with praises like “Have you actually read any of these Bob?”

Heck, I even have a friend who goes to yard sales to buy books by the foot to put in his “library” so it looks like he does more than watch Dukes of Hazzard reruns in his spare time. “Golly George, when did you get so interested in the History of Polynesian Dung Art that you had to get the 15-book series?” Still, I had to admit that all those bookcases spoke something of their owner. Could a Kindle give the same sense of bookcase-envy? Hmmmmm.

Even the simple joy of plopping a book mark betwixt the pages is lost with this cold, lifeless, gussied-up calculator. Where’s the satisfaction of watching that bookmark creep ever closer to those precious last pages. Victory is only a sixteenth of an inch away! Try that with that goofy doohickey.  I wonder how it will even survive a day at the beach? I’m sure the keys or buttons will love that paste of Coppertone and sand rubbed all over it like a brisket. You’ll be stuck on page 37 until the battery runs out. I would say toss it on the fire but it doesn’t really burn so much as make a glob of toxic waste. I’ve been trying to use my laptop as a cookbook and I can’t wash the calamari smell off my space bar! I can’t imagine how a Kindle will handle a flying glob of 375 degree peanut oil. A cookbook actually gets more charming the more you stain it up. Good luck with that kids.

I could go on and on but I think you get my point by now. A book is more than a chunk of ink, paper and glue. It’s a part of your soul. It’s a facet of who you are right there on your coffee table. I don’t care how cute a name they gave it either. I guess it sounds better than the Pagemaster 3000. It’s just wrong.
Now all that aside, anyone know where I can get one for under $200?

BG
11/22/09

A Chance Encounter

Appropriately, HX Printing grew out of a chance encounter between co-owners Chad Rosenthal and Jack Hope at a sushi restaurant near Philadelphia in 2004

In just a few months, the two men with different backgrounds developed a fast friendship, spending time together learning their respective strengths and ideas. At the time, Chad was a printing industry executive while Jack was involved with several importing businesses, working with his brother-in-law who ran a factory in China.

Admiring each other’s business acumen and aspirations—and seeing an opportunity to marry Western standards with inexpensive manufacturing in the East—they started Hope Xinyuan Book Printing Company that same year.

After initially focusing on educational texts and books for companies like Disney, the company has evolved its capabilities to produce a full range of printed materials, from hard and soft cover books, to catalogs, directories, and magazines, to calendars, and other specialty items.

Our deep experience in the printing business lets us handle projects with precision, creativity, and reliable service. Yet to this day, being able to trust our own family to directly and locally manage our Asian operations is HX’s greatest edge.

We understand that, beyond competitive pricing, consumers and businesses in North America and Europe demand clear communication, accessibility, and accountability. With ISO-9001 certification and strict, self-imposed requirements including lead tests, child safety testing, and environmentally-friendly inks, as well as successful high-level factory audits with the likes of some of the most well known publishers in the world, it’s clear that we’ve established a proven model to deliver on that promise.

So with HX, you get aggressive pricing but you don’t have to settle for poor manufacturing...or order six months in advance...or make do with late shipments...or deal with vendors that can’t communicate clearly
 

International shipping Up-date

International shipping Up-date: Airfreight Peak Season from Asia to USA

While Asia presents great project savings, this time of the year anyone shipping via. air from there is challenged with transit time concerns based on holiday commerce. Our overseas shipping partners are constantly monitoring and trying to manage these situations as best they can however, we need to be very mindful of the holiday backlogs.
Our key recommendations are: 1. To quickly discuss any time sensitive projects/planned deliveries 2. Work to finalize any near term projects to allow for a holiday transit cushion. HX manages your projects from start to finish thus we feel it's important to keep you informed of all market conditions and influences. As always, reducing costs and providing superior quality and customer service is our goal.