The $4,500 B.C.-made book that royalty loves
 
Michael Scott
Vancouver Sun
Saturday, December 14, 2002

A lavish photographic book designed and published in British Columbia has won two of the world's most prestigious printing awards.

Antarctica, a $4,500 collectors' book produced by Pat and Rosemary Keough of Saltspring Island and printed by Hemlock Printers Ltd. of Burnaby has won the Benjamin Franklin Award for production excellence from the Printing Industry of America, and the Craft Art Science Award from the International Association of Printing House Craftsmen, based in the United States.

In their citation, the judges for the second award called the book "a towering achievement."

The book, produced in a numbered edition of 950 copies plus 50 proofs, has attracted international attention and has been acquired by some of the world's most famous wildlife advocates, including Prince Charles, Queen Noor of Jordan and Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands.

Hemlock Printers used an experimental plate-making technology to produce the book -- a screening process that produces printed images of such density that the unaided eye cannot distinguish them from photographs. The technology, trade-named Staccato, was developed by another Burnaby company, Creo Inc.

Creo has sold earlier versions of the technology to high-end American magazines such as Vogue and Vanity Fair, but the latest, 10-micron technology that won Hemlock its awards is still in a final test phase.

"This project was totally unique for us in terms of the number of colour plates and the extent of the job," said Hemlock president Dick Kouwenhoven.

Antarctica features 345 photographs taken by the Keoughs during two years of Antarctic expeditions. "When we saw the photos that the Keoughs had done and envisioned what we could do with the new technology that we were developing with Creo, we knew we wanted to get involved," Kouwenhoven said.

Hemlock's latest book project is a major survey of the work of British Columbia art legend E. J. Hughes, published by Douglas and McIntyre.

Pat and Rosemary Keough with their son Glen and their book Antarctica, which won two prestigious printing awards.