{"id":125221,"date":"2025-10-16T06:12:10","date_gmt":"2025-10-16T06:12:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/125221\/"},"modified":"2025-10-16T06:12:10","modified_gmt":"2025-10-16T06:12:10","slug":"the-last-book-captures-the-final-days-of-a-printing-company","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/125221\/","title":{"rendered":"The Last Book captures the final days of a printing company"},"content":{"rendered":"

With over 80 years of printing experience, die Keure Printing<\/a> in Bruges, Belgium had become the gold standard. Known for their curiosity, patience and expertise, it\u2019s why independent publisher Loose Joints had worked with die Keure from the beginning.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s also the reason why when the printers announced it would be shutting its doors earlier this year, the publisher wanted to honour its legacy in a very specific way \u2013 by photographing the production of the last photobooks they would ever print.<\/p>\n

\"\"All images: The Last Book, published by Loose Joints. Top and Above: \u00a9 Thomas Prior, 2025; All images courtesy Loose Joints<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a lot of talk in the photobook world about pricing and the future of the book, but in the end we all depend on these manufacturers to achieve the quality we expect,\u201d Lewis Chaplin, founder of Loose Joints, tells CR.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe closure of a major printer is therefore significant \u2013 there are maybe 40 or 50 high-end houses of this level left in Europe. It felt important to mark that loss, and to shine a light on the skills and craftspeople behind books, which are not always visible in the finished object.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"\u00a9 Daniel Arnold, 2025
\n\"\"\u00a9 Daniel Arnold, 2025<\/p>\n

Chaplin was already at die Keure with photographers Thomas Prior and Daniel Arnold to print their respective books \u2013 Slip Me the Master Key<\/a> and You Are What You Do<\/a> \u2013 when the idea came to him. \u201cI always travel with our artists for press passes, as that last stage of colour adjustments and decisions are intrinsic to every project,\u201d he explains. \u201cBeing there with two extremely talented photographers, it felt like the natural thing to ask them to record the moment.\u201d<\/p>\n

The project came together quickly and Chaplin gave Prior and Arnold complete creative freedom knowing how their differing approaches and \u201csensibilities\u201d would likely complement each other.<\/p>\n

\u201cThomas is sharp, structural, attuned to detail and technology; Daniel is more irreverent, human, alive to moments of slippage and improbability,\u201d he notes. \u201cThe two approaches sat naturally in dialogue, and inside the book we used leftovers of the two different papers from each of their respective books.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"\u00a9 Thomas Prior, 2025
\n\"\"\u00a9 Thomas Prior, 2025<\/p>\n

Chaplin then worked quickly as they had to design, edit and print the book before die Keure closed at the end of August. \u201cIt left me about two weeks to pull it together with our team and the artists, and to deliver everything in time so it could indeed be their last book.\u201d<\/p>\n

Printed in a limited edition run of just 675 copies, half have been allocated to online sales and book fairs and the other half have gone to die Keure\u2019s staff and collaborators, which \u201cfelt essential\u201d. \u201cBecause the project was done in secret, we wanted to keep it small and discreet.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"\u00a9 Thomas Prior, 2025<\/p>\n

The unbound booklet contains 32 pages of photography and these sheets were the very last thing to run through die Keure\u2019s machines. The images capture the soul of die Keure, including the big room-sized presses and smaller details like a dusty computer mouse and other innocuous office paraphernalia, but the photographs also highlight the people behind all the machinery.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor me [the images] remind us how human these places are \u2013 a mix of individual ingenuity and skill with the high precision of machines,\u201d says Chaplin. \u201cThat dialogue between operator and press is everywhere in the pictures. There\u2019s also an undertone of melancholy for obvious reasons.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"\u00a9 Daniel Arnold, 2025
\n\"\"\u00a9 Thomas Prior, 2025<\/p>\n

The project also sheds light on the wider picture around the production of photobooks. According to Chaplin, since 2019 printers have experienced costs rising dramatically, including internal costs such as materials, labour and energy costs, some of which then get passed onto the client.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor publishers that translates into production increases of 30\u201340% compared with pre-Covid levels. That pressure was one of the reasons die Keure closed, and it continues to affect the whole sector,\u201d Chaplin explains. \u201cIt leaves us with difficult choices: higher retail prices, smaller margins, reduced ambitions, or increased reliance on funding. Without a strong and accessible printing infrastructure, the photobook ecosystem is at risk.\u201d<\/p>\n

There\u2019s something bittersweet about the last book that die Keure Printing made being about its demise, but Chaplin feels grateful to have spent time there, working with artists, and learning \u201chow their pictures translate into print\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe place became very familiar, and the team were excellent collaborators,\u201d he says. \u201cTo be able to close that chapter with The Last Book feels like the right way to honour it.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Last Book<\/a>, published by Loose Joints<\/a>, is available now for a limited period; thomasprior.com<\/a>; @arnold_daniel<\/a>; loosejoints.biz<\/a><\/p>\n