I suspect gilt-edging is cheap to add now (the Barnes and Noble “classics” in hardback have it and they’re not very pricey) - I wonder if a modern process could be designed to “print” these fore-edge paintings.
It would be difficult. The modern mass-produced book is first bound/glued and then cut to size, and consequently has page offset tolerances measured in millimeters. Something like this would require printing precision and page offset measured in microns.
I'm not sure - if you're willing to tolerate more gunk on the edge of the pages. say the book is cut +/- 2.5 mm - each page has .5 of print on the edges, and each page image shifted by .01 mm (or whatever is appropriate). cut the edge wherever, it'll work out.
Glued edge registration needs to be super consistent though - micron accuracy. Maybe you mean the page on the binding/glue needs to be super accurate. I guess, yeah, if pages shift in binding all bets are off. So if there is a shift, or different pages expand or contract under binding differently than their neighbors, that would make it super hard.
another approach might be printing right on the edge of the cut pages, let the ink diffuse into the side, then apply the gilt over that to hide the picture.
Neat problem to armchair. I'm not really willing to put in the time or money or both to figure it out. So ultimately, I'll take your word.
I think the printing process itself lacks the requisite accuracy. If it were in the cutting I'd expect to see more instances of the cuts being crooked wrt the printed matter.
Declining mediums are great for adding niche features because the people still buying them are enthusiasts who will tolerate higher prices, thus you can add features like this to increase the appeal.
For single copies or small batches, I'm thinking an inkjet printer could be modified to print the image, and a clamp designed to hold the pages in place during printing. I'm not sure how to apply the gilt. Maybe with a paint roller?
> The surface this image is on does not exist until the cut is made.
Not so. The painted surface is the pages' surface, and definitely exists prior to the cut. The surface that doesn't previously exist (the pages' edges) isn't the one being painted, it is gilded instead (which serves to hide the painting when the book is closed and the pages at rest).
