Typhon Pact Trade Paperbacks?

[Deano2099]

So I've been away from the books since around Destiny, but with the new TV stuff and Coda creating an endpoint for the existing litverse, I've been on a bit of a mission to pick up the books I'm missing. Most have been easy to track down, others less so. But the other day I saw Rough Beasts of Empire, Plagues of Night and Rise Like Lions (not Typhon pact, I know) for a reasonable price on Amazon. They arrived today, and they were trade paperback format. Not a problem, but I hadn't even realised that was a thing. They seem to have a different ISBN, and the back says "Printed in France, by Amazon" (to be clear: they are in English).
I've realised now a few others are the same (Watching the Clock and Vanguard: Declassified) but hadn't really noticed as they weren't part of a large series where I already had MMPBs to compared too - well, I know Vanguard is but it's also a novella collection rather than a regular book. Those ones say Printed in Great Britain.
I'm curious as to where these came from (and don't say "France"!) and if anyone had any other info?

 

[Christopher]

A lot of older Trek titles are now being released in print-on-demand trade paperback format, I believe. I guess it's more economical than doing a large reprint run. Looking at Amazon, it looks like the mass-market paperbacks are out of print and only available used, so if you want a new copy, it's going to be a POD trade paperback.

 

[Deano2099]

Thanks - I have to admit that I had pretty much assumed they'd never be printed again in any format, which is why I was a bit confused!

 

[Therin of Andor]

They seem to have a different ISBN, and the back says "Printed in France, by Amazon" (to be clear: they are in English).
I'm curious as to where these came from (and don't say "France"!) and if anyone had any other info?

The Print-On-Demand trade reprints usually have the local country in which the file is run off. This is a major saving for Amazon on postage and storage. I recently bought some US graphic novel omnibus reprints through Amazon, and they came, only three days after ordering, marked "Printed in Australia". (I'm in Australia).

I found a copy of "Ex Machina" in my local SF bookshop in the trade paperback format. I already had it in first-edition MMPB, but it was great to have one to match the 40th anniversary trade PB of TMP's novelization, for which "Ex Machina" is a sequel.

 

[tomswift2002]

One issue that I’ve found with this print-on-demand trade paperbacks is that the cover art is usually blurry and soft (even the text on the back cover is blurry). Instead of using the original high-resolution files that were made for the books mmpb release, or dig out the original cover art work up, S&S seems to just scan a physical copy of the mmpb, and then enlarge it to the trade paperback size.

 

[tgiokdi]

Are these POD books getting unique ISBNs? I'd love to be able to track which ones have been released in this format.

 

[Therin of Andor]

One issue that I’ve found with this print-on-demand trade paperbacks is that the cover art is usually blurry and soft (even the text on the back cover is blurry). Instead of using the original high-resolution files that were made for the books mmpb release, or dig out the original cover art work up, S&S seems to just scan a physical copy of the mmpb, and then enlarge it to the trade paperback size.

Prior to this, though, the gutters on the trade POD reprints were strangely wide, as if they were printing the MMPB pages onto trade-size paper. I saw a few "Vanguard" reprints like this.

I was very happy with the recent trade version of "Ex Machina" and its cover art looked more appealing than the original MMPB.

 

[tomswift2002]

Prior to this, though, the gutters on the trade POD reprints were strangely wide, as if they were printing the MMPB pages onto trade-size paper. I saw a few "Vanguard" reprints like this.

I was very happy with the recent trade version of "Ex Machina" and its cover art looked more appealing than the original MMPB.

I’ve got a copy of Sins of Commission from about 8 years ago in POD trade, and even the interior text was blurry and soft (like I was looking at a photocopy that had been blown up). But it even claims to be a first printing mmpb on the copyright page, clearly just a scan of the original 1990’s first printing. It even has the original 1990’s ads and the series lists. I think it was just a jpeg/pdf scan made for the digital edition and a phone/tablet screen at a low resolution and not a resolution for printing, and that file was used. And others I’ve seen of later books from the 2005-2018 timeframe, it’s the same, especially when I put them up against mass-market-trade-paperback issues, such as Available Light.

 

[mastadge]

Yeah, ever since I got an unexpected POD trade I've made a point of always seeking out the original mmpb, with a few exceptions like Ex Machina which was re-set for the new format.