Hi everybody, so a few weeks ago, I announced my newest merch item, The Ampersand Coloring Book. Unfortunately, in trying to get it done in time for the holiday rush, everything that could go wrong did go wrong. Ok, that’s a bit overdramatic, but a few things went wrong and I’m working on solutions.
The main issue is that the paper the books were printed on is a coated, shiny paper, which doesn’t make for a good coloring surface. Marker ink smudges very easily, and colored pencils don’t really grip the surface the way that they would for uncoated paper. When I was working with DFTBA to put in the order, the paper options were matte vs glossy, so I chose matte assuming (incorrectly) that it would be an uncoated paper. I really should have asked for paper samples, so it’s definitely a lesson I’ve learned for the future. A few of you guys have voiced your complaints to me about it, and I definitely agree with you that the paper isn’t ideal for a coloring book.
So, I’m working with DFTBA and they’re actually going to reprint the books on uncoated paper. They’ve been really great about making this right, so I’m really thankful to them. The new books won’t be available for purchase until the reprints come in, which will be sometime in January. However, once they come in, if you ordered one of the original books, DFTBA will ship you a replacement free of charge. I’m not exactly sure how that process will work to request a replacement book, but stay tuned to this blog in January and I’ll let you guys know then.
Now that the most important announcement is out of the way, keep reading if you want to see more photos of the actual printed coloring book, rather than the mockup I had shared in photos earlier!
The other issue that’s come up with the coloring book is that there’s another guy out there who is also releasing an Ampersand Coloring Book! I’m sure we each came up with the idea independently and I hope no one accuses either of us for copying the other, but it is kind of downer for what I thought was a pretty original idea. (As original as you can get with the thousands of adult coloring books that are out there by now).
If you bought the book already and don’t want to wait for the replacement, you can definitely just photocopy the pages onto whatever type of paper or cardstock you want. And if you haven’t bought the book yet, the free sample page is still available for download for you to print right now if you want to try out coloring before committing to an entire book!
I tried out a bunch of mediums in the book to be sure it was an issue before emailing DFTBA about my concerns with the paper. I experimented with several different markers and all of the markers would smudge if I didn’t leave them to dry for several seconds, while the colored pencil didn’t leave very much pigment on the paper. And the ink from the pen would just kind of pool up on top of the paper instead of sinking into it. The graphite pencil wasn’t bad, but coloring books are made for colors, not just gray, so I really did find it necessary to get the books reprinted.
Unfortunately, DFTBA isn’t able to print posters on uncoated paper, so they will stay as they are. However, you can definitely still color on them with markers as long as you’re careful not to smudge your designs, or you could try out even more experimental mediums, like collaging with tissue paper, or acrylic paint, or gold leaf! Or of course, you could leave it as it is for a graphic black and white print, if you can’t decide on a color scheme.
So, if you already ordered the coloring book, stay tuned until January to request a replacement. If you haven’t ordered one yet, I hope you’ll consider getting one in January once the reprints come in. Thank you so much for sticking with me through this crazy saga, and thank you to DFTBA for being so great to work with and making sure everything they release is a quality product.
If you’re still looking for a last-minute gift, I still have plenty of other design-inspired items available in my merch shop, and you still have a few days to order with rush shipping to get them in time for Christmas. Happy Holidays!
