Thank you for the correction regarding Rotolito.

My message regarding the fault of the printer was intended to highlight a failure in their quality control process. Does someone expect a slew of HarperCollins employees to swoop in at the end of a print run and check every printed copy? That quality control will have been arranged by contract for the printer to accomplish. That's where the failure has been occurring and that's where the issue was that I mentioned. That is entirely separate from the issue of the selection of materials and the book design, which is entirely the publisher's responsibility. Keeping those issues separate will be helpful. The printer's quality control failed in part, and some bad copies were released. That's their fault.

beregond2 wrote:

2b. I have purchased and exchanged a total of 16 copies of the Lord of The Rings deluxe, and every single one of them has had problems that were bad enough for me to return. I purchased 2 $50 standard trade editions that have the exact same page block and they are FLAWLESS. Thats not bad luck. Thats a trend.

Did we see the same errors occur on the Deluxe Silmarillion, or the later William Morrow printings of the Deluxe LOTR?
I am not aware that the page block errors happened on these books to the same extent or even at all, which makes me assume that HarperCollins and the printers addressed this issue.

beregond2 wrote:

2c. HC admitted that they had "more returns than they thought reasonable" for The Silmarillion. All deluxe silmarillions are built the exact same way. The smudging on the spine isn't due to poor manufacturing, its due to poor design. Its the ink/leather combo, and lack of embossing to try and protect the lettering. Its a problem of poor design. And they continue to manufacturing it as such, without changing the design or the raw-materials (ink and leather) used in the manufacturing process. This means that 100% of deluxe silmarillions will express this defect, whether or not a customer complains about it. That seems "too generous" for a defect rate, but it is unfortunately reality. They know its an issue even when its technically being manufactured CORRECTLY according to the contract specifications, and again we know they've chosen to change nothing. It doesn't mean ditch Rotolito, but it could mean switching the ink used, or varnishing the spine, embossing the lettering, etc.

The smudging on the spine for the Deluxe Silmarillions, did not appear to happen on the Deluxe LOTR and is a new issue. Who is to blame for this, HarperCollins for asking for silver foil on blue leather, would it have happened if it was gold foil like the Lord of the Rings, or the Printers who possibly did not raise any concerns with using silver foil on blue leather.

It is interesting that HarperCollins have announced that they will not be using the same printer for the next Deluxe edition, and as far as I am aware the main quality problem was the smudged spines, which implies that they were not at all happy with how the book was produced.

Hello,

I've read the entire thread so my apologies if I missed this information, but I'm curious if there is a difference in content between this new 2023 edition and the previous 2011 single-volume edition.

Further, can anyone comment on the quality between both of those editions? Is there a difference in the quality of the binding, paper, or boards between the two? From some photos I saw earlier in the thread, the 2011 edition appeared to be slimmer than the 2023 edition, so I'm curious why that may be. In the few videos of the 2011 edition I have seen, the paper appears whiter than the 2023 edition, but that could be trickery from the camera.

I recently purchased the 2023 edition from a local book store and, while I'm not thrilled with the quality of the paper being used, the binding seems okay and the book opens and lays flat. It feels very light for a book of this size, however, and I'm wondering if the 2011 edition is more robust. If so, I would likely return the 2023 edition and order a new copy of the 2011 edition (likely 3rd printing, I would think, if that affects anything).

Any thoughts or insight on this would be greatly appreciated.

BoringFun wrote:

Hello,

I've read the entire thread so my apologies if I missed this information, but I'm curious if there is a difference in content between this new 2023 edition and the previous 2011 single-volume edition.

There isn't any difference in content, it's just a dust jacket refresh.

BoringFun wrote:

Further, can anyone comment on the quality between both of those editions? Is there a difference in the quality of the binding, paper, or boards between the two? From some photos I saw earlier in the thread, the 2011 edition appeared to be slimmer than the 2023 edition, so I'm curious why that may be. In the few videos of the 2011 edition I have seen, the paper appears whiter than the 2023 edition, but that could be trickery from the camera.

I have both volumes, there is really not much difference between the two in terms of quality of materials used. The '11 volume is a tad bit thicker, as the boards are thicker(and a different color) than the '23 re-print. The paper on the '11 is also a bit thicker, which some have chalked up to lower quality, this is due to the fact that the paper market is different now than it was 15 years ago, much more competitive and less options for companies like HarperCollins

BoringFun wrote:

I recently purchased the 2023 edition from a local book store and, while I'm not thrilled with the quality of the paper being used, the binding seems okay and the book opens and lays flat. It feels very light for a book of this size, however, and I'm wondering if the 2011 edition is more robust. If so, I would likely return the 2023 edition and order a new copy of the 2011 edition (likely 3rd printing, I would think, if that affects anything).

This is up to you, the '11 is out of print though, so you'll have to look on the second hand market.

Mr. Underhill wrote:

I have both volumes, there is really not much difference between the two in terms of quality of materials used. The '11 volume is a tad bit thicker, as the boards are thicker(and a different color) than the '23 re-print. The paper on the '11 is also a bit thicker, which some have chalked up to lower quality, this is due to the fact that the paper market is different now than it was 15 years ago, much more competitive and less options for companies like HarperCollins

The 2011 edition is thicker, with possibly lower-quality paper? Interesting, because it looks thinner in this image, but maybe my eyes are playing tricks on me.

Thank you for the insight on this. It sounds like both editions are of comparable quality, based on what you've said, so I think I will stick with what I have.

Saw this topic resurface (mostly on quality issues) and thought of sharing my view on this book.

I think the previous versions and especially the boxset which includes the hobbit is much more appealing... this book is just too big, bulky and lacks any charm... except of course the beautiful Dustjacket. In its current shape its hard to conceive anyone actually reading it - so it feels more like sth collectors would buy for completeness..

I myself bought this and decided to sell back on ebay - as I could not see the point of having another version which I consider inferior.

BoringFun wrote:

The 2011 edition is thicker, with possibly lower-quality paper? Interesting, because it looks thinner in this image, but maybe my eyes are playing tricks on me.

Thank you for the insight on this. It sounds like both editions are of comparable quality, based on what you've said, so I think I will stick with what I have.

Just now seeing this response, BoringFun you are totally right the '23 re-print is a thicker volume overall than the '11, with thinner boards. I got the years mixed up when typing out the response initially (I must have been doing two things at once ) . Again chalk it up to different paper being used today than 12 years ago.