Helion books printed in Malta?

Discussions on books and other reference material on the WW1, Inter-War or WW2 as well as the authors. Hosted by Andy H.
Post Reply
User avatar
krichter33
Member
Posts: 843
Joined: 22 Mar 2003, 12:37
Location: U.S.A.

Helion books printed in Malta?

#1

Post by krichter33 » 11 Oct 2019, 09:48

I've noticed that Helion sometimes release books that are of high quality, with glossy pages, and tight binding that is threaded, and that are nice and heavy. However, sometimes they release books that are of lesser quality with regular paper. It seems that all the higher quality books are printed in Malta. As an avid book collector, who prefers high quality, hardcovers, I was wondering if anyone knew if it was at all possible in determining if the book being sold on the internet is a book printed in Malta, or not. Thanks.

guder
Member
Posts: 96
Joined: 28 Jun 2005, 00:26
Location: Winnipeg Canada

Re: Helion books printed in Malta?

#2

Post by guder » 12 Oct 2019, 07:33

Any titles in mind?

Paul


User avatar
krichter33
Member
Posts: 843
Joined: 22 Mar 2003, 12:37
Location: U.S.A.

Re: Helion books printed in Malta?

#3

Post by krichter33 » 12 Oct 2019, 08:28

Yes actually, I was thinking of the Kursk books by Zamulin. Demolishing the Myth, The Forgotten Battle of the Kursk Salient, and the Kursk Controversial and Neglected Aspects books...

guder
Member
Posts: 96
Joined: 28 Jun 2005, 00:26
Location: Winnipeg Canada

Re: Helion books printed in Malta?

#4

Post by guder » 16 Oct 2019, 14:08

Took a look an yes Kursk Controversial and Neglected Aspects is printed on high gloss heavier paper and in Malta.

Paul

User avatar
krichter33
Member
Posts: 843
Joined: 22 Mar 2003, 12:37
Location: U.S.A.

Re: Helion books printed in Malta?

#5

Post by krichter33 » 17 Oct 2019, 08:53

Thanks!

Sean.
Member
Posts: 5
Joined: 11 May 2019, 12:55
Location: Denmark

Re: Helion books printed in Malta?

#6

Post by Sean. » 17 Oct 2019, 11:51

Hi,
Not sure if it is of interest, but Confronting Case Blue, by Igor' Sdvizhkov, has also been printed in Malta and is of high printing quality.

Sean

User avatar
krichter33
Member
Posts: 843
Joined: 22 Mar 2003, 12:37
Location: U.S.A.

Re: Helion books printed in Malta?

#7

Post by krichter33 » 18 Oct 2019, 10:14

Yes, that's one I am going to buy!

Trilisser, M. A.
Member
Posts: 51
Joined: 11 Oct 2018, 21:39
Location: Pohjois-Savo

Re: Helion books printed in Malta?

#8

Post by Trilisser, M. A. » 27 Oct 2019, 22:42

Krichter33, this is a most interesting question. For example, the V'iazma Catastrophe by Lev Lopukhovsky certainly exists in two editions greatly differing in quality. It is my understanding that some editions sold on US Amazon are digitally printed copies while copies of the same sold in Europe are Maltese prints. What is more, some books whose first print run was Maltese are later reprinted digitally in much inferior quality. If in doubt, one must ask the seller for the details.

User avatar
krichter33
Member
Posts: 843
Joined: 22 Mar 2003, 12:37
Location: U.S.A.

Re: Helion books printed in Malta?

#9

Post by krichter33 » 29 Oct 2019, 09:16

I did some research into the subject, and talked with Tom at Aberdeen Books. He said that Helion doesn't print two different versions for different markets. Sometimes if they reprint a hardcover then they tend to use the cheaper digital format, sometimes without a dust jacket. However, this only applies to older books that they decided to reprint as a hardcover. I'm still not too sure how to tell if an older hardcover is a reprint or not. I'm looking into that, though it might be simply the copyright date and or the price.

However when they are printing a brand new edition of a book they determine if it will sell or not. If they think it will sell, they print it with high quality material, and threaded binding. If they don't think it will sell then they print it digitally with cheaper binding. However, it does seem that most of their books, high and low quality, are printed in Malta. So that is not a way to figure out what type of book you are buying.

I believe looking at the list price of a brand new published book is the best way to find out. For example, a high quality hardcover book about 500-600+ pages will have a list price of about 89 dollars, like The Sword Behind the Shield, or Red Wind Over the Balkans. If it is 500-600+ pages, but digital and cheaper quality, it will have a list price about 59 dollars, like Forgotten Battle of the Kursk Salient, and Killing Hitler's Reich.
If the book is high quality but around 400 pages or so, then it will list around 69 to 79 dollars, and if it is cheaper quality and around the same page number, it will list any ware from 39-49 dollars or so. Of course this is not exact, and I'd advise comparing the list price of a new book with a similar Helion book of the same size, that you already know what quality it is, in order to see for sure.

This is the only way I think one can really tell. About the Via'zma Catastrophe. I own the book, and it is very cheaply printed. I assume it is a reprint of the first edition, and so it is printed cheaply as they supposedly do so with their hardcover reprints. But, it is not that they print books for two different markets.

Anyways, I might be wrong about everything.....but I hope this helps.

Post Reply

Return to “Books & other Reference Material”