Dwarsligger
A 'dwarsligger' ("sleeper" or "crossbeam" in Dutch) is a book form, where the page of one page from a conventional book is printed across two pages of eight by twelve centimeters. The dwarsligger is published by Uitgeverij dwarsligger, part of Veen Bosch & Keuning Uitgeversgroep (VBK).
History
The dwarsligger was conceived by Hugo van Woerden, then director of the Dutch printer Jongbloed BV, which specializes in printing on very thin paper, a specialty that is used for the printing of Bibles and Songs of Songs. The idea was to create a new type of book that did not collapse, read pleasantly, and was easy to carry. <Ref name = "sowing"> Jongbloeddirecteur Van Woerden: sowing and then sleeping peacefully, Reformatorisch Dagblad , September 28, 2012 </ ref> Jongbloed BV only focuses on printing Christian books, too small a market for the new idea. In order to get the new concept off the ground, it was therefore decided to grant a license to Ambo / Anthos publishers. [1]
The dwarsligger was registered by Jongbloed BV in July 2006 as trademark.
On 6 September 2009, the first Dutch copy of the dwarsligger during Manuscripta by Herman Koch was awarded to Ronald Plasterk, Minister of Education, Culture and Science. <Ref> Drukkerij Jongbloed launches Dwarsligger, Adformatie , September 3, 2009 </ ref>
Features
Thanks to the special binding method the dwarsligger stays open without problems, and can be browsed and read with one hand. The browsing friendliness is not experienced by everyone as positive. <Ref> SWOT analysis, Bart van Oosterhout, Intermediair 37, 10 September 2009 </ ref>
The thin pages mean that fewer raw materials are needed than for conventional books.
Publishing dwarsligger gives novels, thrillers and non-fiction in a dwarsligger form. This concerns both translated and Dutch works. In most cases these books also appeared in a regular format. The publications of, among others, Herman Koch, Saskia Noort, Paulien Cornelisse and Dan Brown are published by Uitgeverij dwarsligger. In some cases the dwarsligger appears at the same time as the regular edition.
International
In addition to the Dutch and Flemish market, they are also trying to launch the book format elsewhere in the world. In 2010 this was done on the Spanish market, <ref> Dwarslig is going international, Reformatorisch Dagblad, 25 November 2010 </ ref> And one year later the English publisher Hodder & Stoughton published a few dwarsliggers, under the name Flipback . In 2011, the Lutheran Bible was published in Germany in dwarsligger format. <Ref> Lutherbible appears in Germany as 'sleeper', Reformatorisch Dagblad, 16 November 2011 </ ref >
Variants
According to the trade journal Boekblad the publishers A.W. Bruna Uitgevers, Dutch Media and Nieuw Amsterdam launched the cross reader on 15 September 2010. In terms of size and appearance, the cross reader was very similar to the dwarsligger. Only the paper was different. The dwarsligger is printed on thin paper, the cross reader is printed on pocket paper. <Ref> Three publishers introduce 'Cross reader', Boekblad, 14 September 2010 (consulted on 23/12/2014) </ ref> The Belgian newspaper De Morgen reported on 23 September 2010 that the Dutch printing company Jongbloed, which holds the patent on the dwarsligger, considered taking legal action. <ref> Kapers op de kust voor de Dwarsligger De Morgen, 23 September 2010 (consulted on 23/12/2014) </ ref> The magazine Boekblad wrote on 22 October 2010 that lawyers were investigating whether the Characters (an initiative of the publisher Karakter) ) and the cross reader violate the patent. <ref> [http://www.boekblad.nl/dwarsligger-versus-dwarslezer.154