Dear Readers,
Imagine….holding Issue 51::IMAGINE in your hands, flipping through the pages and finding all manner of inspiration, ideas, and beauty. SOON, you’ll be doing just that, but I’m writing today to let you know that it will be coming to you a bit later than expected.
Creating a print magazine comes with unique challenges these days. In a highly digital era, fewer paper mills are making the graphic paper that used to be in abundance with more magazines and newspapers in production. Added to that decreased production are pandemic staffing challenges at mills and printers, supply chain struggles, mill closures, shipping delays, and strict allocations imposed on who gets paper and just how much. It is a precarious and challenging time for all of the businesses in the interconnected and global world of print publishing.
As a magazine that has firmly planted ourselves in the print world, we believe deeply that if we are to produce a print object that stays on your shelves, it must be timeless, durable, and beautiful. As a result of all of the above challenges and our continued reach for quality, we have recently changed where we print our magazine. We are thrilled to be bringing it a little bit closer to home in New England.
It has taken us more time than expected to make this change and to weather the paper shortages alongside it. But I am happy to say that currently, a file full of beautiful pages is in the hands of our printer and the press is being prepared for us. To those of you who are brand new to Taproot, we are so glad you’re here, and look forward to sharing a year’s worth of inspiration with you. Issue 51::IMAGINE may have gotten a slow start, but she’s off and running now! You can expect to have it in your hands in July (just around the corner!).
As you might imagine, this kind of challenge has a big impact on a small business like ours. In addition to delays and shortages, we’ve seen our paper prices increase by 40% over the past year, with shipping rates climbing nearly as fast. We are so appreciative of your support of our endeavor to share ideas, information, and projects in our pages. Each subscription, renewal, and gift subscription enables us to do just that.
Wishing you all a bountiful season ahead!
In gratitude,
Amanda
Owner & Editor