About These Facsimiles

To create a facsimile dust jacket that is a perfect reproduction of the original is, of course, impossible.  However, the techniques I use when creating our facsimiles help in producing jackets that are as close to the originals as possible.  All the jackets I scan are at least forty-five years old, and many have problems such as chipping, fading, rubbing, scuffing, and missing pieces.  In addition, some of the jackets have been price clipped.  The clipped price will be restored if I am certain how it should appear.  Otherwise it is left off the facsimile.

Every effort is made to compensate for jacket irregularities, but occasionally some guesswork is needed when restoring a difficult scan. Size and color are the two most common problems in restoring jackets. Fortunately, the size of a jacket can easily be corrected. If the jacket you order does not fit your book, contact me, and I’ll find out why. I will then fix the problem or, if necessary, completely resize it to fit your book and then provide you with a new copy of the jacket. Basically, jackets can be resized to fit any book. All that is needed is the height, width, and spine width of the book.

Color, however, is a more difficult problem. At times, attaining true color matches is tricky even for the most skilled scanner technician. There are certain colors that will not scan true. When scanning an image, the scanner takes all the color from the original source and breaks it down into what is called a “four color process,” (cyan, magenta, yellow, and black or CMYK). These four colors are mixed together in the right densities of tiny dots that will imitate most colors. A trained operator will calibrate his scanner to the best of his ability in order to produce the most accurate colors. However, some hues do not convert to CMYK easily. In most cases, the specialist will color correct the scan to match the output device by comparing the original to the reproduction, and then tweak the color of the scan until it is as close as possible to the original.

Due to the nature of my business, color accuracy is even more difficult. Most of our scanning is done in other people’s libraries, away from our office. Traveling with our printer in order to check the color on each scan is not possible, nor would I have the time to color correct each scan while working with someone's collection. Once I return, I no longer have the original to compare to the reproduction. We use professional scanners and keep them calibrated to insure that most of our jackets are very close if not spot-on to the original colors. However, the colors on some jackets do shift and without having an original to compare to, the scan usually cannot be color corrected. This same issue also applies to digital photos and computer monitors, which is why, in many cases, photos from the Internet cannot be used to correct color. Occasionally a customer will send me an original dust jacket to use to compare and color correct my scan. I am always happy to do this, but please let me know ahead of time if you plan to send me anything.

Each facsimile is stored as a high-resolution file and is printed on a large format, high-quality ink-jet printer onto a single sheet of acid-free, archival paper using seventy-year, fade-resistant inks. In addition, each jacket has "Facsimile Dust Jacket L.L.C." printed on the front flap. No facsimile will be made without this imprint. These facsimiles are meticulously restored to appear as new and are shipped with a protective Mylar cover. In short, they look great.

The goal of Facsimile Dust Jackets LLC is to have satisfied customers. Therefore, it is our policy that if you have a problem with any jacket, we will be happy to try to fix it, or you may return it for a full refund for any reason.