B U S I N E S S TUESDAY, DECEMBER
30, 2014 . LATIMES.COM/BUSINESS
ONES
FOR THE BOOKS
Rick Kavin creates lead type on an old Intertype
machine at Kater-Crafts,
the bookbinding company he runs with two
siblings.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
Bookbinding
businesses keep the pages turning - for now
The symptoms were grim: advanced age, crumbling physical condition,
broken spine. The operation would last several hours and require
meticulous care. But recovery was likely, and the procedure would cost
only $100.
The patient was a 90-year-old family Bible in need of major
restoration.
"I always tell people that I compare book restoration with
face-lifts," said Bruce Kavin, one of three siblings who run
Kater-Crafts Bookbinders. "Generally speaking, the less you do, the
better." The Pico Rivera company has survived for 66 years while
many other bookbinding companies have failed. But it hasn't been
painless. Where 100 people once worked, now only a dozen ply the trade.
Restoration specialist Grace Sanchez restores the cover of a family Bible for a
client at
Kater-Crafts,
a family-run bookbinding company in Pico Rivera.
That sort of contraction is common given the share of readers opting for
e-books rather than the paper variety. The e-book crowd has risen to 28% of
Americans, age 16 or older, from 17% in 2011, according to the Pew Research
Center.
From a pre-recession high of 72,000 print and bindery employees
nationwide in 2006, the profession suffered one of the sharpest declines of
any occupation, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. By 2012, the
number of jobs had plunged nearly 24% to 55,000, with the slide expected to
continue. The bookbinding industry has had to become nimble. It endured the
loss of considerable library and academic work, for example, as more
publications became available online. The disappearance of many bookstores
was another blow.
Miguel Olvera uses a press to stamp letters onto a book spine at
Kater-Crafts Bookbinders
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
"It will … never be as much as it used to be," said Mariana
Blau, who runs A-1 Bookbinding, which has been operating in downtown Los
Angeles for 55 years. She employs two full-time workers, down from a peak of
nine. Blau's company has kept going partly through high-end projects for
Hollywood actors and directors who want to commemorate films they have been
part of, as well as jobs for other specialty clients. Even with a smaller
business, finding new workers is difficult. "Nobody wants to work with
their hands. Nobody wants glue on them," Blau said. "There are
very few young people who would be interested in this."
In 2013, the 108-year-old Guild of Book Workers surveyed its members —
professionals and amateur enthusiasts — and found that nearly 59% were 55
or older. Guild President Mark Andersson, 56, has run Panther Peak Bindery,
near Tucson, since 1998. He is optimistic that there will always be a need
for his kind of work.
"I like to think that everyone has one book that is very important
to them that they want to preserve," Andersson said, noting that he
endures frequent kidding for his hopeful "one-book theory." Still,
he has concerns. "In 50 years, when people no longer have the cultural
connection to what a book means, are they really going to want to fix up
Grandma's cookbook?"
At Kater-Crafts Bookbinders, the owners are getting up in years but have
found the resourcefulness needed to seek out new customers. "Our
customers are the people who still love books," said Bruce Kavin, who,
at 67, is the youngest of the three siblings who run the business co-founded
by their father, Mel. Kavin works with his sister, Judy Howard, 71, and
brother Richard Kavin, 73.