Imago continues to expand its global manufacturing reach. “We are very excited about our new partnership with a Latin America printer,” says president and CEO Howard Musk. “This complements our Asia manufacturing options by offering faster lead times with quicker shipping schedules. While pricing is generally not as low as in Asia, it can offer savings over North American manufacturing with similar or only slightly extended schedules.”

The Latin American printing facility can offer a broad range of manufacturing, including one-color with printed edges, full color, and all the usual binding options as well as board books and Tarot boxed sets. “FSC papers are also available, including those made with bagasse, which is a byproduct of the local sugarcane industry,” Musk says. “We also have a new facility in Vietnam and a new partnership in China for Bible and lightweight paper printing, which allows us to expand our capacity for this type of work at great pricing.”

Investment in LED UV presses has increased in recent months, and there is only a slight price difference over conventional printing due to wider adoption. “There are a few drivers for this, including increased demand for mineral oil-free inks, efficiencies in quality control, and the ability to print on a wider range of substrates,” says Musk, whose company won the EcoVadis gold medal for its sustainable procurement management last year.

Color image edge-printing on books is becoming very popular, Musk says. “We are now able to take it to the next level by having two images on the fore-edge. You can see the different images by flexing or fanning the book fore-edge one way or the other. The book edges are also foiled so that the images remain hidden until the edges are fanned.”

One thing that everybody needs to start working on, Musk says, is the new U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) eFiling system, which starts on July 8, 2026. “Consumer products that are subject to mandatory safety standards—which for us will be toys, games, books with inherent play value, and those designated or intended for kids aged 3 or younger—will be required to have certificates of compliance filed with the U.S. Customs (CBP),” he says.

As for EUDR, most products that Imago produces fall within its scope. “Books, calendars, and journals are classified under HS code chapters 48 and 49,” Musk says, adding that items with HS codes from chapter 95, including card and tarot decks, board games, and jigsaw puzzles, are not in scope. “Imago’s EUDR team welcomes meetings with clients to explain how we can assist you in complying with this milestone piece of legislation.”

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