Adult Coloring Books Help Drive Print

US unit sales of ebooks in 2015 fell 13% but print units rose 2.8% to 653 million, according to Nielsen Book Scan, largely due to the strength of Adult Coloring Books! Twelve million units were sold in 2015. Color a smile on the faces of BPG USA employees at this news as our printing presses roll out beautiful products like Pippa's Magical Garden. Coloring books don't work well as ebooks.

Adult coloring books took off in 2015 and demand continues at a rapid pace. The product offers sophisticated artwork with intricate detail like nature scenes or geometric patterns and mandalas, all printed on quality offset paper. It is an accessible way to release creativity and at the same time counteract tension and stress by having fun.

While the artwork is more popular with women than men, it has struck a nerve among many ages and occupations. Female university professors meet weekly in Newfoundland to color together and share a glass of wine. High school students in Connecticut use the adult coloring books to decompress and to decorate their rooms. Seniors in California have found that coloring together is an enjoyable activity to share. The American Art Therapy Association even supports the use of coloring books for pleasure and self-care.

A quick glance at social media documents the trend. Facebook and Pinterest are filled with photos of adult coloring book pages that are colored and shared online with friends. The financial pages show that Indigo Books in Canada reported that adult coloring books significantly lifted sales throughout the chain in a past quarter. Barnes & Noble held the All-American Art Unwind on November 14 and invited clients across the US to color in their stores. Walmart reported at its Annual Meeting that it sold $100 million in adult coloring books in just five months.

One of the first, wildly successful Adult Coloring Books that BPG USA produced was Lost Ocean by Johanna Basford. This Penguin Random House published book reproduced the intricate and refined art of a Scottish artist whose design work stretched from the Tate Modern to labels for Absolut Vodka and Hendricks Gin. Basford's attention to detail even included selecting "a crisp ivory paper" whose color complemented the chosen color palette.

BPG USA's most recent adult coloring book is Pippa's Magical Garden by Pippa Rossi. This 8.25'' x 11.75'' softcover book is published by St. Martin's Griffin in New York. The physically beautiful book reproduces an original Hungarian printed product, adapted for the American market. The local cover designer used the resources of Coral Graphics in Hicksville and Dynamic Graphic Finishing to produce a spectacular, eye-catching cover. The cover on 12-point Carta Solida C1S was printed in four process colors. A gold foil was stamped and then overprinted to produce the butterflies. Finally, overall Matte UV was laid down with a Spot Gloss UV on the foil. The text paper is an 80# Glatfelter End Leaf.

With great products in the publishing calendar still to come, there is every sign that Millennials' love for adult coloring books is continuing. Join in. Grab your colored pencils. Relax and have fun.