The cost of any book is considerably more than the paper stock alone - even if
the paper were double the cost, the book would not show such a proportionate
increase. The comparison between waterproof paper and office paper is also
pretty far off as a book printed on office paper wouldn't last ten minutes in
the field. Pizzey is (at a guess) around 120 gms silk stock, which is quite a
bit more expensive than printer paper. Not only that, to buy the stuff is
considerably more than a printer would be charged.
Here's a link to a waterproof field guide:
http://www.amazon.com/Field-Upland-Waterfowl-Wilderness-Adventures/dp/1885106203/ref=sr_1_12?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1295083167&sr=1-12
120 pages, waterproof paper, colour printing, only US$13.95 (or US$19.99 full
price). Again, the argument of scaling to Pizzey's 580 pages doesn't hold as a
large part of the cost is mark-up. Printing costs wouldn't be that greatly
increased.
Another example:
http://www.amazon.com/Coral-Reef-Guide-Red-Sea/dp/0007159862/ref=sr_1_17?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1295083574&sr=1-17
1200 species of fish on 280 pages, only US$28.84.
One last one - a cookbook at 208 pages, all waterproof for only US$24
http://www.amazon.com/Guide-New-American-Kitchen/dp/1595910131/ref=sr_1_55?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1295083841&sr=1-55
It's starting to look like an economically feasible idea.
Cheers,
Tony
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