Thought you would get a kick out of these pictures of the press approval yesterday for Steam Encounters at Montreal vol. 2.

My son Spencer, who accompanied me to Ampersand Printing in Guelph, took most of these pictures. Here I am looking at the first “pull” from the press. This is the cover for the new volume (printed “two-up”):

With a copy of Steam Encounters in Ontario vol. 2 as a reference, I told the pressman (Paul) to drop the ink densities a couple of notches to match the previous work. And here he is, doing just that on the press (that’s Damian McDonald, owner of Ampersand Printing, standing to the left):

As you can see in this next frame, I’m quite happy with the adjustments Paul made on the press. Damian took this picture, with Spencer standing beside me:

And with that, I signed off on the job, approving the rest of the press forms with the ink densities locked into place. My graphics designer Beky worked on all of Bob Krone’s images for this volume (as she has for my past half dozen projects), so her consistency and the excellence of Ampersand’s work will ensure you have a quality product in your hands:

Damian McDonald took over Ampersand Printing from his father Mike a few years ago. I began my working relationship with this fine Canadian family-run business in 1999, when Mike was in charge (he still handles estimating and production matters). That was for the hardcover To Stratford Under Steam (Damian was a teenaged press assistant who worked on that job for me).

What I’m trying to say with this testimonial to Ampersand Printing is that, through at least four pressmen, I have consigned all my railway books to this fine Canadian family-run business for well over two decades. They go the extra mile for me, and always have. And, in turn, I appreciate your loyal business, dear reader. Without your support, these limited-edition small market titles and stories would never see the light of day.

Distribution of all pre-ordered copies of Steam Encounters at Montreal vol. 2 will occur next week. So, you should see yours arrive before Christmas.

If you wish to speak for one of the remaining copies of Steam Encounters at Montreal vol. 2, click on any link to the book title here. That will take you to the book page on my website, and I’ll slot your order into the queue.