4E books warped? Maybe it's the humidity?

CleverNickName · Jun 13, 2008

I'm trying to figure out if humidity is a factor in whether or not the 4th Edition book covers are warping. If you own a copy of the 4th Edition books, I could really use your help in this survey.

1. Go to CNN Weather, or your favorite weather site.
2. Enter your zip code.
3. Find the current humidity.
4. Vote accordingly.
5. Comment if you like.

Thanks! I really hope that this Warping Phenomenon is caused by the weather, rather than a flaw in the printing/binding process. Although, either way, the result is the same...WotC is looking at replacing some books, and possibly changing printing companies.

RigaMortus2 · Jun 13, 2008

Very interesting poll... I was out at my local Barnes and Noble on Sunday (one of the hottest and most humid days this year). I checked out the D&D display, picked up the player handbook, and noticed that the pages were sort of "wavey" (if you want to call that warped). They did not lay flat at all. I assumed it might have been the humidity...

The B# · Jun 13, 2008

Our group met up on Monday (June 9th) to play. Among us there were 3 PHBs, 2 DMGs and 2 MMs. Every single book was warped. The day was very humid, and that's what we attributed it to.

Rystil Arden · Jun 13, 2008

CleverNickName said:
I'm trying to figure out if humidity is a factor in whether or not the 4th Edition book covers are warping. (Hey, it gives me something to do while I try to press my books flat again.) If you own a copy of the 4th Edition, and if your book covers are warping, I could really use your help in this survey.

1. Go to CNN Weather, or your favorite weather site.
2. Enter your zip code.
3. Find the current humidity.
4. Vote accordingly.
5. Comment if you like.

Thanks! I really hope that this Warping Phenomenon is caused by the weather, rather than a flaw in the printing/binding process. Although, either way, the result is the same...WotC is looking at replacing some books, and possibly changing printing companies.

There is DEFINITELY a terrible printing/binding problem. My PH came with eight pages that were not clipped correctly (they contained the colour test at the bottom), connected together so I had to tear them apart to read the pages in the centre, and also deformed and folded in a weird way. Based on that, I'm sure the warping problem stems from the same quality control issue.

mattdm · Jun 13, 2008

Every single 4E book on the shelves at my local gaming store (Cambridge, MA) had this condition.

Rystil Arden · Jun 13, 2008

mattdm said:
Every single 4E book on the shelves at my local gaming store (Cambridge, MA) had this condition.

The one I described? Weird to get so many from Cambridge (I haven't been seeing this exact complaint around much yet). Mine came from Amazon and went all around the East Coast before reaching Cambridge, so I don't think it's just a problem with local distributors in the area.

CleverNickName · Jun 13, 2008

Rystil Arden said:
The one I described? Weird to get so many from Cambridge (I haven't been seeing this exact complaint around much yet). Mine came from Amazon and went all around the East Coast before reaching Cambridge, so I don't think it's just a problem with local distributors in the area.

Mine was delivered in shrinkwrap, and wasn't warped when I unwrapped it. That would seem to indicate that the shipping route and warehousing location wasn't a major factor, at least while the books were en route from the printer. Once they are out of the box, well...

Out of curiosity, what is the humidity in Cambridge?

Rystil Arden · Jun 13, 2008

CleverNickName said:
Mine was delivered in shrinkwrap, and wasn't warped when I unwrapped it. That would seem to indicate that the shipping route and warehousing location wasn't a major factor, at least while the books were en route from the printer. Once they are out of the box, well...

Out of curiosity, what is the humidity in Cambridge?

My gift set was also delivered in shrinkwrap. Humidity is 43%, but I absolutely promise you that there is no chance for humidity to have caused the problems with my Player's Handbook (and also, the DMG and MM were pristine, despite being shrinkwrapped together with the PH and in the same slipcase).

JustKim · Jun 13, 2008

Something to keep in mind is that air conditioning removes humidity. If the books are kept somewhere with good air conditioning, the outdoor humidity won't be as much a factor. Here it's a foggy 93% humidity and my covers are pristine, but they've been in comfortable AC.

CleverNickName · Jun 13, 2008

It might be a bit early to draw any conclusions, but...

It seems that the amount of warping is inversely proportional to humidity...the largest number of books that did not warp were in the most humid areas, and the largest number of books that DID warp were in the driest areas. Since the rate of evaporation is slower in humid regions, this might indicate that the problem is being caused by a high amount of initial moisture in the paper stock.

In other words, it looks like the book covers were damp to begin with.

Maybe the books were printed and bound in an area with high humidity? Perhaps the glues, dyes, and inks used had a high water content, and the books weren't given sufficient drying time before they were shrink-wrapped?

4E books warped? Maybe it's the humidity?

Regarding the warping of 4E book covers and humidity...how is your book doing?

Warped, humidity less than 10%

Warped, humidity 11% - 20%

Warped, humidity 21% - 30%

Warped, humidity 31% - 40%

Warped, humidity 41% - 50%

Warped, humidity 51% - 60%

Warped, humidity 61% - 70%

Warped, humidity 71% - 80%

Warped, humidity 81% or higher

Not warped, humidity less than 10%

Not warped, humidity 11% - 20%

Not warped, humidity 21% - 30%

Not warped, humidity 31% - 40%

Not warped, humidity 41% - 50%

Not warped, humidity 51% - 60%

Not warped, humidity 61% - 70%

Not warped, humidity 71% - 80%

Not warped, humidity 81% or higher

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