D&D 5E The Printers Can't Handle WotC's One D&D Print Runs!

One of the reasons why the three new core rulebooks next year will not be released together is because D&D is such a juggernaut that the printers can't actually handle the size of the print runs!

Jeremy Crawford told Polygon "Our print runs are pretty darn big and printers are telling us you can’t give us these three books at the same time.” And Chris Perkins added that "The print runs we’re talking about are massive. That’s been not only true of the core books, but also Tasha’s Cauldron. It’s what we call a high-end problem."

 

[aco175]

So no deck of 3 books? I love those!

That will be released after as a super-deluxe collectors box Christmas edition, I mean printing.

 

[jerryrice4949]

I don't know, I have gotten pretty numb to the constant criticism, much like commercials it has no actual impact on my purchasing decisions

With commercials I could not tell you what any of the last 10 I saw were or when that was. With criticism I have a pretty good idea that it was today and by you or one of maybe five other guys

Me too. I am pretty numb to the criticism. If anything it is starting to feel that the all the negativity is more telling about the the person/people constantly griping than it is about WoTC.

 

[pablomaz]

A couple of thoughts spring to mind.

1) No wonder they like the current reduced splat book churn as compared to previous editions.
2)Now, I am even less surprised that Boomers are less than a rounding error in the market.

In the early days of 5e, Mike Mearls said they figured out that the large number of books published in previous editions was not something profitable and that they would do it differently this time. It has nothing to do with the alleged incapacity of printers to print their books.

 

[Cordwainer Fish]

You know who else printed lots of books?

 

[Uni-the-Unicorn!]

Are is it just a ploy to sell more digital copies? I see conspiracy everywhere.

They did this when 5e launched in 2014, before they had any digital copies. So I’m guessing no

 

[Uni-the-Unicorn!]

You know who else printed lots of books?

No I do not.

 

[EpicureanDM]

Are they just flexing how big and important they are here? What's the purpose of this message?

They are behind schedule on the design front and need the extra time to actually write the new MM and DMG. They save face by framing it as a printing problem, not a product development problem.

 

[mamba]

In the early days of 5e, Mike Mearls said they figured out that the large number of books published in previous editions was not something profitable and that they would do it differently this time. It has nothing to do with the alleged incapacity of printers to print their books.

That was then, this is now. 10 years in they do much larger print runs

 

[Parmandur]

That was then, this is now. 10 years in they do much larger print runs

True, but partly because the slow and steady product schedule grew their market.

 

[Uni-the-Unicorn!]

They are behind schedule on the design front and need the extra time to actually write the new MM and DMG. They save face by framing it as a printing problem, not a product development problem.

Possibly, though I doubt it saves them any face or that they really care about that.

They did the same thing, staggered core books release dates, in 2014 and didn’t blame it on printer issues. I don’t think your hypothesis holds much water really.