Saint John’s commissioned Donald Jackson for a second time to oversee every facet of the production of the Heritage Edition.
Without question, The Saint John’s Bible is an incomparable masterpiece of sacred art that will be cherished for centuries to come. There will only ever be one original manuscript, which is on permanent display in The Saint John’s Bible gallery at Saint John’s University. And while anyone is free to visit the campus to experience its indelible craftsmanship in person, its creators always envisioned wider distribution. They wished for The Saint John’s Bible to be experienced, enjoyed, and, perhaps most importantly, shared all over the world by people from all faith backgrounds. To satisfy this desire Jackson’s team needed to replicate the singular artistry of the original manuscript without losing its extraordinary divine spirit. So, they gave the world The Saint John’s Bible Heritage Edition.
The Heritage Edition is a fine-arts reproduction that’s been thoughtfully designed to faithfully capture the same artistic spirit and grand scale of the original manuscript. Printed and embossed on cotton, hand-bound in Italian calfskin leather, and limited to only 299 seven-volume sets, the Heritage Edition is a rare masterwork of its own right, possessed of the same breathtaking power to ignite the spiritual imagination as the original manuscript. Importantly, it puts the Word of God, and the opportunity to immerse oneself in it, in front of people from around the world, of all faith backgrounds and journeys. Beautifully handcrafted with materials that will stand the test of time, the Heritage Edition is sure to be passed down through the generations as a powerful, enduring symbol of your generosity, goodwill, love of community, and unwavering faith.
“In most scenarios, the printer works with a publisher and not the artist directly. In this case, Donald himself invested his time and his talents with each one of us individually even as well as our partner vendors, which is just absolutely rare,” said Mike Nordberg, senior account executive at The John Roberts Company, the printing company responsible for this immense task.
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It is not an exaggeration to say that the Heritage Edition would not have been possible even when The Saint John’s Bible project began in 1998. It was not until very recently that the quality of printing on 100% uncoated cotton paper necessary to providing this level of quality was available. The paper of the Heritage Edition is designed specifically for this project. The weight and feel of the pages approximate that of the vellum used in the original manuscript.
Donald Jackson directed the making of the Heritage Edition throughout every process to assure its fidelity to the original. The pages are printed using state-of-the-art offset lithographic printing technology from Heidelberg Corporation. Mr. Jackson approved every page before final printing. Correspondence to the original is so important that even the “show-through” caused by transparency in the vellum is captured on the pages of the Heritage Edition.
The volumes are bound—by hand—in a single piece of Italian calfskin leather and adorned with a solid silver clasp. Each head band and tail band is hand sewn in Pakistan. Each volume is numbered and initialed by Donald Jackson.
Donald Jackson directed the making of the Heritage Edition throughout the process to assure its fidelity to the original. Each volume is numbered and initialed by Jackson.
In places where results cannot be achieved through mechanical means, Donald Jackson’s studio manager, Sarah Harris, has hand-treated the illuminations. Therefore, no two Heritage Edition sets are identical. Harris’ keen eye and proximity to the original manuscript helped ensure the Heritage Editions’ fidelity to the original.
The John Roberts Company began research, development, and testing of unique printing and foiling techniques in 2006. Senior Account Executive Mike Nordberg was responsible for the prepress and Senior Pressman Scott Zorn was responsible for the 4cp fade-resistant UV printing using many special mix colors. The high level of detail on 100% archival cotton paper is exquisite and was attained using a hybrid 10-micron process which is equivalent to 500-line screen.
McIntosh Embossing further enhanced the illuminations using silver foils and multiple passes of gold foils. Matte gold foil and true matte gold foil was often “silked” giving texture and vibrancy to the art. After printing, gold and silver foils were applied using a series of stamping and embossing processes.
Roswell Bookbinding binds the Heritage Edition pages in red Italian leather. The yapp adds both old-world beauty and protects the inside pages. The volumes are bound — by hand — in a single piece of Italian calfskin leather and adorned with a solid silver clasp. Each head band and tail band is hand sewn in Pakistan.