Aug. 1, 2005—Nowadays you constantly hear doomsday predictions: print is dying; no one reads anymore; the Internet is taking over the world. Yet all those predictions lose credibility when confronted by a geeky-looking wizard whose adventures have enchanted millions.

J.K. Rowling's sixth installment of the Harry Potter series, "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince," had an initial print run of 10.8 million copies—breaking the record that its predecessor, "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix," set in 2003 with a run of 6.8 million.

To top it off, Scholastic Corp., the publisher and distributor of the books here in the United States, ordered a second pre-publication run of an additional 2.7 million copies. There certainly is a lot of Mr. Potter out there.

Moreover, contrary to popular beliefs, people are buying the books. "Half-Blood Prince" sold 6.9 million copies in the first 24 hours alone, more than the initial print run of the fifth book, which sold 5 million copies in the first 24 hours.

"The fact that a brilliantly written book for children just sold 6.9 million copies in the first 24 hours in the U.S. is cause for celebration, not just for Scholastic, but for book lovers everywhere," commented Lisa Holton, president, Scholastic trade publishing and book fairs.

In addition to the trade version, 100,000 deluxe editions of the book were printed, featuring a 32-page insert with art from Mary GrandPré—the illustrator for all of the Harry Potter books—a foil-stamped slipcase and bindings, color endpapers with jacket art from the trade edition, and a wraparound jacket featuring exclusive art from Ms. GrandPré.

Scholastic declined to name the print shops who were involved in the project, how they were chosen, how the work was divided up, and even if there were multiple shops involved. There were reports of more than 600 trucks needed to ship the copies nationwide. The company also declined to comment on the coordination of shipping times, and the challenges of security in a highly anticipated project such as this.

Harry's Future
In recent interviews, Ms. Rowling has stated that the seventh installment in the series will also be the last. Scholastic did confirm that it will be the U.S. publisher once again.

Regarding writing her final book in the Harry Potter series, Ms. Rowling told Owen Jones in an interview that aired on the BBC, "I am dreading it in some ways. I do love writing the books and it is going to be a shock, a profound shock to me. Even though I have known it is coming for the past 15 years, I have known that the series would end, I think it will still be a shock."

She noted in that interview that she plans to take some time off to play with her daughter, and intends to begin writing the final installment later this year and into next year.

Meanwhile, Harry still has a few challenges left to face. CNN reported that less than 24 hours after the print version became available, illegal copies were available on Internet bulletin boards.Yahoo! News reported that Ms. Rowling has never made an official copy of the Harry Potter books available in an e-format, and the author has posted warnings to readers on her Web site to never to trust an online copy.

It remains to be seen if, after all seven books have been published, an e-book format is offered via official channels. For now, the only "real" version available to fans remains the printed format.

What does all this mean for the printing industry? With the publication of the sixth book there are now more than 116 million Harry Potter books out there, giving credence to the fact that print is not dead?it is, in fact, very much alive and well. The challenge is to find things that people want to read.

Finding a Good Read
"Satisfaction runs deep from reading a good book. Printing is still a cost-effective, efficient, and convenient method to get a story in front of a massive and diverse population," said Professor Lloyd Carr, director, graphic arts program, advertising design and graphic arts department, New York City College of Technology.

"The Harry Potter book phenomenon is making an important marketing statement: The power of print still pleases a significant population."

The challenge for the graphic arts industry is to find those print applications that capture consumers' attention. With new tools like variable data, print-on-demand, and an increasing range of media and ink choices, printers have what they need. The trick is to get out there and sell it.