Testimonials
I engaged Chris to take on print buying and management on a Red Hill Publishing “private publishing” project in 2016. I’m so glad I did: Chris made sure all of the moving pieces in a complex project fell into place. In particular, he made sure that some complicated international freight forwarding arrangements all came together smoothly. Chris is a great communicator, a standout team player, and a nice guy to deal with, and we couldn’t be more pleased with the result. Looking forward to working with him again soon.
Having worked with Chris for many years at Chronicle Books, I deeply appreciated his extraordinary talent in creating the gorgeous projects and unusual formats. Now as an independent business owner, I am truly inspired by his collaborative, efficient, cost-saving and work ethic. Not only has he successfully helped Connected Dots Media deliver the highest quality product, he has helped us to think strategically about our business.
Chris Hemesath is a dreamboat of a production manager. I hired him to help me print a hardcover, photo-filled gift book titled The Tanglewood Picnic: Music and Outdoor Feasts in the Berkshires. He was clear, calm, and 100% professional and responsive at every step of the process—from getting quotes for various sizes of print runs to delivering paper samples to working with my designer to get the files in order for the printer in China to handling proof corrections to dealing with customs and shippers. Plus, he has a sense of humor and is just an all around good guy. I would hire him again in a heartbeat.
If you ever need to print a book, Chris Hemesath is your man. When I decided to self-publish my art book I started the process without a clue on how to get printing done and done right… Once I was introduced to Chris the experience was accelerated to professional status. I was given rough blank hard copies of my book for approval, color proofs, advanced pricing on each step of the printing, updated pricing as the project changed. Chris even managed my shipping needs from China, making sure the books were on the right boat and picked up here in the states for delivery by truck… Unbelievable service, worth it!
For more than 13 years, Chris managed all of my production and printing needs skillfully and with rigorous attention to the company’s bottom line. No matter the need—delivery on a tight schedule, sourcing a hard-to-find paper stock, troubleshooting a special embossing technique—Chris was always willing to go the proverbial extra mile to make the book the best it could be. He is patient, kind, detail oriented, and direct (and also has a wicked sense of humor!). He’s simply a joy to work with.
Chris at Steelhead came highly recommended to me by a business partner from the last 20 years. The project at the onset was very complex: from the budget to extremely high quality requirements and to a tight delivery time. Though it seemed impossible for these three items to be met by any printer, Chris was able to find a the right resource and managed to meet all of our expectations for the project every step of the way.
As the Food + Drink Publisher of Weldon Owen, I had the pleasure of working closely with Chris for over a decade, from 2000-2013. Together we produced hundreds of beautiful, full-color print projects of the highest quality. On many occasions, we faced tight deadlines and demanding clients. Chris never let me down. Not only did the finished books maintain our standards of excellence, Chris’s creativity, collaboration, and attention to detail at every stage of the process was invaluable. He tirelessly researched materials, helped to narrow down specifications, got sharp pricing, organized prepress materials, and sourced special papers and finishes for covers and jackets. He also created stand-out sales materials in a variety of formats. As importantly, Chris consistently offered excellent customer service, both externally to our clients and inwardly to the creatives and sales reps within our company. His good sense of humor pulled us through many complicated situations. I could not recommend a more talented, hard-working, resourceful production specialist.
I first met Chris just over twenty years ago when he was head of production for a publisher that had commissioned a creative non-fiction novel from me. He made my book look and feel like a million dollars; from any bookshelf in a crowded bookstore my book found your eye. More recently, when I had written and my wife had illustrated a lush coffee table fable book that we were self-publishing, the first thing we did was hire Chris to produce it. There is no coincidence that wherever Chris has worked as a production guru the books are visually and tactilely memorable. He is technologically an expert, has an artist’s eye, and connects to the contents of the book when he generates his production recommendations. For my wife’s and my new book, Chris quickly pulled together a great team to help: a designer in California, a color separator in Canada, and a printer in China. We went with the highest quality on everything at prices lower than we could ever have imagined. All printing, binding, shipping, done and delivered without a hitch, on time, and Chris handling every aspect of production and quality control. We truly look forward to our next project with Chris; he makes this crazy business of publishing and self-publishing all worthwhile and brings creative vision to reality.
Chris is my key partner when it comes to production and logistics. He seamlessly takes care of the complicated details of sourcing, vendor management, and compliance so that I can focus on engaging customers. I couldn’t run my business without him.