Printing was carried out by litho and digital printer Opal Print, with paper supplied by Antalis.

At a launch event for the retrospective at London’s Somerset House, for which the 80-year-old is being made a Master of Photography, McCullin told PrintWeek: “It is such a treat to be able to keep the print of something of this stature in the UK. I never thought it was possible to do this in England until seeing the results. People who have seen it think it is the most beautiful thing they have seen in years.”

The retrospective took more than two years to produce. 

McCullin, who is currently based in Bruton, Somerset, was full of praise for Opal, and he spent much of his time during its production in its Bath-based production premises. Opal has been involved almost since the idea was conceived. Managing director Keith Lunt said he was delighted, and added that it would be strange not seeing proofs lying around the premises anymore. 

McCullin added: “Opal are everyday guys who do normal commercial printing and I think at the end of the day we offered them something to be proud of. Normally, they don’t do things like this. A publisher came up to me the other day and said ‘We’re looking for a new printer’, I said 'Well you don’t have to look very far’. I’m really hoping Opal can build off this success."

The book comprises three volumes, one is a collection of McCullin’s war and reportage works, one is a collection of his landscapes and the final one is an illustrated version of McCullin’s memoir Unreasonable Behaviour. The print run was 1000, on paper sized 370x300mm. The first volume is 576 pages, the second is 432 and the third is 350.

The volumes present more than 700 photographs. Each page was printed on Opal’s five-colour B2 Heidelberg Speedmaster CD 74, which last month was fitted with Air Motion Systems (AMS) LED UV technology.

McCullin said: “I saw the book yesterday for the first time and when I saw it I thought ‘My god even Moses couldn’t lift that book'. It is enormous. If you say to somebody that you have just bought a book for 600 quid people are going to think you are dumb or there is something wrong with you but when I make comparisons to certain travel books I see you are getting twice as much for your money.”

 Most of the images have already been published in various volumes but this is the first retrospective of its kind for McCullin. He said virtually every picture was somewhat manipulated on the press, not to disfigure it but to “encourage a little bit more excellence”.

McCullin said that although he is known predominantly as a war photographer, it is the landscapes volume of Irreconcilable Truths that he prefers. 

“I suppose in a way I like the landscapes simply because they are not war. I have tried to eradicate my reputation as a war photographer. My aim is to try to eradicate it by being able to see that my book is not just about war but to show that there is another side to my nature.”

Paper used for the book came from Antalis’s Cocoon Recycled paper range, which is being promoted as part of its new Carefully Curated initiative highlighting the importance of selecting the right paper in realising high-profile print. The initiative is seeing the launch of a versatile mix of papers for digital and litho printing.

Antalis marketing manager Mike Bennett said: “I wanted to build a campaign around Don‘s work because he was chuffed to bits with it really. Who better to help us launch our Carefully Curated initiative than Don McCullin.”

As part of the initiative, a photo competition, entitled These Feet in Ancient Times has been opened up to anyone in the design and print industries. McCullin will judge the competition. The winning three entries will receive a signed copy of Irreconcilable Truths.

On the state of the industry, McCullin thinks things are not all doom and gloom. “Most people I know who work in newspapers now are telling you the writing is on the wall but only the other day I heard on the radio that people are going away from the tablet and back to real books. I would not want to partake in this digitally, I want to turn the pages and enjoy the pictures.”

Irreconcilable Truths is now available for £650 from www.donmccullin.com.