Omnia Books has secured the 150,000-run contract, through HarperCollins Publishing, to print the movie tie-in version of the JRR Tolkien classic, The Lord of the Rings.


The deal comes hot on the heels of a 1m contract signed with Simon & Schuster to produce a full range of black-and-white trade books.


"There is some tremendous potential with this contract, which will involve both paperback and case products of significant volume," said sales and marketing director Martin Platt.
The Glasgow book printer is also negotiating with the Bible Society and the Gideons, an existing customer, for the contract for the firms trademark bible range. It could be worth "hundreds of thousands of pounds".


Omnia has the capacity to print the thin paper necessary for the Bibles and Bible-related products, amounting to some 3m a year. The major market is Africa.


Omnia was rescued from receiver Arthur Andersen in an 8m management buyout in April last year, headed by managing director Kevin McKenna and finance director Graham Morrison (PrintWeek, 7 April 2000). It was previously known as Caledonian International.


Since then production has risen to 65m books a year, 52m of which are standard paperbacks, and the company now has a turnover of 17m.


The company is spending 600,000 a year on refurbishing its Bishopbriggs plant. It invested 1.5m on a Timsons press, adding to its five paperback printing presses.


Story by Andy Scott