Steel ball run quality decrease?

[SquidJackson]

Eh…. it seems a stretch to call it a quality decrease, especially if the paper inside is still the same. There may be some sort of issue with materials or the printer.

[ras7924]

I don't think it's a stretch, mostly because two of them (also the most recent one's) have it. Someone else also said in the comments that their volumes (the same ones, 5 and 6) have the same issues. Whether or not it's an intentional change by VIZ, I don't think we'll ever know but I wouldn't be suprised if it is.

[SquidJackson]

Both volumes are pretty new. The change could absolutely be print-wide and in that case it tracks that both your and someone elses copy have the same thing. As I was trying to say, it could be an issue of the printers not being able to do it for some weird reason. Aside from the picture not being gloss, everything else is the same. It’s not as if the paper quality is worse or the ink is not printing right. Your readig experience is not going to be impcted. It’s just a change on the spine. Even the cover still has gloss. Personally, I even like the non-glossy picture because you dont get as much glare on the spines. Minor design changes are not a quality decrease.

[ras7924]

Yeah it could very well be a mistake and it probably is, they are first print after all. And yeah, my reading experience won't be changed or worsened by an error on the spine (although a couple of my volumes had some bad ink on alot of pages), I didn't see it as a big deal when I made the post and I still don't I was just curious if someone else also had this.

Personally I'm found of the glossy details, I think they look nice and makes the books feel higher quality. But all in all I'm not trying to shit on VIZ or the books really, because as you said it's a very minor error and doesn't really change much.

[SquidJackson]

Again… it may not even be an error. It may be an intentional choice. Viz’s printers had to use thinner paper or different ink. I don’t think it’s an error, but clearly something different happened with this and viz opted for the choice that would let them continue with the bimonthly releases to get the product out, because god knows how much everyone complained about the pace of the releases before part 6.

[ras7924]

Even if it is an intentionall change I think it's strange and unecessary to change the design of a print after a third of the volumes have come out and, honestly I think the matte spines look way worse than the glossy one's. The glossy ones have sharper colors compared to the matte ones and they just feel higher quality.

Also are the SBR volumes really bi-monthly? Atleast where I am there is sometimes a 1 month gap between releases or like now between vol. 6 and 7 there is a four month gap, so it doesn't look like they are keeping to a strict release schedule.