Tipped-in page

In the book trade, a tipped-in page or, if it is an illustration, tipped-in plate, is a page that is printed separately from the main text of the book, but attached to the book.[1]

A tipped-in page may be glued onto a regular page, or even bound along with the other pages. It is often printed on a different kind of paper, using a different printing process, and of a different format than a regular page. Some authors include loose pages inserted into a book as tipped-in, but in this case, it is usually called an insert instead.

Coffee table art books featuring high quality tipped-in color plates were popular starting in the late 1940s and into the 1980s. [2] [3] [4] Examples include several large series of books on painting published by Editions d'Art Albert Skira, Geneva: e.g. Painting, Color, History (23 volumes 1949-1972); The Great Centuries of Painting (14 volumes 1950-1959); The Taste of Our Time (57 volumes 1953-1972) with "hand-tipped colorplates" [5] Harry N. Abrams, Inc., Publishers, New York also published many fine art books during this period with tipped-in plates, examples include the 56 volume series The Library of Great Painters published 1959-1985 with each book having ca. 48 "tipped-on colorplates" [6] or "hand-tipped plates in full color". [7]

Typical uses of tipped-in pages added by the publisher include:

• color illustrations, generally printed using a different process (e.g. intaglio or lithography) and on different paper
• an author's signature, signed on a blank or preprinted page, before the book is bound
• original photographic prints
• maps, often larger than the book format and folded to fit
• coupons, advertisements, or reply cards
• errata sheets, only produced after the printing run
• a short addendum
• a replacement for a missing, damaged, or incorrectly printed page

Owners of books may also tip in such items as:

• a letter from the author
• a review

Tipped-in pages are generally glued to a bound page on its inner side and may be called "paste ins".