About

What we do

Bluetrain makes exceptional quality books and everything that's needed to create them. We are passionate about working with paper, photography, illustration, great writing and design – preferably all five together – and we firmly believe in ‘quality first’ and that it is always worth striving for, so we only work with people who have a similar philosophy. All our projects receive the same attention to detail, from creative designers to reproduction specialists and from the finest materials to the best printers in the business. We work together with clients and suppliers to achieve unique and original end products. Be it: archive research, photography, art direction, design, reprographics and retouching of images through to special processes, print, bespoke packaging and binding, press-passing and arranging final delivery – Bluetrain has it covered.

Why Bluetrain?

It's a long story, but the original Bluetrain (or Le Train Bleu) ran from Calais in Northern France via Paris to the Mediterranean coast. It was in operation from 1886 until 2003. It took folks from the frozen north to the Côte d'Azur for well over a century. In the 1950s and 1960s Bluetrain became the nickname for the best cycle racers of the time and during the winter Six Day track events the Bluetrain would rock up at the last minute and win all the prizes, it seemed a fitting moniker adopted by the lesser-known riders for their rivals. We're also big fans of John Coltrane and Johnny Cash in the Bluetrain office and they both made records using the name and so the list goes on – we've simply borrowed the name from all these folk who have gone before and done great things with Bluetrains. And who doesn't love a long train journey in style?

The extra 5%

Bluetrain's in-house experience is from a variety of media, design, photographic and publishing backgrounds. From art directing and running photography shoots to structuring marketing, advertising and printing campaigns. We’re firm believers in going the extra distance to achieve the desired result.

Who we are

Since starting Bluetrain Publishing in 2015 we’ve set out to create a sustainable and ethical publishing business that focussed on unique and thoughtful books with the emphasis on quality. Publishing is a tough world and we recognise the challenges and pressures from both sides of the business, the good, bad and ugly. We decided to make our niche in the stories that are not necessarily from the main stream, the ‘books for the curious’ is what we like to call them. A lot of what we print a big publisher wouldn’t touch, they are always looking for the right fit, the right timing and the right price – We are always looking for the best quality work, everything else is secondary.

We come to publishing from an editorial background and as authors, editors and creators of books ourselves, we know how much effort goes in, but also how much publishers can take out – how they can strangle a writer’s synopsis until it no longer resembles the original idea and how their contracts squeeze the creative side of the business into making very little return for their efforts. We believe in partnering closely with our contributors, designers, photographers and illustrators to collaborate and achieve the best results. Always allowing them freedom to ‘do their thing’ and tell their stories and always to develop a uniquely beautiful and bespoke printed end product – That’s the Bluetrain way.

Guy Andrews – Editorial Director and partner

Guy originally trained as a designer but has worked for over 20 years as a journalist, author and editor. In 2005 he founded and co-published cycle racing reportage magazine Rouleur and edited the magazine for almost ten years. During those years Guy and his team at Rouleur also produced and edited seven photographic annuals and several unique and critically acclaimed books that came out of the ideas and stories associated with the magazine and its contributors. He’s also promoted photography exhibitions to coincide with these publications in London, New York and Berlin. Guy has written several books on the subjects of bicycles, bicycle racing, design and technology and has worked with publishers and manufacturers to produce custom brand books and bespoke publishing projects.

Taz Darling – Editorial Director and partner

Taz was trained as a photographer and worked in fashion and editorial media for around 15 years. Her work has been described as, ‘Inquisitive, with an eye for the unexpected’ and likes to photograph the strange, humorous moments in daily life that can go unnoticed – a little like those outtakes sometimes hidden at the end of movie credits. Her photographic work in publishing has been multi-facetted and featured in various publications, from Vice, RedBulletin and Wallpaper magazines to book projects with a variety of quality publishers. As a picture and book editor, Taz especially loves to work closely with illustrators, photographers and photographic archives – it’s all about the images. She has a deep understanding of photographic processes and techniques too, which added to printing experience and an eye for detail, has made for some exceptional Bluetrain illustrated books.

We support the following associations and initiatives