Donald Jackson directed the making of the Heritage Edition throughout the entire process to assure its fidelity to the original. The pages are printed using state-of-the-art offset lithographic printing technology from Heidelberg Corporation. Mr. Jackson approved every page before final printing. Correspondence to the original is so important that even the “show-through” caused by transparency in the vellum is captured on the pages of the Heritage Edition.
It is not an exaggeration to say that the Heritage Edition would not have been possible when The Saint John’s Bible project began in 1998—the printing technology necessary to providing this level of quality was simply unavailable.
The paper of the Heritage Edition is designed specifically for this project. The weight and feel of the cotton pages approximate that of the vellum used in the original manuscript. After printing, gold and silver foils are applied using a series of stamping and embossing processes. In places where results cannot be achieved through mechanical means, Donald Jackson’s studio manager, Sarah Harris, has hand treated the illuminations. Therefore, no two Heritage Edition sets are identical.
The volumes are bound—by hand—in a single piece of Italian calfskin leather and adorned with a solid silver clasp. The headbands are handsewn in Pakistan. Each volume is numbered and initialed by Donald Jackson and protected in a burgundy clamshell box.