Locked room mysteries printing quality

Some months ago there was a discussion about Folio books printed in China and their quality. One of the 'offenders' was the Locked Room Mysteries set, which I wanted to buy for some time. Now that it was 50% I took the plunge, thinking that concerns about the quality of those books were overblown and... well....

Someone commented on the Sale topic that The Four Just men paper quality looked different to the other two (these latter were described as glossy), but I think the former is the one with the issue. I think the paper for The Four Just Men is not only uncoated, but I also suspect that it may even not be acid free, despite clearly stating that it is Yu Long Pure paper. This is a massive quality breach for Folio. So... has anyone complained to them about this? if so, what has been Folio's answer?

Here is what someone said here: https://www.librarything.com/topic/307092#6886130

"I asked FS about this and was told that the paper was different because the Edgar Wallace has fewer pages and needed to look comparatively thick."

>1 dyhtstriyk: I think the paper for The Four Just Men is not only uncoated...

That's a good thing in my book. But setting aside my dislike of coated papers, the other 2 are not coated either, as well as something like over 99% of all Folios (outside of paper for photo/illustration plates) and other Fine press books.

... but I also suspect that it may even not be acid free

What makes you think that? Genuinely curious.

>1 dyhtstriyk: I also bought this set and was beyond shocked to see the quality of paper for The Four Just Men. The paper is very rough, yellow and pulpy. It looks like the paper used in a cheap paperback and is definitely not the paper used for the other two books. It is also definitely not the paper used by FS generally. I too asked FS about this and they did not bother to reply.

Out of the 20 books I bought last time, 7 were printed in China by C&C Offset press. It looks like they are starting to print more and more of their books in China. Then why the premium price? This is the press that prints normal books like Logicomix (sold on Amazon). In some books I received the pages were folded. How could this happen? There seems to be some decline in quality over the years and I am definitely disappointed with my purchase. Maybe they spend more on marketing and less on the printing of books.

Also Maigret is another big disappointment. The three volumes are small and printed in China and yet sold at 80 pounds. Most disappointing purchase. Any idea why Maigret is so high priced? Is it the illustrations?

I checked mine and it's fine. You can always return it.

As the next commenter mentioned, the paper looks rough, pulpy and prone to go yellow. Like a cheap paperback.

C&C is fine for DK, Lonely Planet and comic books that require color, sewn bindings and a cheap manufacture all in one place, but this in particular seems very off versus Folio's quality standards.

Just checked mine, very carefully, in daylight. While the paper in The Four Just Men is undeniably different, with a somewhat rougher (or less smooth) texture, I failed to detect any noticeable difference in colour. Neither are pure white (this is a good thing) but they are a very similar shade. To describe it as "yellow" would be a considerable exaggeration. I can accept Folio's explanation for the difference in paper (>2 sdg_e:) as the Wallace is only 130pp and The Mystery of the Yellow Room is 236 pp. At a quick glance they would appear to be approximately the same width in the slipcase. My opinion is based on the copies I own. Whether there is significant difference between any other copies I cannot say.

Overall I'm with >5 HamburgerHelper:

Edited for clarity.

I have just seen the book carefully in plain daylight and, as you mention, the shade versus the other books seems the same. It's just the roughness of the paper that looks very off to me. That's why I said that the paper looks prone to go yellow, not that it is yellow right now. The slipcase will help, of course, and only time will tell. But with what you mention I feel a bit more at ease.

Even with the thicker paper, the Wallace is the slimmest of the three volumes. To have used the same grade of paper as for the other two would have reduced it to a booklet, and made a matching title on the spine difficult. The overall appearance of the book is always a consideration in paper choice; it just doesn't usually show up in a multi-volume set.
I suspect that some of the current heat re Chinese sourcing is not unrelated to the border war between India and China.

>9 Jayked: "I suspect that some of the current heat re Chinese sourcing is not unrelated to the border war between India and China."

How do you figure that?

My only issue is how to get the thermo-reactive paper to work. I get no reaction with my set. Just how hot does my touch have to be? :)