Millennium House Publishes Biggest World Atlas of All Time with KBA Press

Records are made to be broken. They inspire competition and thus engender ever greater achievements. The international book scene is no exception.

An Australian publishing house, Millennium House in North Narrabeen (New South Wales), recently unveiled the biggest and heaviest atlas ever produced, measuring 1.8 x 1.4m (70.86 x 55.1in) and weighing in at 150kg (over 330lbs). Titled Earth Platinum, this monumental, leather-bound work was printed at the end of last year by Litorama div. Igap in Mazzo di Rho, near Milan. Fittingly, the limited edition of just 31 copies was produced on the world’s biggest sheetfed offset press, a KBA Rapida 205 for a 1510 x 2050mm (59.45 x 80.70in) format.

Giant KBA Rapidas make spectacular books possible

This exceptional print job was awarded to an Italian printer following a worldwide selection procedure. This is hardly surprising: Italian book printers enjoy a global reputation and this is not the first time that they have hit the headlines. In 2003, when Taschen-Verlag published the massive Greatest of all Time – a biography of boxing champion Muhammad Ali to celebrate his 70th birthday, it was printed by Arti Grafiche Leva (Sesto S. Giovanni) and Canale (Turin) on KBA Rapida 162 large-format presses and bound by Legatoria LEM.

Record for generations

Acclaimed by the international press at the time as the most gigantic book in the history of literary culture, this mammoth work is surpassed by the Earth Platinum world atlas both optically and in terms of the technological challenges entailed. With a surface area of 2.52m² (27ft²), Earth Platinum is sure of a place in the Guinness Book of Records. The weight and dimensions of this exquisite reference book break a record for atlases that dates back to the Klencke Atlas of 1660. The only one of its kind, this can still be viewed today in the Antiquarian Mapping Division of the British Library in London.

Millennium House, creator of award-winning products

Millennium House, which started up seven years ago in Sydney, specialises in the production of exclusive books, and soon established a high-profile image in the international book industry thanks to the outstanding design and quality of its exceptional creations. Since producing its first world atlas, Earth Blue, in 2008, Millennium House has carried off countless cartographic awards: IMTA Best Book Award 2008, 2009, 2010, Best World Atlas International Cartographic Conference 2009, IMTA Asia-Pacific Best Overall Award 2010. Earth Platinum continues the company’s success story.

The main objective in creating Earth Platinum was to provide a cartographic record as a legacy for future generations, depicting the world in precise detail at the time of publication.

Labouring for absolute perfection

In carrying out this ambitious undertaking Millennium House employed the very best processes at every stage of production to ensure quality excellence. 24 photographers, 88 cartographers and geographers plus a host of computer specialists from all over the world set about fashioning this unique work with meticulous care and precision. Earth Platinum has a selling price of $100,000.