Book Designer Gripe: Soft Touch Covers

As a book designer and avid reader, I have a gripe about "soft touch" matte lamination – whenever I read books with this type of finish on the cover, it feels like the cover is waxy or oily, and consequently it feels dirty to me.

I was lended a practically brand new book from a gardening friend, above, and I took this book with me on an airplane, and the whole time I read it I felt like I was getting grime on my hands, in an already pretty grimy place (the airport and airplane). I feel like I have to wash my hands now every time I pick up the book.

Perhaps I have a touch of OCD, but I definitely know that it spoils the enjoyment of reading the book. Especially if reading it in bed before going to bed, I feel like I have to get up and wash off the waxy plasticness that gets on my hands from handling the cover. Additionally, the cover also shows every fingerprint so it just looks grimy. It's almost like it's sticky!

I'm not alone in this, here's a Reddit users's post about it:

Several books in my collection have weird feeling dust covers or softback covers. It seems the intent was to feel velvety soft, but they feel almost tacky or sticky. Or slightly oily, which they appear in any spot that's touched.

I really dislike these even when new. Now some that I've had for a while have started to "melt". They feel even more sticky, almost like that old style soft plastic that used to be used around cables (which melts into gluey pools over time).

I encourage authors, printers and publishers to steer away from these "soft touch" book covers... Perhaps printers/book publishers use this grimy cover tactic as a form of planned obsolescence – so people feel like the book is old and and dirty so they are more likely to get rid of the book rather than gift it to a friend or donate it to a thrift store or used bookshop. Whatever it is, I feel like I'm going to have to buy a new copy to return to my friend, as this one just looks well used even though I took good care of it.