Exhibition catalogues, museum guides, coffee-table books, post cards, casts, chalcographies, jewellery, … The RMN is one of the biggest art publishers in Europe.
In the context of the museums’ temporary exhibitions, cultural events and permanent collections, it publishes and distributes works, brings artistic crafts to life and creates new editorial products, particularly in the fields of television, film and multimedia.
It designs products adapted to each type of visitor: specialists and scientists, art lovers, tourists and young people.
The RMN distributes all its editorial and commercial products through a network of more than 40 museum shops and sales outlets, in Paris and elsewhere in France. A French public industrial and commercial establishment (EPIC), the RMN enjoys a status which allows it to have structures which are most suited to its work.
The RMN’s role is to promote the heritage of the national museums such as the Louvre, Orsay, Picasso, Versailles, etc. It offers reference catalogues broken down meticulously into product ranges
The RMN as film-maker
Since 1990, the RMN has worked on many television and film productions relating to museums’ permanent collections, temporary exhibitions and art history in general.
The RMN as film distributor
Films jointly produced by the RMN are released or jointly released on DVD. Others are also included in its large catalogue which provides the public with films as guides, films about exhibitions and thematic films. Most have been broadcast on television to coincide with an artistic or commemorative event.
The RMN as multimedia designer and publisher
Since 1993, the RMN has produced CD-ROMs and DVD-ROMs with its partners. It also develops and produces cultural websites.
The quality of the RMN’s multimedia cultural offering has been recognized in particular for the “Artus” collection (CD-ROM for young people) which has been awarded general public prizes (Flèche Fnac, Prix des Adélouzes, Euréka d’Argent) and institutional awards (Prix Avicom).
The “Les Histoires de l’art” collection (DVD-ROM for young people) is recognized as of educational interest by the French Education Ministry.
Focus: how are exhibition catalogues created at the RMN?
One year before the opening of the exhibition, a publishing manager takes charge of the project.
After several framework meetings with authors, the editor chooses the various participants, all external to the establishment, (proof-reader, graphic designer, translator), with whom he will produce the catalogue.
Once the administrative steps have been accomplished in collaboration with the various departments involved with the RMN and, in particular, with the legal department in drawing up authors’ legal contracts, the editor produces a technical specification which he sends to the RMN’s manufacturing department.
The manufacturer, who is part of the RMN’s editorial team, is responsible for the book’s entire manufacturing process. He chooses the various suppliers (prepress, printer, etc.) selected from calls for tenders. He then ensures that deadlines, costs and quality are adhered to.
The publishing manager then works with the “project owner”, the graphic designer or the graphic design agency, which comes up with the entire visual identity of the book. After working together with the editor and authors, he presents a sample dummy which will define the visual structure of the book.
Once the texts are received, the editorial work begins. The proof-reader and the editor prepare the copy (proof-reading of texts, questions to authors, typographical corrections), which is then submitted to the authors.
At the same time as this work, the picture researcher places all the orders for images which, once received, are forwarded to the editor for preparation of the book’s illustrations folder.
All the proofed, corrected and cleaned texts are sent to the graphic designer at the same time as the illustrations folder for layout of the dummy. Once this is done, the graphic designer gives the first proofs to the editor. These initial proofs follow the same process as during the copy preparation, and lead on, after incorporation of all the necessary changes, to a second set of proofs, then to a final print approval, the last stage in the proofing of the book.
Finally, the editor and the manufacturer both attend the “press setting” of the book, the ultimate stage allowing a final check of the print quality.
The publishing manager is also the contact for the other departments which work on production or promotion of the exhibition as from a very early stage he holds all the elements required for everyone’s work.
