Holidays Filled With Joy and Flip Books

It's been a year since my last blog entry. Long, long time. But hey, I've been busy making flip books. Incredible how the economy tanks, and then everybody becomes suddenly interested in flipbooks. But it seems that when the going gets tough, the tough get going... in search of things are are not only fulfilling, but also straightforward. Simplicity is one of the wonderful aspects of flip books. Some folks have never even seen a flipbook before, and so for them, the first flip is a magical experience. And then there those people who have seen flip books before, but not for a long while. For those folks, when the encounter a Flippies flip book, they are reminded of the past. Simpler times, and happy memories, perhaps. So it's no surprise that the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade just commissioned Flippies to create some promotional flip books for them. They're spectacular, just like the parade itself. And yet, not a surprise. Because flip books do share some of the very same qualities as the parade. They both have an amazing heritage, are about as "real" as it gets and provide a simple form of entertainment which ultimately leads to happiness. Well, there ya have it. My first blog entry in a year. I hope it was worth the wait, and I hope to not have to wait so long until my next post. Keep flipping!

Flip Books For The Holidays

If you're thinking "gee Jeff, do you guys get many flipbook orders for the holidays?"... the answer is yes. We do. But inevitably, each year practically every single one of those orders comes in too late. For instance, the call I got today (dec 20). C'mon folks. Really? But yes, it's true. We live in a last-minute society. So we'll give these folks another opportunity next year. Read -- FOLKS, ORDER YOUR FLIP BOOKS EARLY FOR THE HOLIDAYS. So let's see now. The international car show is around the corner in January... so I'm guessing orders will start coming in just about around new years. Please leave some time next year for your flip books to be produced. We hate serving them raw.

The History of Flip Books

From the pre-motion picuture era to the origins of animation, cinema and modern entertainment, flip books are recognized as one of the earliest forms of what today is referred to as "interactive multimedia".

First patented in the U.S. on on May 16, 1882 by Henry Van Hovenbergh of Elizabeth, New Jersey, early flip books consisted of simple drawings stacked in sequential stages of movement with a single staple binding. When the pages were flipped, they would create the optical illusion of motion. Flip books were then popularized in the early 1900's by the Cracker Jack Company who gave them away as free in-pack prizes. Other marketers soon followed suit, including manufacturers of breakfast cereals, bubble gum, cigarettes, automobiles and snack foods. The trend continued strong through the 1940's. Then, in the 1960's, innovative marketers from Disney, Gillette, McDonald's, Post Cereals, Canada Dry, Ford (and others) resurrected the trend, creatively using flip books as novelties, interactive brochures and promotional giveaways to promote thier products like the ones found here. But unfortunately, that trend ended in the 1970's as new "interactive multimedia" technologies began to take the spotlight.

But now, over a century after flip books were first introduced, flip books are back... and better than ever! Flippies has reengineered the original flip book concept to create the most engaging, entertaining flip book experience ever. We've also created a patent pending process to make the creation and production of flip books from live-action or animated video footage easy and efficient. The end result is a high quality flip book "keepsake" that plays back crystal clear clips of full motion video with a simple flip of a thumb. If he were still alive today, Henry Van Hovenbergh would be proud of Flippies achievements in taking his original flip book concept to a whole new level of sophistication. In this age of high tech interactive multimedia, the simplicity of flip books is not only refreshing, but its illusion is even more captivating than ever. Creative marketers are, once again, beginning to use flip books as interactive brochures and promotional giveaway items for live events, trade shows and other marketing activities. Flippies is Flippies custom flip books is proud to play a role in the history of flip books by continuing to innovate through the use of new technologies, the implementation of proprietary production techniques and by applying our creativity and passion to the development of new custom flip books for marketers, publishers and entusiasts throughout the world.