Brazil’s Bible printshop passes God’s blessings on to others

Finished Bibles are sent from the Bible Society of Brazil’s printshop to the warehouse for despatch. The printshop is the largest production centre for Scriptures in Latin America and one of the largest in the world. São Paulo, Brazil. Photo: BS Brazil (BRA02PC-1)

SÃO PAULO, Brazil — The Bible printshop of the Bible Society of Brazil (BSB) is the largest production centre for Scriptures in Latin America and one of the largest in the world.

Since its inauguration in 1995, it has produced some 25 million Bibles: if these were all piled up they would be 1,640 times the height of the Empire State Building; the paper used in producing them would be enough to go round the Earth 40 times.

Distributing the Scriptures in Brazil can now be split into two periods - before the Bible printshop and after it.

Distribution boosted

“The printshop gave a tremendous boost to the distribution of the Scriptures in this country,” says BSB General Secretary Luis Antonio Giraldi. “Without it, the cost of Bibles would be much higher, the choice would be reduced and binding quality much lower. If the printshop hadn't been set up, a brake would have been put on the demand for Bibles, distribution would be around half what it is today and the future of the Bible in Brazil would be jeopardised.”

With an area of 6,000 square metres, a printing capacity of 90,000 Bibles a month and 170 employees, the printshop alone accounts for 50 per cent of the Brazilian demand for Bibles. In 2001 this meant the distribution of 4,303,883 Bibles, around three-and-a-half times the number distributed in 1994.

“This constant growth in the search for the Word of God means that the work undertaken by the BSB enjoys his blessing,” says the Rev Guilhermino Cunha, President of the BSB. “And under his inspiration, intelligent management adds to a competent team and a solid partnership with all the churches in the country.”

Spirit of service

The BSB’s Translations and Publications Secretary, Rudi Zimmer, agrees.
“None of this would have been possible without the active presence of God,” he says. “He is not only wafting his spirit to all corners of Brazil but he is feeding the spirit of service of those who work in the BSB.”

After the Scriptures are printed, the material is separated into blocks of sheets at the Bible Society of Brazil’s printshop, which is the largest production centre for Scriptures in Latin America and one of the largest in the world. São Paulo, Brazil. Photo: BS Brazil (BRA02PC-2)

It is not just the Brazilian market that benefits from the Bibles produced in the Bible printshop. The BSB exports to 28 different countries in the Americas, Africa and Europe, and produces Scriptures in languages including Spanish, English, French and Yoruba, which is spoken in Nigeria, Benin and Togo. In 2001 alone, 1,076,863 copies of the Bible and 280,333 New Testaments crossed national borders, in another of the organisation's strenuous efforts to spread the Word of God.

Quality fell

The BSB began exporting in 1985 but in 1989 the production quality fell below the standards demanded by the international market.

“We had no control of production from start to finish and the price of the Bibles was becoming high,” recalls the BSB’s Production and Export Secretary, Edgar Carvalho. The Society’s response was to develop the Bible printshop - and the situation was transformed. “We restored production quality and today, in Spanish alone, we offer 34 different editions of the Bible,” he says.

The increase in exports also enables the Society to take more advantage of the printshop’s capacity. The expected increase in production will mean less idle time for the machines, and consequently greater savings and lower costs of Bibles produced for the domestic market.

Today the BSB is involved in 80 publishing projects, among which it emphasises the translation of the Scriptures into minority languages, such as those spoken by the indigenous people in the south of the country, and the restoration of out-of-print books of the Bible in African languages such as Yoruba, Hausa and Igbo.

Restoring

The Bible Society of Brazil’s printshop at 6,000 square metres, with a capacity to print 90,000 Bibles a month, is the largest production centre for Scriptures in Latin America and one of the largest in the world. São Paulo, Brazil. Photo: BS Brazil (BRA02PC-3)

“In the last-named case, we are restoring a series of photolithos produced by the Bible Society of Nigeria over 50 years ago,” says BSB’s Assistant Bible Editor, Paulo Teixeira.

Projects like these benefit countries which do not have the technology and money to produce good quality copies of the Bible at prices that people can afford. They are, says Dr Zimmer, part of the outworking of the BSB’s membership of the worldwide Fellowship of Bible Societies.