The Kraszna-Krausz Book Awards’ Best Photography Award was given to new compilation War/Photography: Images of Armed Conflict and its Aftermath last week after judges unanimously voted based on its high-quality print and striking imagery.

Based on a photography exhibition in Texas earlier in the year, the book documents all aspects of modern war throughout the ages, in crystal-clear detail. Chair of the voting panel Zelda Cheatle explained that while the award was mainly down to the insightful content, the printing and design played a large part.

The book was printed using a heavy-stock paper which allows the pages to be well-handled without showing signs of wear and tear. Author Anne Wilkes Tucker stated that the primary reason for this was to convey the weight and importance of the content, and to ensure the high-quality photo prints did not deteriorate over time.

Printing techniques also had to take into account the times in which the photographs were taken – sometimes decades apart – which meant that the quality varied throughout the book. Ms Cheatle felt that this challenge was overcome, adding: “It is beautifully printed. Some of the images are Russian war photographs so the negatives of the print were in very bad shape to begin with, so it wouldn’t have been an easy job.”