LEGO is considering abandoning physical instructions

[SpacePolice89]

5 hours ago, Lyichir said:

Are you sure about that paper quality bit? I remember a lot of old instructions (from my childhood in the '90s) being a lot flimsier. Maybe it was just because I was a kid (i.e. more careless), but I often found it much easier to tear old instructions—and instructions to larger sets, being stapled most of the time, had a tendency to come apart at the seams. I find modern instructions, whether they're the thin leaflets from smaller sets or the "perfect bound" instructions that are now used for medium-to-large sets a lot of the time, to be a lot more robust and resistant to wear than my often tattered childhood instruction books.

I compared some instructions. Futuron, Islanders, Black Falcons (late 80s to mid 90s) vs Star Wars, Dreamzzz, Lego House (2010s and 2020s). The older ones are glossier and feels harder. I don't know if the paper is thicker but it feels more sturdy.

[Mylenium]

On 7/31/2025 at 7:23 AM, SpacePolice89 said:

I remember when I was a kid it felt so fun building sets with the old instructions. It felt more like a challenge and it was a very rewarding process. I also miss the quality of the old instructions, the colors were more visible and the the quality of the paper was much better. The current instructions are too dark and made with low quality paper.

12 hours ago, SpacePolice89 said:

I compared some instructions. Futuron, Islanders, Black Falcons (late 80s to mid 90s) vs Star Wars, Dreamzzz, Lego House (2010s and 2020s). The older ones are glossier and feels harder. I don't know if the paper is thicker but it feels more sturdy.

18 hours ago, Lyichir said:

Are you sure about that paper quality bit? I remember a lot of old instructions (from my childhood in the '90s) being a lot flimsier. Maybe it was just because I was a kid (i.e. more careless), but I often found it much easier to tear old instructions—and instructions to larger sets, being stapled most of the time, had a tendency to come apart at the seams. I find modern instructions, whether they're the thin leaflets from smaller sets or the "perfect bound" instructions that are now used for medium-to-large sets a lot of the time, to be a lot more robust and resistant to wear than my often tattered childhood instruction books.

One of those weird situations where all those things could be true at the same time. From the pulp/ cellulose fiber ratios being different as well as all the auxiliary components like glue/ binding agent/ varnish to aggressive heavy chemicals (chlorine, alkali washes etc.) used in the processing and their remnants interacting with environmental factors there are things both in favor and against better quality. Conversely, inks had a different composition (including containing now forbidden toxic pigments, oil and solvents) and were applied differently. I also believe LEGO in the olden days did outsource a lot of their printing work to different facilities and that alone could cause differences. There's a million factors at play here. One could probably research all this and lab-test samples from the papers and ink to reconstruct how they were produced, but that would be an expensive and time-consuming undertaking...

Mylenium

[Lyichir]

8 hours ago, Mylenium said:

One of those weird situations where all those things could be true at the same time. From the pulp/ cellulose fiber ratios being different as well as all the auxiliary components like glue/ binding agent/ varnish to aggressive heavy chemicals (chlorine, alkali washes etc.) used in the processing and their remnants interacting with environmental factors there are things both in favor and against better quality. Conversely, inks had a different composition (including containing now forbidden toxic pigments, oil and solvents) and were applied differently. I also believe LEGO in the olden days did outsource a lot of their printing work to different facilities and that alone could cause differences. There's a million factors at play here. One could probably research all this and lab-test samples from the papers and ink to reconstruct how they were produced, but that would be an expensive and time-consuming undertaking...

Mylenium

Didn't think about that—could even potentially be a case where instructions were printed locally for different regions (i.e. North America, Europe, etc.) and had different standards for each.

[SpacePolice89]

I know about three companies that at least used to print Lego instructions. Laursen in Tønder, Denmark, Frank Druck in Preetz/Holst, Germany and Muhlmeister and Johler, Neumunster, Germany. I have NA exclusive sets from the 80s and 90s with Laursen and Frank Druck instructions. I have always believed that all instructions for North America were made in Europe before the Mexico Factory opened. My 1729 Barnacle Bay (NA exclusive set) was put in a box in the US but with European made instructions.