So, where do you guys go to? I'm deciding between IndyPlanet and ComiXpress . Although I am open for all advice and any suggestions. (I didn't see a staple option at Lulu. Do they have one?) Did anyone else go through something like this? Has anyone shelled out the dough for small press? Recommendations?

www.createspace.com is a fairly new entry to the Print On Demand service, it doesn't have a comic option yet but i don't doubt if you could format your pages to fit their sizes they would print it.

You also get a free ISBN and Amazon Listing with it, which is awesome.

Comixpress had a really bad turnaround time when I used them. It's been a while since I've done anything print on demand so they might have improved since then. Quality-wise I was pretty happy with how it looked. I've heard Kablam was pretty good too.
I mostly just to photocopier publishing now though.

are you looking to print on demand? if you just want to print to sale and distibute, try finding akinkos or some thing like them and check with them, good luck, let us know how your search comes out

Though I can't remember where now, I recently read a blog entry complimenting the customer service at: ka-blam.com

If you're printing any significant amount, check the local print shops (not Kinkos, but a real press printer) and get some price quotes.


Edit: For larger orders of comic-book-sized floppies, get a quote from Brenner . Brenner services a lot of indy and name publishers.

Your comics don't seemed limited to the comic-book format though, so consider other size options to get a better price.

You could always print at both, and get listed in both of their stores. Also, you could try SIPS printing too.

You didn't mention if your book was BW or Color, or how many pages. That could have an effect on where you print.

I advise against Lulu unless you're doing a graphic novel. Their prices aren't good.

Unfortunately, I'm havin' more trouble than it's worth. Well, almost.

I'm havin' a hard time findin' any "Indy" company that will touch it, 'cause it's for Mature readers. (Yes, I mean the images are pornographic.) KaBlam, which looked the most promising, won't answer their forum postings and Lulu won't either (even though they have SEVEN admins assigned to the topic.) I think we're gonna' have to shell out the dough and buy the ISBN numbers and the bar codes then find a printer.

(I did check out Brenner and they also haven't gotten back to me, a week later.) We're probably going mom and pop printing. Just thought I'd let you know the woes and thank you again for the advice.

Oh, the life of freelance artists.

well if its BW then you might want to just try and get some material and print on your own. You can do the color covers at shops but BW laser printers are not so expensive and the stapler is real cheap.

Now if this is a GN you might have to buy a trimmer to get clean edges after you bind.

I wish you the best of luck

maritalbliss
Unfortunately, I'm havin' more trouble than it's worth. Well, almost.... Just thought I'd let you know the woes and thank you again for the advice.

I'm curious, what did you all end up doing? Or are you still investigating?

Nope, investigation over! Ka-Blam can suck my left tit! They were MOST unhelpful, as was LuLu (although not as poor as Ka-Blam) Brenner was CRAZY expensive.

I was very disappointed, 'cause that put the buying of ISBN and Barcode purchasing in our court, which BLOWS.

We found local mom and pop printers (which are TOTALLY able to print the material and are lightyears cheaper anyway! So, that's what we're doin'.

Thanks for asking. It was really a pain! But, this is our "first" comic book and we really wanted to do it ourselves...plus...the whole porn thing...kinda' made us have to!

Does anyone know anything about Drive Thru Comics ? Are they good to work with?

Since I've had some small press experience I'll say now only use a Kinkos or a Sir Speedy if it's coming down to a few days and you really really need a book done.

They stagger their prices to be most expensive for least amount of copies and decrease the price based on the quantity you run. Your better off buying through someone who does it on a consistent enough basis that they'll know the format and in's and out's of the job.

Even a color cover with b&w guts will get quite costly. Comixpress has been the cheapest I've seen so far. For a 28 page book at a quantity of 25 books It'd cost me about 55 bucks. That's about 1.37 a book plus a 16 setup fee.

Anywhere else your looking at least 6 bucks a book between collating charges*thats hand sorting the book so it's in order* and Binding*The stapling* and copy costs. If it's a Kinko's they'll also just throw it on the glass and run a scan of what you have which is the worst resolution you could possibly get. That's even less that what you'd traditionally save for web. Probably mid 60's dpi. You'd be better off printing it at home if your willing to go that low.

Best bet is to just plan ahead enough so that you can submit your book and get it back in a timely enough basis. Because last minute rush jobs will also incur a cost at a local printery.