Suggestions for where to have a black and white photography zine printed

MTGseattle

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Pieter12 said:
Was this in regard to black and white printing, or just their service in general?
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I specifically cited the OP's interest in getting a Black and white zine of decent quality.

I may be behind the times, but to me "Zine" conjures up memories of things that were typed on only semi-functional typewriters with photocopies of hand drawn illustrations added, then stapled together during a drinking binge and sold near the counter of record shops for $5. (This all harkens back to the mid-nineties) We're probably well beyond that now.

More to the point, Magcloud offers saddle-stich as a binding. There is also an 8x8 format which is intriguing. I think a single copy to get a test is like $3.
 
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logan2z

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I printed one copy of my zine/book with MagCloud and the results were not great. They only print using a color press so the blacks were good, but there's a definite color cast to the images that does not look good.

I don't know why it's so hard to get a simple set of black and white images printed well in a small staple-bound book. Cafe Royal Books seems to be able to get it done on a black and white press. I'd reach out to them and ask who prints their books, but I'm sure it's a UK company and shipping to the US would be cost-prohibitive.
 

MTGseattle

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1. Which magcloud option did you pick?
1a. Does this matter (are all options printed with the same press)?

Just curious
 
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logan2z

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MTGseattle said:
1. Which magcloud option did you pick?
1a. Does this matter (are all options printed with the same press)?

Just curious
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I chose the 5.25" x 8.25" saddle stitch digest in portrait orientation.

I'm not 100% sure, but I believe that all of the options are printed on the same type of press.
 

MTGseattle

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Well crap, I'm sorry that test didn't work out. Was it budget friendly at least?
 
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logan2z

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MTGseattle said:
Well crap, I'm sorry that test didn't work out. Was it budget friendly at least?
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It amounted to about $11 including shipping, so pretty inexpensive.

I was speaking to someone yesterday who referred me to a local printing company in San Francisco with whom I've been exchanging emails. They have several SF art galleries and the SFMoMa as clients. They are going to print off one spread of my zine so that I can check out their print quality. We'll see ..
 
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logan2z

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Quick follow-up:

I received a proof of a spread from the printing company in San Francisco and it looks great! Far better than either of the online printing companies I tried. They're going to print a proof of the full book, I'll make any necessary tweaks to the files based on that, and then I'll print 50 copies - their minimum. No clue what the heck I'm going to do with them all. I'll probably just pawn them off on family and friends
 

MTGseattle

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Keep us apprised of total costs and your overall impressions please. If you're willing to disclose that is.
 

Pieter12

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Are you at liberty to divulge the company's name?
 
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logan2z

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Quick update:

Since I last posted in this thread, I've worked closely with Colpa press to print two proofs of my zine followed by a production run of 50 copies (their minimum). The production run of zines arrived a few days ago and I think they turned out really well. I ended up going with a larger trim size than used for the typical booklet style zine - 7 1/4" x 10" - as I wanted something that looked a bit more substantial. The final version of the zine is 44 pages staple bound, and printed on coated paper with what I would call an 'eggshell' finish. Colpa suggested this paper and I think it was a great choice, and resulted in really good blacks.

The company is great to work with - very hands-on customer service by their owner who did everything he promised, and on schedule to boot (ahead of schedule, actually).

Colpa is not the cheapest place to have a photography zine published - some of the online printers like Mixam and Magcloud (owned by Blurb) are quite a bit less expensive, but the black and white print quality delivered by Colpa is worth the extra cost, IMO.

Now, what the heck am I going to do with 50 copies of my zine?? I'm quickly running out of friends and family on which to pawn them off
 

Pieter12

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If you tell me how much they cost you per unit, I will buy one from you, plus shipping. Maybe pay you more than cost, depending. Can you post some sample pages?
 
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logan2z

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Pieter12 said:
If you tell me how much they cost you per unit, I will buy one from you, plus shipping. Maybe pay you more than cost, depending. Can you post some sample pages?
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That's a very nice offer, thanks! However, this may not be subject matter in which you have any interest. The photos are from a long-term project I've been working on that documents the Monterey Motorsports Reunion, an annual event held during Car Week in Monterey, CA, featuring historic race cars doing what they are intended to do - race on track. The event is in its 50th year next month and I've been photographing it since 2019. The focus of my project is on the people behind the cars - the drivers and engineers - rather than the on-track activity.

I've included a handful of spreads from the zine. My digital camera didn't really do it complete justice, but hopefully you get the general idea.

If you're still interested in getting a copy (I won't be offended if it's not up your alley) then shoot me a PM and we can figure something out. I'm not trying to make money on the publication of this zine - I don't even care if I lose money on each copy. It would just be nice to get the work in the hands of people who find it interesting.











 

MattKing

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In my experience, car "nuts" love things like that. That is where I would look for a destination for my 'zines, if they were mine.
 

koraks

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It looks lovely, @logan2z ! It must be very rewarding to hold the final work in your hands. Congratulations; I hope you'll get many more positive responses (I'm sure you will)!
 
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logan2z

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MattKing said:
In my experience, car "nuts" love things like that. That is where I would look for a destination for my 'zines, if they were mine.
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Yes, we do

I'm involved with a few local car groups and will make them aware of the zine. I'll also carry some copies with me to this year's Historic Races in Monterey.
 

Molli

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You could easily cover your costs to date and probably fund another print run if you take them to the 50th Anniversary. The drivers, engineers, their families, the owners of the cars shown, the fans of the cars shown... I can't imagine you not being able to sell these. I'm not even a car nut and I want one!

My nephew's newly arrived on the Motocross scene and I am terrified watching this tiny little munchkin getting airborne at high speed... but, man, are those photos worth it. They're also the only photos he will happily participate in and want to pore over later.
His mates now think his aunt is super cool. If I lived nearby, I'd be taking and making prints and selling them (free little 2x3s to the kids depicted maybe).

Your zine has come out beautifully, I'm sure those involved would be stoked to see it and many would be wanting to have their own copy.
Then you get to make and fund a 50th Anniversary edition with some extra photos added, taken next month.
 
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logan2z

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You're probably right. I'll be taking some with me and I'll gauge how much interest there is.


Share some of the photos on the forum, I'd love to see them.

Molli said:
Your zine has come out beautifully, I'm sure those involved would be stoked to see it and many would be wanting to have their own copy.
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Thanks, I appreciate it!
 
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