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Post by whitecomics on Jun 30, 2022 13:55:05 GMT
Who are people liking for small scale printers these days? I'm thinking specifically of places like Keness or RA Comics Direct -- good quality digital printing for runs of 100-200 copies. (I'd definitely recommend Keness, by the way, have always had great experiences there.)
I'd also be curious to hear anyone's recent experience with timelines for printing, given ongoing paper shortages and general world chaos.
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Post by awfulquiet on Jun 30, 2022 14:17:05 GMT
Mixam!
RA is a huge rip off and their quality has gone way down.
I haven't printed anything this year, but Mixam was always about a week turnaround and they ship UPS. I live in Virginia and my books were printed in Maryland and arrived in about 2 days each time I used them.
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Post by joshpettinger on Jul 1, 2022 1:20:10 GMT
I second Mixam. Really nice quality. Their turnaround time has gotten a decent amount slower due to the paper shortages, but for the price I'd recommend it to anyone.
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Post by whitecomics on Jul 12, 2022 17:23:00 GMT
Thanks for the recommendations - Mixam seems great, I think I'll give them a try! I'm surprised that they claim they don't need larger than 300 DPI files, so I'll probably shell out for a physical proof ($50!!) but will report back with how things go.
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Post by mikesheawright on Jul 19, 2022 17:41:01 GMT
I have also had success with Mixam! Also if you need a different print quantity you can email them directly and they get back to you pretty quick.
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Post by whitecomics on Aug 3, 2022 13:51:04 GMT
I return to you with some thoughts on Mixam...
Overall a decent experience - I sent them a 600 DPI file, and Mike said that wasn't an issue. Printing looks good, paper is nice, etc. They do ask for CMYK, so keep that in mind if you're preparing a color book! Despite the fact that their site mentions a hard copy proof option, that doesn't seem to be the case any more; when I asked they just suggested I order a single copy as a way of getting a proof. I decided not to.
I do have a white streak on the cover for about half of my print run -- the kind of error you'll see regularly with digital printing, folks probably know what I mean. It's small but noticeable. I asked for a reprint, still waiting to hear back.
For what it's worth, looks like approx. the same print job via Keness would have been $100 more expensive, for 200 copies, and taken a couple extra weeks.
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Post by awfulquiet on Aug 3, 2022 13:54:30 GMT
Nice to hear the feedback. Hope they can resolve your issue. I wonder if Mixam is getting a little overwhelmed. I have heard about more print errors in just the past few weeks from people using them. Hopefully they can sort that out.
I've not heard of Keness before, but will have to check them out.
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Post by michaelkennedy on Aug 3, 2022 15:45:05 GMT
Nice to hear the feedback. Hope they can resolve your issue. I wonder if Mixam is getting a little overwhelmed. I have heard about more print errors in just the past few weeks from people using them. Hopefully they can sort that out. I've not heard of Keness before, but will have to check them out. I can only speak for the UK branch of MIXAM but after using them for about two three years now, the decline in quality and service has become noticeable. Hopefully they're doing consistent good stateside. Most recent batch of comics had various print and shipping issues that they were refusing to take accountability for or responsibility of (typical customer service tactics tho.). Long story short, I won't be using them again.
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Post by whitecomics on Aug 4, 2022 16:38:30 GMT
Looks like I'm getting a partial reprint from Mixam, so that's nice. But if the quality is declining, I'll probably avoid them in the future as well..
But yes, I recommend Keness!! Just one guy, Ken, who is very nice and much more pleasant than interacting with anonymous Mixam customer service reps. I feel bad, because he got back to me just a bit after I sent my book to Mixam, saying that as things stand now in terms of paper shortages he can print small runs in about a month.
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Post by joshpettinger on Aug 4, 2022 16:45:22 GMT
I just got my new comic back from Mixam two days ago. The quality is great and actually feels better than previous stuff I've had printed there, so that may just be a UK thing.
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printers
Aug 5, 2022 1:27:55 GMT
via mobile
Post by andrewpilkington on Aug 5, 2022 1:27:55 GMT
I can vouch for MIXAM in Australia.
Found the service pretty great, they even called me on the phone to make sure everything was how I wanted it to be.
Only negative is they're a bit slow, but I guess that's everywhere now?
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Post by michaelkennedy on Aug 8, 2022 11:43:58 GMT
My mistake, I meant "Quality OF service." referring to their customer care and their delivery courier who are absolute shite(DPD). I had a large (for me at least) order of comics and prints etc go south at every level once I paid up.
I haven't been too bothered by the global paper shortages and reductions of possible book sizes. Must admit tho I'm keen to go somewhere local and try out different stocks and printing techniques... Seem's like a more relaxed way of comics life.
Would still recommend Mixam in general but not for big orders or multiple things.
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Post by cartoonysam on Sept 1, 2022 14:34:50 GMT
My mistake, I meant "Quality OF service." referring to their customer care and their delivery courier who are absolute shite(DPD). I had a large (for me at least) order of comics and prints etc go south at every level once I paid up. I haven't been too bothered by the global paper shortages and reductions of possible book sizes. Must admit tho I'm keen to go somewhere local and try out different stocks and printing techniques... Seem's like a more relaxed way of comics life. Would still recommend Mixam in general but not for big orders or multiple things. Would you recommend Mixam for a bulk order of 250-500 comic copies?
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GHO
Full Member
(✿ò ⍙ ́O)
Posts: 196
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Post by GHO on Sept 2, 2022 22:33:05 GMT
Are there any offset printers that will do black and white for cheap I remember Sammy harkham mentioning an ad in the comics journal in the late 90s or early 00s for someplace in Florida or something. I'm sure those types of deals don't exist anymore. just wondering if anyone's heard anything.
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Post by michaelkennedy on Sept 7, 2022 11:44:23 GMT
My mistake, I meant "Quality OF service." referring to their customer care and their delivery courier who are absolute shite(DPD). I had a large (for me at least) order of comics and prints etc go south at every level once I paid up. I haven't been too bothered by the global paper shortages and reductions of possible book sizes. Must admit tho I'm keen to go somewhere local and try out different stocks and printing techniques... Seem's like a more relaxed way of comics life. Would still recommend Mixam in general but not for big orders or multiple things. Would you recommend Mixam for a bulk order of 250-500 comic copies? Someone else will have the answer for that as I never printed more than 100-150 of a single title at a time. That said they'd often arrive bashed about due to the weight in the back of a van. Thats a courier issue but Mixam threw in extra copies to "soak" the damage, which worked. I'm assuming thats a standard practice? Equally interested in offset and similar printers that still exist in UK and Europe.
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