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Post by k0rnbr34d on Sept 12, 2021 13:10:17 GMT
What tricks have the cartoonist or publishers here found to produce high quality, low cost work? An example of this would be things like best combinations of color paper and black ink, ways to bind it or trim the edges to hide that it's just an A4 zine. Does newsprint work? Are there good methods that just aren't popular at the moment? Seems like riso is in vogue now, but it's not always possible to find one.
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Post by hackanut on Sept 12, 2021 15:03:28 GMT
Bestvaluecopy.com is an excellent resource for getting your stuff printed. No minimum order. You can literally send them a pdf and they can paginate it for you. I used them for my comic Fucked Up Four and had a great experience. I chose to fold and staple them all myself to save money but Saddle stitch and perfect bound is available.
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Post by ExcellentStrategyManualsInc. on Sept 12, 2021 15:10:31 GMT
i like A4 photo copy zines so no need to hide in my opinion, but one thing i wish i better about was experimenting with format. there is a lot you can do with inkjet printer and scanner, and with a solid consumer paper cutter you can try a lot of formats and zine designs. way i try to think about it is just because its printed on A4 doesn't mean it needs to end up being standard 5.5x8.5 in the end, could be a lot of different shapes/formats. paper color is fun too.
guess this only works if you own a printer/scanner/cutter which isn't always easy. but anything where you can print demos for free and fuck around is good for figuring out cheap new zine ideas.
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Post by ExcellentStrategyManualsInc. on Sept 12, 2021 15:11:36 GMT
I chose to fold and staple them all myself to save money but Saddle stitch and perfect bound is available. gotta fold and staple yourself, the ultimate sacrifice
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Post by BubblesZine on Sept 12, 2021 16:08:17 GMT
I fold and staple every single issue of Bubbles
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Post by mikesheawright on Sept 12, 2021 17:35:32 GMT
One thing I've realized over time is that there is no trick or shortcut. For me the process of making stuff by hand and just accepting that it's time-consuming becomes part of the art. I think you can feel when something is mass-produced on the cheap without like a person's hand on it at some point. There's room for that stuff too of course, just my own feelings.
I bought an Epson ET-2760 to print zines and comics, I don't love the overall print quality of the ink but the ink lasts a LONG time so it's super cost-effective. But the ink doesn't quite sit on the page like a riso or even a xerox. Depends on the paper too and I like being able to experiment with it. Also paper cutter, bone folder, long stapler, etc.
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Post by hackanut on Sept 12, 2021 19:40:47 GMT
In my opinion this is a very underrated tool. The amount of zines I buy that I end up using my own bone folder on makes it seem like 90% of makers skip this step.
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Post by BubblesZine on Sept 12, 2021 20:06:16 GMT
Bone folder (not a plastic one, real bone), saddle stapler, stapler remover = tools of the trade
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Post by mikesheawright on Sept 12, 2021 20:48:59 GMT
real bone forever
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Post by k0rnbr34d on Sept 13, 2021 4:12:02 GMT
One thing I've realized over time is that there is no trick or shortcut. For me the process of making stuff by hand and just accepting that it's time-consuming becomes part of the art. I think you can feel when something is mass-produced on the cheap without like a person's hand on it at some point. There's room for that stuff too of course, just my own feelings. I bought an Epson ET-2760 to print zines and comics, I don't love the overall print quality of the ink but the ink lasts a LONG time so it's super cost-effective. But the ink doesn't quite sit on the page like a riso or even a xerox. Depends on the paper too and I like being able to experiment with it. Also paper cutter, bone folder, long stapler, etc. Not looking for a shortcut, just tips people have found along the way. I don't have a bone folder, so that's next on my list. I don't mind folding and stapling myself. Any kinds of paper you like using in particular?
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Post by whitecomics on Sept 13, 2021 17:55:15 GMT
I've also had good luck with bestvaluecopy and have used them for year, though I think they've gotten three out of my past four orders wrong -- wrong trim size, wrong pagination, and in one case printing half of each spread upside down. They're always willing to fix it, so still a good option I suppose and the print quality is decent, but be forewarned!
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Post by mikesheawright on Sept 14, 2021 0:27:18 GMT
Not looking for a shortcut, just tips people have found along the way. I don't have a bone folder, so that's next on my list. I don't mind folding and stapling myself. Any kinds of paper you like using in particular? cool cool, i like anything with some texture where it's not just a smooth surface. this printer is kind finicky and not super great with the nicer paper i've cut down for it but stuff like "resume" paper and different kinds of cover stock seem to work well. and i really like using like hyper flourescent copy paper for some of the more rugged looking stuff, and that's real cheap. depends on the vibe of the book really!
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Post by k0rnbr34d on Sept 14, 2021 4:17:28 GMT
Not looking for a shortcut, just tips people have found along the way. I don't have a bone folder, so that's next on my list. I don't mind folding and stapling myself. Any kinds of paper you like using in particular? cool cool, i like anything with some texture where it's not just a smooth surface. this printer is kind finicky and not super great with the nicer paper i've cut down for it but stuff like "resume" paper and different kinds of cover stock seem to work well. and i really like using like hyper flourescent copy paper for some of the more rugged looking stuff, and that's real cheap. depends on the vibe of the book really! Oh, you're right about the fluorescent paper. I've seen some A4 zines where I live that use a fluorescent cover and then white inside. A good way to add some flair to a b&w piece. I think it would also be interesting to make a stack of colored papers and print b&w on it. Similar to Dash Shaw's "Doctors," although that was perfect bound. Great comic btw if anyone hasn't read it.
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Post by dwlynch on Sept 14, 2021 4:41:45 GMT
I was just clearing some shelves earlier and came across a chap book I bought a while ago that was bound with these and had a thick brown paper (or maybe its very thin cardboard?) covers. Pretty nice looking and I'm guessing it would be a cheap alternative to perfect binding. The one caveat is the product description describes it as temporary and I definitely feel like it could open over time if I'm not careful with it.
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desmond
New Member
Instagram @desmondtreed
Posts: 13
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Post by desmond on Sept 15, 2021 16:36:46 GMT
I fold and staple every single issue of Bubbles Dude... that is wild (and impressive)!
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