My printing services
Can you turn my comic book into reality?
As part of my Mandate to promote and develop the hard-copy comic book medium, I am happy to provide technical support to prospective comic authors.
I also love printing graphic material that you would be afraid to bring into your local Staples (although, in practice, almost all public libraries offer discreet printing services).
My prices
All zines must be formatted for half-letter format: 5.5" by 8.5". There is an unprintable area of about 1/6" around the edge of every page.
For best results, digital artwork should be 3100 by 4900 px, but other sizes work as long as you're not picky about the final result. Don't worry about mucking around with spread arrangements, I can do that.
| Pages | My price |
|---|---|
| 8 | $1.25 |
| 12 | $1.60 |
| 16 | $1.95 |
| 20 | $2.30 |
| 24 | $2.65 |
Beware!! Toner is expensive. I will arbitrarily raise these prices if your artwork uses a lot of dark backgrounds.
Price transparency
What does a zine really cost to make? These are the actual items lying around my own house.
Equipment
- Brother DCP-L2640DW multifunctional laser printer. Costs $320 (easy to find secondhand for cheaper, I paid less for mine).
- Long-reach stapler. Costs $15.
Materials
Toner is a particularly troublesome thing here at FSC headquarters, where an entire $125 OEM cartridge has been known to last less than one workday. Cartridges are rated for 1,500 double-sided document pages, but in practice they often yield less than 300 pages of zine artwork.
Fixed costs
| Item | Cost | Makes how many zines? | Unit cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| OEM printer toner, high yield (for zine cover) | $125 | 500 | 25¢ |
| 65lb cardstock, assorted neon (250 sheets) | $43 | 250 | 17.2¢ |
| Generic printer drum unit | $60 | 7,500 | 0.8¢ |
| Staples (10,000) | $7.50 | 5,000 | 0.15¢ |
Zine assembly costs about 43¢ before we account for any of the pages.
Per 4 pages
| Item | Cost | Makes how many 4-page spreads? | Unit cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| OEM printer toner, high yield | $125 | 500 | 25¢ |
| Copy paper (5,000 sheets) | $85 | 5,000 | 1.7¢ |
| Generic printer drum unit | $60 | 7,500 | 0.8¢ |
Every zine spread (which makes 4 zine pages) costs about 28¢ to produce.
Final accounting
A single 5.5" by 8.5" copybook-style zine with eight pages costs about 99¢ in materials to produce, plus 28¢ for every extra set of four pages. Because we are using the cheapest materials possible, a few of these zines will be misprints, and I pay about 10% sales tax on everything in my jurisdiction. I hope this cost breakdown satisfies the curious.
What are the advantages of using FSC as your friendly basement printer?
- I'm pricing my startup costs at $0
- I'm pricing my labour at $0
- I'll print nearly anything
- No minimum order
Other printing services
Although the homemade copybook approach is about as accessible as can possibly be, it is not the best fit for every project - especially if you want more than black-and-white. If you are a better colourist than me, you might be ready to skip ahead to higher-volume commercial services.
In the world of paper and ink, costs always decline with volume. (Beware! Many are the self-published authors who have overestimated the appeal of their book, committed to an enormous print run, and are living with the consequences in their basements to this day.)
There are a number of friendly, reputable indie presses in Canada that are willing to deal with erotic material. The only problem is that I've never worked with any of them myself. I will append their names to this page as soon as I catch up with friends and peers who have had success in this area.