Lulu.com, the on-demand publishing tool for books, e-books, and other digital content, has expanded its offerings to include a “comic book” size print option.
To meet growing demands, Lulu (www.Lulu.com) is catering to the needs of comic book creators. Lulu’s newly expanded comic book capabilities offer artists the option of publishing comic book size (6.75″x 10.375″) books in addition to the trade paperback and textbook sizes previously available. All comics are published on high quality paper with the option of vibrant color or black and white. Publishing a comic on Lulu is free. Individual copies can be purchased for under $10 and bulk discounts are available. Authors set their own royalties.
“The decision to expand the dimensions of our comics was driven by customer demand,” says Henry Hutton, who manages Lulu’s online communities of writers, musicians, and artists. “Self-publishing in the comic world is a labor of love. We wanted to give our creators a comic book that feels like a real comic.”
Lulu representatives are also traveling the comic con circuit to inform artists of the latest tools available, as well as learn more about their specific needs. Lulu recently attended DragonCon and will attend this weekend’s Small Press Expo.
For more information, see the Lulu comics publishing information page.
Still an insanely expensive base price, just like Cafepress.
To be honest you’d be surprised just doing a little footwork in your own city just how affordable you can find printing.
I tried to go get a quote from this, but got a reply saying they couldnt give me a quote until I was already published with them– lame-O! I got their prices from someone else though:
A 30 page, 8.5 X 11, B&W book-
• Setup fee (for cover, binding, and other setup): $4.53
• Black & white printing: $0.02/page x 30 = $0.60
Cost of book without adding your royalty on: $5.13
A 30 page, 8.5 X 11, Full Color Book (TPB sized)-
• Setup fee (for cover, binding, and other setup): $4.53
• Color printing: $0.15/page x 30 pages = $4.50
Cost of book without adding your royalty on: $9.03
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And then I found http://www.comixpress.com and it’s like WAY cheaper to use them. I bought a comic with their name on the back, and the quality is good. I’m not trying to diss this service, just put out clearly that it’s not the best option for indy creators. http://www.comixpress.com is the best I’ve found so far–The prices kick butt and you can get a quote right on their site. So my advice to Lulu is, lower prices– and make it easier to get fast quotes, not some wacky run around!
BlogGrrl OUT!
Yeah, Comixpress is definetly at the top of my very short list of printers to use when I finally get off my lazy ass and go to print.
You know what I need. I need a fricken boss. I need an office to go to and a daily fricken routine and deadlines to stick to and someone to yell at me when I slack off. You know… like with a real job.
I wonder if I joined the “quit my dayjob and do a webcomic full time” crowd if it would motivate me more or just make me go “hey, more free time to hang out on FARK”.
Lulu is great if you want to do collection books but I’d agree for smaller comic book runs it’s not a very good option.