Ever had trouble with the Tapastic format when printing your webcomic?

[jerreaudriessen]

And how did you solve the whole RGB color thing when ofset printing?

[AnnaLandin]

I draw all of my stuff in RGB (because it's going on the internet, of course), but I have printed the first 3 chapters in a collected edition - and what I did was that I used Manga Studio 5/Clip Studio Paint's CMYK-preview function - which lets me know what it's going to look like in print.

You can find that under View>Colour profile (aaaallll the way down at the bottom of the menu) and then clicking "Preview settings". Pick a CMYK profile that fits from the "Profile for preview" dropdown menu. The image you've got open will automatically display as your chosen CMYK-profile, and the colours will change a bit. Bright blues and greens get a bit duller, etc. - but so far there hasn't been any dramatic changes.

Unfortunately, Manga Studio 5/Clip Studio Paint doesn't really give you the option to draw in CMYK, but you're able to export in CMYK if you want - or just use Photoshop to convert files, whichever suits you best.

There are certain colours that you very literally cannot print - certain shades of blue are among them - because RGB uses the light of your monitor to display colour, and CMYK just uses the white of the paper, so neon colours are going to be pretty hard to replicate, but other than that, the difference isn't THAT big.

And if you're printing something, I REALLY recommend that you get a proof-copy from the printer first, so that you can see what it's going to look like in print before you go ahead and get the entire print-run done.

[Sanz]

I make my comic for print, and then resize for tapastic. it's the easiest thing. mines in gray-scale, but my covers are full color so I save a copy for web, and a copy for print, in two separate folders. it's easier to draw for print and adjust for web. versus drawing for web and adjusting for print.... if you use ka-blam to print they prefer RGB which is kinda neat and comes out beautiful but for CMYK just export it as such so you don't get funky colors.

[jerreaudriessen]

Ive been eying Ka-blam for some time. Is it a good service?

[Sanz]

amazing service. Prior to printing from them I printed at the office store. the colors between the two on the covers. were grand. it was so bright and vibrant. the way it was suppose to be whereas the office store was a little dark. they are really inexpensive too.

[sarrowsmith10]

I print through ReadyComics.com, I can't recommend them enough. Way way way better than Ka-blam (my books came out so bad through them it wasn't even funny). I draw my comic print ready, then resize and format for web. I feel its easier to go that direction, than the other way around.

[elixiadragmire]

I work in cmyk and convert to rgb when uploading to the web. Also when you mix colours in PS, if you pick a.colour that won't print it's gives you a gamma warning and suggests a printable colour

[shazzbaa]

I now work with a different printer, but when I worked with Ka-blam a few years ago, I did a bunch of black-and-white perfect-bound orders with them and I always had a good experience! But when I recommended them to a friend, they completely botched her order. They gave her store credit for the order later and admitted it was their fault, but it wasn't in time to reorder for a convention, and she couldn't just get a refund.

My advice if you go with Ka-blam is to order well in advance of when you need the books, get a single copy as a proof before you place your whole order to make sure it looks like you want (especially if you're working with colour, since colours being off is a complaint I hear a lot about ka-blam), and if you do place a big order, to send the staff a message to let them know if you have a deadline or something; they can be kinda slow but they've always worked to get me books by the point I said I needed them. Just be very communicative! Their prices are decent for a small-run printer.
I can recommend their perfect binding as being a good-looking book; saddle-stitched stuff I'm less sure of. Their promotional comics look great, but I've seen peers whose saddlestitched stuff from Ka-Blam looked like an office store job.

So, I'd say I had a good experience with Ka-blam, but your mileage may vary. It might be great! But it also might be easier and less risky to use a different service, now that there are more alternatives!