Print is dead! long live print!

[elixiadragmire]

So print is dead? Yes? Er ... maybe not THAT dead.

So I've been doing my webcomic for over a year now and made a little money off it. Not a lot but a little. It's very hard to sell anything online without overdoing it and even then your likely to turn people away.

So I geared up for a comic con, long life aspiration to get a table at one, I was told not to expect to sell a lot and take a limited supply, I actually took double just incase .... I almost sold my entire stock.

People WANT a print copy, one 2 or 3 turned away when knew it was online. More even KNEW it from online and wanted a physical copy! I made more money in 2 days, even double, than I did online.

So print is dead and we shouldnt be creating work that's print ready? Awhell no! The comic con circuit has a lot of money in it, its a ready made market where people WANT TO BUY! That said, I'm getting excited to prepare for more cons in future! The people there are amazing!

[Marvin]

Yeah, it's my ultimate goal. I SO want a physical copy of my comic ! If you ever get to sell them online, please tell me, I'd love to hear about it

[nobody]

That's uplifting to hear! And awesome that you almost sold out! I'm one of those people who prefer print too, there's something about that feeling of holding a comic in your hands ^_^ And I too have bought comics (even quite expensive ones) that I had already read online. If I like what I see, I want a physical copy

I hope to be able to sell prints of my own comic one day.

[mg78]

i can say the same, because in another forum someone was telling the same story! (even here in italy where the situation s quite "unique")

[getsuart]

Yup, people in conventions don't want a website address, they want the book itself, the thing you create, to touch and read it.
That's also why it is important to go to convention ; like this, you will see new faces and another universe to discover
I love buying printed versions of webcomics too, it's quite a treasure.

[Kura]

I actually get a lot of requests to print out my comic, even when I tell them I can't afford it or really have no plans at this moment for printing they continue to persist on me making a print version and throwing kickstarter links in my face.

[johndanims]

The market on Kickstarter proves that there's still a demand for printed books, even ones that are available for free already online. I've personally backed a few and will continue to do so.

Glad to hear you had so much success at the con, the people that bought from you will probably also continue to follow you online and bring repeat business to you too. Did what you sold cover the cost (plus more) of showing there too?

[elixiadragmire]

If you ever get to sell them online, please tell me, I'd love to hear about it

I am selling them online at the mo, not sold many, you could count the sell figures on one hand! People dont tend to want to buy online, not really, I've had a fair share say they would buy but not a lot actually do (shipping costs I think is the primary reason). It would appear that cons are the biggest turnover, phyical presence = phyical sales.

Plus the energy of the con was AMAZING!!! OMG it was awesome!!!!

[Vikiro_Hop]

That's awesome to hear! I'm a big fan of buying prints when I can and comics are the only thing I really collect. I definitely hope to come out with a graphic novel or something that could be printed some day. Congrats on your success at the con!

[dracoplato]

Woooo~! Love to hear people at cons buying print~! I always figure make the specs for print and that way you don't have to worry about whether you want to print it or not down the road, you're prepared either way

[mattcleaver]

Print is certainly not dead. I myself much prefer hard copies of things. You just can't go past the personal, completely accessable and easy to deal with material version of a comic, especially a long one.

I love flipping through pages, looking at multiple pages at the same time, and really getting the full detail of artwork. It's hard to do that on the internets.

[AnnaLandin]

This is my experience too!

People want physical things! People WANT a copy to put on their shelf! And it is a lovely thing to be selling stuff at a con and have people come up to your table specifically to tell you they love your work. <3

[Waterdrain]

Wow! that's pretty incredible that you got that much sold in a matter of days! 0o0
I hope print doesn't die out! D8 As much as I like reading webcomics on my laptop, I do like to have physical copy's because it's nice to see pages side by side from each other. Yeah, I don't think print will die out anytime soon.

[L4213]

print will never die down, the internet maybe with us almost 24/7 now but having a physical, tangible copy is just a way big different experience than a digital copy~

i sell my comics in print at cons, and even though you can read almost all of my stuff online for free, people still buy a physical version~

and besides, you can't beat that fresh paper smell @u@