For those comic artists out there familiar with print on demand services, what are the best ones ( in terms of paper quality and cost). Any advice would be much appreciated.
Aug '14
Oct '15
There's Ka-blam which does pretty standard POD service. The artist of ReMind did a nice blog on printing services which you can read here180. It's a little old (since comixpress has shut down a while ago) but most of it is relevant.
I use Comic Wellspring320. I like their quality over Ka-blam and their prices are lower than Ka-Blam too. I don't like how I can see the next page's artwork through the front facing page. Comic Wellspring's interior page stock is thick enough that you don't get that. My 88 page graphic novel, black and white interior pages on 60# bright white stock, colored front and back covers on 80# glossy cover stock, cost about $3.99 per book. A 28 page standard size comic, b/w interior pages, colored covers, cost about 1.87 per book. There's a discounted price if you put a Comic Wellspring ad in your book, like Ka-Blam, but I don't do that. 25 is the minimum order for a book, fast turn around time (within a week and half I receive my books), and I've never had any costumer service issues. Great guys and company.
Here's a link to their price page so you can compare Link66.
Have you looked into CreateSpace? It's a subsidiary of Amazon.
https://www.createspace.com/111
I believe their print on demand is cheaper than Ka-Blam but I can't speak for the quality.
I use RA Comics Direct. They're cheap and fast, and they have different options for paper if you want something a little nicer. They also offer the option of a proof so you can check everything before the whole order goes to print. They do require a 25 book minimum, but it's a good size for an order as far as print on demand goes.
I recently used Litho Ninja for printing my first book for a convention a few months ago. I was really impressed with their customer service and the quality of the print. I'm not going to say they're super cheap (they're not) but they're just about as expensive as other comic-specific printing companies out there. I got an amazing first print without any ads (which, if I remember correctly, Ka-Blam puts ads in your book if you want a reduced cost) and they were able to deliver on a REALLY tight deadline with no extra charge.
Lately I've been using GrekoPrinting.com. They've been better than Ka-Blam, who I've also used. Much more responsive customer service, good quality books, and a fast turn around, especially compared to Ka-Blam, who are very slow, especially during convention season. My 20 page books have been $2.30, full color. btw these are the same guys as someone else mentioned above as Comic Wellspring. I'm sending my graphic novel over there this week, 128pg full color for under $10.
I'm glad someone has positive reviews on Greko! I was looking at them too, and I might order a quick proof to see if I like them better... I've been using Ka-Blam recently and I haven't had the problem of being able to see through pages. Their color printing is top notch too, especially considering that they actually prefer to print RGB files and the colors actually come out with the right intensity. I haven't started selling on their associated POD site, Indyplanet, but I'm happy enough with Ka-Blam's service that I might start doing so soon. Hmmm... so many good options..
Does anyone know of a print on demand company that's cool with international shipping? I have yet to find a POD in Chile that I like :/
Greko uses a heavier, stiffer cover stock then Ka-Blam, abd the covers are much glossier. I find the Ka-Blam interior pages to be of similar stock, but the Ka-Blam colors are a bit more vibrant. From my small sample size of people who have seen the same exact book from both printers at my tables, that bright cover beats Ka-Blam.
Greko has a much faster turn around on the books (two weeks vs five or six for Ka-Blam) and I've found the Greko staff much friendlier and more helpful.
Hey, thanks for the link. Early on when my brother and I started working on our comic we looked at PoD places, Ka-blam seemed to be the best option, but we weren't really pleased with the quality, so we ended up printing 1,500 copies at Print Ninja. Comix Well Spring might be an option for the future.
Hey guys, I thought I'd revive this thread in case anyone wants my review of Greko Printing so far. I'm doing tiny, tiny runs of my comics for an indie comics expo and just got back a proof of a one-shot comic15 of mine (excuse the piss-poor photography):
I'm really pleased with the proof! This is my first rodeo so I was worried about encountering some of the POD horror stories I've heard, but Greko's been great. I sent them my files and payment on December 22nd and they had the proof copy delivered on January 2nd, so it was a pretty snappy turnaround even during the holidays. We'll see how long it takes for all of the comics to get in.
I will say that the standard gloss covers are very, very shiny. You can see a bit of that in the photo of the cover, but when in direct light it reflects a ton. It isn't something that bothers me, but I thought I'd let others know in case that is a potential issue for their own runs.
Cheers and happy printing!
I love Greko/Comic Wellspring printing. Those guys are awesome. I use them for all my comic printing. I like how on the covers the black ink is slightly raised. Gives a good texture to the cover. And how the interior pages are thick enough that it doesn't translucently show the next page through the current page.
I've only ever had the greatest experience with this company, and the prices are cheaper than most other printers.
I'm not sure if they'd be classified as POD, but we used Print Ninja21 for the Outcasts of Jupiter physical books we sent to Kickstarter backers. They do offset printing for orders above 500, I think... might be 1,000.
They've got great customer service, lots of paper options and are pretty accommodating. They were also a lot cheaper than the other offset printing options we looked at, though they do ship from China, which may not be in your budget.
We wanted to avoid digital, and were really pleased with the quality of the prints we got back. Our backers loved the look of the book too.
-- Shobo
EDIT: I see my brother, Shof already replied to this thread 
Oh well, now we've got pictures!
I use createspace for my comics. And I have to say, I have been really impressed with both the quality and their customer service. ^.^ The books have a really good weight to them, and the glossy covers are really nice.
I was wondering, does anyone have any experience printing through DriveThruComics33?
Has anyone used createspace? Their prices seem pretty good, and it should be reliable as its amazon's service.
EDIT: Just read @paigelavoie so yeah seems like createspace is good.
Do you print in color or Black and White?
Looks very useful 
