"Printing Recommendations" Topic

I am working on a project that I will be self publishing and I am looking for some ideas on print houses for a small 50 copy run of a 80ish page rulebook. I want full color but I think it might be out of my price range. I'm thinking booklet style.

Any help can be appreciated.

Thanks

<q50 copy run of a 80ish page rulebook.

I don't know about in the US, but in the UK, no printer would touch a print run as short as that.

Nonsense!

In the UK and the US there are plenty of short run print houses that specialize in print runs under 100 copies. The digital revolution has been here for a while.

I am a huge fan of 360 Digital. They print all my books (and the books of another rule publisher I know). Frequently my runs are 25 copies.

Contact Kim Warner at Kim@wbusa.com

She can give you a pretty quick turan around on a quote.

bookprintinguk.com

50 copies of 80 pages, A5, coil bound, cheapest paper options.

£117.00 GBPish – £2.34 GBP each

A4 – £2.92 GBP each – Approx £145.00 GBP

Then add VAT and shipping – still not a bad price.

The problem I have found is that the cheaper printers tend to use very cheap paper that is semi-transparent. If you go this route then take some extra time and expense and see samples of various papers first.

The plastic coils are not always very attractive either – pity they don't offer wire coils.

In the UK and the US there are plenty of short run print houses that specialize in print runs under 100 copies.

Well, thank you, that's news to me. When I tried to get a booklet printed in a short run a few years ago, the smallest print run I could find that was economical was 1000 copies.

You can get spiral binding machines that punch and put in a wire spiral for $100 USD – $150. USD

Wolfhag

I've spent forty years in the printing industry, and times have indeed changed. Digital has come a long way. Hell, I'm hard pressed (ha! A pun!) nowadays to tell if something has been run ink or toner. If you know what to look for, you can still tell though.

The problem I have found is that the cheaper printers tend to use very cheap paper that is semi-transparent.

Look around then. The paper we use on our digital presses is the same as on our offset machines.

In the UK and the US there are plenty of short run print houses that specialize in print runs under 100 copies.

Absolutely. We just did a short run of forty books Friday for an insurance company. Embossed, foil stamped, full colour, perfect bound.

The plastic coils are not always very attractive either – pity they don't offer wire coils.

We do both. Wire a little more expensive as well as perfect bound, sewn, or stitched. Hard cover and soft cover.

Hunt around. You can find something within your budget with the modern technologies available today.

Also, if you can't afford color on every page, you can pay for color on some pages and just B&W on others. Just depends on your printer, how they are set up, etc. Mine will let you mix color with B&W so you can really build to your budget.

Hi Tyrela,

I can recommend Sir Speedy. I use them for my rules and scenario book, which is all color, spiral bound, 184 pages. When I get new orders I print another short run of 50 books, which is the scale you're talking about.

The color printing, paper and spiral binding are high quality (people always comment on how good the book looks). I use a Sir Speedy in Northern Virginia, so your mileage may vary with a different Sir Speedy in New Hampshire. But I doubt it, since it's really an issue of technology, which should be standardized at all locations.

And if all color is too expensive, Sir Crispy's recommendation to use color on only some pages is the way to go.

Roy

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