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EnVoy · Jan 14, 2008, 01:41 PM

I want to design and get printed a 4 color, perfect bound book on nice satin 80lb paper, approx 100pages or so, and I want 1 of them. Places like LuLu and Blurb seem to force you to use their own pre-designed templates, which I dont want to do.

Any know of an online digital printer that can do this?

KeriVit · Jan 14, 2008, 02:36 PM

Why do it online? Just go to a local print shop with a digital printer. (Some models have a perfect binder on the finishing end) They are more likely to let you get one printed.

EnVoy · Jan 14, 2008, 05:08 PM

yeah I'll look into that..

andi*pandi · Jan 14, 2008, 05:29 PM

Self Publishing, Independent Publishing and print on demand (pm mastrap for nn discount)

iranfromthezoo · Jan 14, 2008, 05:42 PM

also I`ved used PSprint.com they work really well.

Veltliner · Jan 14, 2008, 11:46 PM

Does the book contain images?

Graphics, or even photos.

If it's only one, buy good paper, print it out on a Laser Printer, find a shop for binding.

If you want great quality, you need to go to a face-to-face shop. If you want it cheap, go on the internet.

Define your budget. If high quality matters, than you want to see a hard copy before binding.

What kind of paper. 80lb doesn't say much. There is ordinary office paper with that weight.

You could find out where to buy real book paper (they may even sell you small quantities).

EnVoy · Jan 15, 2008, 09:48 AM

Its all photos, and a few lines of text. This place, Viovio sems to fit the bill, and comes recommended by photographers I talk to, Also there is Blurb but you have less control...

Darren K · Jan 16, 2008, 01:27 AM

A couple more options:

DigiLabs

MyPublisher

scottiB · Jan 19, 2008, 07:34 PM

Originally Posted by Veltliner

What kind of paper. 80lb doesn't say much. There is ordinary office paper with that weight.

80# text is roughly equal to 32# bond. While there are office sheets that weight, it's pretty luxurious for most offices. Our design group uses 32# Finch color copier for in-house client reviews and such, but what's in the copiers and laser printers elsewhere is 60# text (20# bond) for PowerPoints, emails, etc.. I'm not saying you don't know this, just to give more info to the OP or others...

For the OP - more info in case you need it. The thickest paper most digital presses (iGEN, Indigo, NexPress) can handle is 100-105# cover (depending on the paper) at 12 x 18 or 13 x 19. This isn't absolute - I've had printers run test sheets for me for heavy weight or a funky sheet (Curious or Reich papers). This is a benefit of using a brink and mortar printer.

As for paper, see if there's an Xpedx or a Ris Paper in your area to look at paper--or a printer will have sample books.

Finally, if it's worth printing one, it's worth printing more than one. The main cost in printing (while less so with digital) is turning on the machine. Two or three or ten copies would be minimal cost now, rather than reprinting one more at a later time.

If you do go online, spend the extra bucks and get a hard proof, not PDFs.

Veltliner · Jan 22, 2008, 11:05 AM

Originally Posted by scottiB

Finally, if it's worth printing one, it's worth printing more than one.

To the OP:

Why don't you get high quality print-outs, and then have a binder bind them? A pro inkjet machine will very likely have a higher image quality than a mass producing CMYK press (I found out while researching for myself, that without proper hard proofs and a good printer, it's useless to use a high volume CMYK printer: much too expensive for lower quantities. High quantities is where commercial printing has its strengths. That's often circumvented by gang printing, where different jobs run through one machine with the same/similar settings ganged together. That's not what you want if you care for quality).

misterdna · Jan 22, 2008, 01:04 PM

Originally Posted by Veltliner

To the OP:

Why don't you get high quality print-outs, and then have a binder bind them? A pro inkjet machine will very likely have a higher image quality than a mass producing CMYK press (I found out while researching for myself, that without proper hard proofs and a good printer, it's useless to use a high volume CMYK printer: much too expensive for lower quantities. High quantities is where commercial printing has its strengths. That's often circumvented by gang printing, where different jobs run through one machine with the same/similar settings ganged together. That's not what you want if you care for quality).

The problems I see with inkjets are:
1) Probably not be as durable as you want, with people handling the book. A single drop of water will usually ruin an inkjet print.
2) Typically the high-end inkjet paper (necessary for the high quality prints) is one-sided, so if you want two-sided pages, you may be out of luck unless you can find specialty two-sided paper.

While a color laser printer will not have the same quality as a really good inkjet print, the prints are durable and two-sided printing is not an issue, and many laser printers can print on just about any paper you like. So what I'm saying is you might want to find a local shop with a decent color laser printer and see what they can do for you.

In my opinion, digital presses and color laser printers produce about the same looking finished product, but digital presses are made for higher volume. And I think most online low-volume book printers (such as Apple with their iBook) probably use digital presses or color laser printers. FYI, standard offset presses (used for higher volume printing) tend to produce better looking images than digital presses or color laser printers.

As for bindery, there are a lot of "how to" tutorials on binding your own books.

Of course, also check out the website people recommended above, they may be your best bet. My post is more on the "do it yourself" track, and responding to the inkjet suggestion.

Mastrap · Jan 22, 2008, 02:31 PM

Hi

I am one of the owners of Spire Publishing (Self Publishing, Independent Publishing and print on demand). If what we have to offer is of interest to you let me know, we offer a substantial discount to macnn members.

misterdna · Jan 22, 2008, 06:44 PM

Your company would produce one book? That's what this thread is about, and I didn't see anything close to that on your website.

Originally Posted by Mastrap

Hi

I am one of the owners of Spire Publishing (Self Publishing, Independent Publishing and print on demand). If what we have to offer is of interest to you let me know, we offer a substantial discount to macnn members.