I was thrilled to receive them, of course, and launched Heterochromia's comic website with their arrival. There and on my deviantArt page, I wrote longish journals about my decision to put the comic online as well as in print. I didn't post anything about that here. Why? Simply because I didn't want to have to write another entry, to be honest. Here is what has been posted at Smackjeeves since I received the printed copies (August 26th):
"To celebrate the arrival of the first prints of the first chapter of Heterochromia, I've decided to also launch Heterochromia on Smackjeeves.
I realize it may not make immediate sense to try to sell in print what I offer for free online. Obviously, most people who read Heterochromia won't be paying for it. Luckily, profit isn't really my aim in selling copies. The price at which I'm selling the currently-printed copies will basically just cover the cost of printing and shipping, never mind all the money I spend on paper and other supplies. Instead, I'm selling copies to get the word out about my comic. I am very excited to finally be creating the story I've been working on (off and on) for over two years. I want as many people to enjoy it as possible, whether it earns me money or not.
That's not to say there aren't benefits to buying a copy rather than reading it online (or doing both!) ~_^ I will only be uploading one--maybe two--pages a week, whereas one can read the first chapter straight through in print. Further chapters will be printed as I finish them, rather than waiting for the online version to catch up (although obviously I would probably increase the number of updates per week if I were to get that far ahead). Not to mention the other arguments for print vs. online reading (eye strain, portability, online ad annoyance, etc).
Unless you can spot me in real life (Kumoricon, perhaps?) you can buy a copy online at Indy Comics:
http://www.indyplanet.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=2607"
Why post that now?
Well, I just wanted to reflect on my printing choices.
For this batch, I went to the printer which had the best balance between short turn-around time (I realized that I could possibly print copies in time for Kumoricon with about a month and a half left, without all the pages done and with many ultimately requiring reworking) and low budget. Since Ka-Blam has no setup cost and about a 28-day turn-around, it was the best option at the time. I didn't have time to receive a proof copy, so I had to hope whatever they sent back was good.
I am very happy with what I got back, too. My only complaint is that the print is a bit darker than the screen version. A home print-out of my comic comes closer to what appears on screen than the professional prints; this is not unusual, but I do wish there were some way I could avoid it. At this point, for the two to match very well, I would have to do a sort of manual, guess-and-pray process of lightening each page. Which is a pain.
For the future, I am considering trying other printers. Currently in mind is ComiXpress, since I would be able to keep the size the same (apparently, 5" x 7.5" printing is unusual?). Since I save all my pages at higher resolution than most print companies will take, I have a bit of flexibility on size, as long as it is more or less proportional (I could go to Lulu and do 6" x 9" if I get desperate). I will probably have more options once I get more chapters done (I could go to book printers, which do higher page counts, instead of just specialty comic printers).
Does anyone have any suggestions, particularly about printers you've used yourself? Feedback would be appreciated.
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