Lulu thread at RPGNet . . .

[Morrus]

Holy #$%@! I can't sell them at $20 a copy. I doubt someone would spend $60. Maybe it was another company I talked to. I'll have to check my business card pile when I get home.

It's the colour interior that does it. I just priced an 800-page hardback with a b/w interior, and it came to $33.

 

[Mark Plemmons]

We also have a print on demand storefront at LULU with these products.

 

[Kafkonia]

We also have a print on demand storefront at LULU with these products.

If I was confident in their ability to get me my products, I'd have ordered something from you by now. But this is the story of why I'm wary:

I put together issue 2 of my (non-gaming) zine through Lulu and ordered 10 contributors' copies to distribute to my authors. I thought there might be a bit of a delay, as I live in Canada, but a couple of months later I checked with Lulu and they said that they'd shipped my package, but it had been returned undeliverable. Strange... They graciously sent me a replacement order. And I waited.

And waited.

UPS tried to deliver my package, but had somehow lost my ring number. So I called them that evening, gave them my ring number, and stayed home the next day to make sure I could be there to pick it up. And I waited... and I waited... that evening, I called them again and they said there'd been no response -- which could only be true if they'd been calling the wrong number, because I didn't leave my apartment at all. (Note that UPS was unable to locate my package using their own tracking number, and had to do a search for me by name and address every time I called.)

The next day, I called and was told that I had to go and pick it up myself. Now, I don't own a car, so I rely on public transportation. There is no public transportation to the UPS warehouse where I had to pick up the package (rather than one of the many UPS stores that dot the city and downtown core.) I bussed as far as I could, then took a cab the rest of the way there (and back home), which added about 15-20 dollars to the cost.

It's certainly not Lulu's fault -- indeed, they were highly professional and very accomodating, and I quite appreciated the fact that they sent me a replacement shipment free of charge. But it is something to bear in mind for those of us who shop outside of the US.

 

[Fifth Element]

I posted this photo (showing a book printed by Lulu) at RPGNet. I figured someone here might like a look at it.

The most important thing to know is that perfect-bound books printed by Lulu are almost identical to the books you buy in a store. The print quality is excellent and so far I've been very happy with the binding. (My oldest Lulu book is over two years old and still holding together without and signs of damage.)

Dig the STUN. Cobraaaaa!

 

[Bardsandsages]

I have one question about Lulu. Someone pointed out it was an inexpensive place to get your PDFs printed. For example, if I buy one of the TSR PDFs I could send it to Lulu to get it printed (presumbably using the private link option). Lulu seems to only reference printing PDFs that are your own. Will they do this?

I know I can use Print(fu), but there aren't any real publishing options there (B&W PDF with binding based on the size of the item being printed).

Lulu is not a copy service. You cannot print books that you do not own the copyright for. Do some get through anyway? Yes, I am sure. But Lulu does agressively protect copyrights, and its user agreement specifically prohibits this.

 

[Bardsandsages]

I'm a supporter of the PDF market, but I'd really like to see bundles of successful products be turned into softcover and hardcover compliations. Computers crash, hard drives die hideous deaths and writeable CDs eventually become so much useless plastic, but a hardcover book is forever.

I actually did bundle a bunch of our smaller products for a customer who specifically requested it. It's actually sold pretty well with almost no promotion, so I've left it up and available.

http://www.lulu.com/content/490105

If you have a straightforward product that doesn't require a lot of adds (like fold-outs and such), Lulu is a good choice as there is no initial overhead. You can make print products available to your customers at no cost to yourself. And if you want two or three print copies to take to a con or use as prizes you can get them with no minimum order.

I don't recommend Lulu for large inventory needs, however, as you can probably get better pricing from a local printer.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

AND the Koboldnomicon is available to everyone in hardcover via Lulu! The subtleties of the cover background really came out a lot better in that format than in the softcover.

 

[JVisgaitis]

Dig the STUN. Cobraaaaa!

That's what it was called! It was driving me nuts. Thank you!

 

[GMSkarka]

Adamant Entertainment has a Lulu storefront as well -- Click here to visit.

Not much there right now, but more will be coming.

 

[JVisgaitis]

It's the colour interior that does it. I just priced an 800-page hardback with a b/w interior, and it came to $33.

Yeah, I know. I just can't possibly have us drop down to b&w though. I'm sifting through business cards now. If I find it, I'll let everyone know.