Book printing quotes (transparency)

[Zadmar]

Recently I saw a Kickstarter that showed a breakdown of where their money was going, and almost half of their initial funding was allocated to printing and shipping (and with a listed cost of £6 per backer for the international shipping of multiple books, I wouldn't be surprised if they find themselves out of pocket).

However I've seen other Kickstarters offer POD at-cost using sites like DTRPG. It's certainly more expensive than large print runs, but it also removes the financial risk of printing more than you can sell, and the overhead of fluctuating shipping prices. I do think it's a viable option for smaller projects, I know that if I were to create a Kickstarter I would personally rather minimise the risks, even if it meant lower profits.

If my maths is correct, the POD price of a 300-page colour hardback would be $13.50 (small) or $15.30 (large), while a 300-page black-and-white softcover would be $5.70 (small) or $7.60 (large) (based on the prices listed here). That doesn't include shipping, but DTRPG allows you to print in either the USA or the UK, so you don't end up with customers on one side of the pond paying through the nose for shipping.

 

[Morrus]

However I've seen other Kickstarters offer POD at-cost using sites like DTRPG. It's certainly more expensive than large print runs, but it also removes the financial risk of printing more than you can sell, and the overhead of fluctuating shipping prices. I do think it's a viable option for smaller projects, I know that if I were to create a Kickstarter I would personally rather minimise the risks, even if it meant lower profits.

That risk doesn't exist if you do it right. You don't have to order any books until after your Kickstarter. You make your decisions at that point, after you know how many units you need, not before. Heck, at that point you could even divide production if the maths works out (though it would be hard to beat those volume discounts on printing).

The main risk there would be fluctuating shipping prices, so you have to assume the worst and base your plan on that.

 

[Zadmar]

I guess I was thinking in terms of buying extra stock to get the mass-production discount for future sales, but if you're only offering the lower prices for the Kickstarter itself (and using regular POD after that) then I see your point. Presumably if you're handling all the shipping yourself, you'd still need to order some extra copies though, just in case a few deliveries were lost?

 

[Vicente]

Recently I saw a Kickstarter that showed a breakdown of where their money was going, and almost half of their initial funding was allocated to printing and shipping (and with a listed cost of £6 per backer for the international shipping of multiple books, I wouldn't be surprised if they find themselves out of pocket).

However I've seen other Kickstarters offer POD at-cost using sites like DTRPG. It's certainly more expensive than large print runs, but it also removes the financial risk of printing more than you can sell, and the overhead of fluctuating shipping prices. I do think it's a viable option for smaller projects, I know that if I were to create a Kickstarter I would personally rather minimise the risks, even if it meant lower profits.

If my maths is correct, the POD price of a 300-page colour hardback would be $13.50 (small) or $15.30 (large), while a 300-page black-and-white softcover would be $5.70 (small) or $7.60 (large) (based on the prices listed here). That doesn't include shipping, but DTRPG allows you to print in either the USA or the UK, so you don't end up with customers on one side of the pond paying through the nose for shipping.

One very important thing of using PoD is that your KS is only raising money for producing the book, not for shipping. Fred Hicks explains it wonderfully well on this post:

http://www.deadlyfredly.com/2013/10/breakdown-international-shipping/

Mandatory reading for anyone doing a KS I think. Regards!

 

[Mark Plemmons]

Morrus,

I'd suggest getting a quote from QuadGraphics. I used them for Corporia (208-page full color hardcover) and as I recall the printing costs were less than $12/unit starting at 500 units. That's on their digital, not offset, press. Of course, I had a smaller book size (6.625 x 10.125 trim).

EDIT: And what do your quotes define as prepress? Does that include layout work and typesetting? Mine did not.

SECOND EDIT: My quote is US-based, of course. It may be different for QG UK.