Just a random thought. I know print on demand isn't good enough yet, but if it ever gets to the quality level of normal collected editions, do you think comic book companies could allow us to build our own omniboo online and order it, tailored exactly to our likings?
Mmmmm.if that intrigues you, take that as my new year gift to you. ;)
[QUOTE=ohmshalone;818614]Just a random thought. I know print on demand isn't good enough yet, but if it ever gets to the quality level of normal collected editions, do you think comic book companies could allow us to build our own omniboo online and order it, tailored exactly to our likings?
Mmmmm.if that intrigues you, take that as my new year gift to you. ;)[/QUOTE]
I would say this will be the case in a couple of years. The main reasoning behind this opinion are a few economic mega-trends we've seen growing successfully in the last couple of years:
Personalization (coming along with Price differentation)
Digitization
Print on demand
I'm in no real mood to explain these too much but I believe it will ultimately lead to a editor strategy going like "all the content is available, it's easy to produce, let the customers decide what they want". Won't be cheap but it will be possible.
Happy new year!
I don't think they'd let you print your own omnibuses because the binding is a big factor there.
But I could see print your own trades definitely, since they're a simple glue binding.
But I don't think Marvel or DC would go for it because it'd reduce their profit margins, especially how Marvel prices things.
I guess I'm not entirely clear what the benefit is here. Typically, I'm buying collected editions for series/runs I've not yet read. In part, I rely on editorial discretion to assemble the necessary content (such as crossovers from other titles). While this isn't always easy for some epic "events," it's far more comprehensive than anything I would put together. Also, part of the appeal of these collected editions is the design work of the collection itself: new covers, title pages, "extras," et al, all of which would be unavailable to print-on-demand services. Besides, if your desire is to create your own comics miscellanies, it's easy enough to have your individual issues bound together. Being able to print back issues on-demand would, in this context, be far more valuable. If you don't care if your copy of [I]Saga[/I] #1 is a first printing, why should you pay for it like it is?
Hmm, true. The print-on-demand editions would lack a lot of cool features.
I thought of this last night while looking at my collection, thinking I'm lucky to have a few things that will probably never be printed again. Then the idea of print-on-demand hit me.
I think the biggest problem with print on demand will probably be the print quality. Some technology's get better fast, but some never quite reach their promise.
On a different note, before I started buying collections in print, I purchased a few in Comixology using an iPad 1st generation. It wasn't the screen that put me off so much as the price. I thought to myself, "If I'm gonna be paying that much for comics, I may as well own the physical copies."
Even though, after some consideration, I decided I still like the printed page, I decided maybe I should delve into a mixture of both digital and physical. The only problem is the reflective screen of tablets, which I'm led to believe (by Amazon in their Kindle ads) isn't good for the eyes. Are there any tablets out there with non-reflective screens (sort of like today's desktop monitors)? Something that we could use until (read: if) e-ink paper reaches a good-enough quality level?
It would be a dream come true for me IF we had enough customization options (sewn vs glued, oversized vs. regular, hardcover vs. paperback, dust jacket vs. printed book etc etc.).
I could finally created books with a design I like and 350-500 pages).
I would pay good money for this option
[QUOTE=ohmshalone;819878]Hmm, true. The print-on-demand editions would lack a lot of cool features.
I thought of this last night while looking at my collection, thinking I'm lucky to have a few things that will probably never be printed again. Then the idea of print-on-demand hit me.
I think the biggest problem with print on demand will probably be the print quality. Some technology's get better fast, but some never quite reach their promise.
On a different note, before I started buying collections in print, I purchased a few in Comixology using an iPad 1st generation. It wasn't the screen that put me off so much as the price. I thought to myself, "If I'm gonna be paying that much for comics, I may as well own the physical copies."
Even though, after some consideration, I decided I still like the printed page, I decided maybe I should delve into a mixture of both digital and physical. The only problem is the reflective screen of tablets, which I'm led to believe (by Amazon in their Kindle ads) isn't good for the eyes. Are there any tablets out there with non-reflective screens (sort of like today's desktop monitors)? Something that we could use until (read: if) e-ink paper reaches a good-enough quality level?[/QUOTE]
Ah! If the question is that of print editions you can have printed (but not customized) on order, I can absolutely see the benefit. If it would keep past editions of more obscure works from going "out of print", then I would be grateful. Those would also include the same editorial intervention and design bumps I already value in current collected volumes.
Another perhaps slightly more likely, but still doubtful, option is to make certain popular content available for individual purchase, which can then be assembled by a bookbinder. Oddly enough, this is a practice that was widely popular (the prevailing mode of purchase, actually) from the Early Modern print era. Texts, pamphlets, and other works were printed individually, sold in quires of 8-16 leaves, and gathered by their owners to be bound separately by a professional binder, not unlike those comics readers who bind their floppies in library-style covers. However, when the texts are printed [I]in order[/I] to be bound, you're less likely to have the substantial gutter loss you get when binding comics.
I think print on demand for single issues would be really cool if it was done somewhat affordable. If you could put together your own trade by picking through issues, that would be cool too. I'd think it would be possible to use like the record industry does with CDR print on demand, use it for marginal interest items.
If it was actually feasible I could think of the first omnibus I'd be gunning for...all Millie with the Archie type artwork :cool:
[IMG]http://img1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20101127034045/marveldatabase/images/1/13/Millie_the_Model_Vol_1_188.jpg[/IMG]
This is a good idea for fans who want series collected that weren't really popular.
It would be very, very expensive.
I could see this working for customizable books (though they'd be more expensive than if an identical book were ever just produced). With the caveat that the book must contain only books that are easily available digitally (either via Comixology or Unlimited or whatever). You could even stipulate the exact order you want the book in.
The problem that I see is with respect to on-demand reprints of normally-published books. Because if a company puts out 50,000 units of a new OHC for $60, and then agrees to make it available even when it's sold out everywhere for $70, then maybe they'll start putting out runs of 25,000. People who want it will still buy it, and for $10 more!
Though I would love a general print-on-demand service for this kind of thing. Pre-set prices for existing books (prices set entirely by TPB vs. HC vs. OHC etc.), and a slightly higher price for a customizable edition. Frankly, you could even do that for current ongoing series (custom early TPB of All-New X-Factor 10-15, shipping the day that issue 15 is released; given that many people think that trade-waiting hurts the industry, having a customizable collection shipped whenever might improve the weight trade-waiters have on whether a series continues to get made.
[QUOTE=Henrik K. Kristensen;819952]It would be a dream come true for me IF we had enough customization options (sewn vs glued, oversized vs. regular, hardcover vs. paperback, dust jacket vs. printed book etc etc.).
I could finally created books with a design I like and 350-500 pages).
I would pay good money for this option[/QUOTE]
How much would you be willing to pay?
I'd think it would be pretty expensive. Books are cheap because of volume making/selling which offsets the cost of printing and binding a book. Although I don't really know how much it costs to have a publishing company make a single book. It's not like dvd-on-demand which can burn movie and print a cover for it, less material and steps involved.