$3.99 for floppies on fancy paper, or $1.99 for floppies on newsprint?

[Trey Strain]

I've read most of the thread. And I work in printing/publishing so I know the cost. And I and along with others have addressed why comparing Alterna (a single person running pretty much everything, low print volume publisher, with no page rates) to DC/Marvel (huge companies, high volume contracts, page rates to creators) is not comparable. Their costs vast differently due to volume. Marvel and DC's production costs are in the millions while Alterna is probably a few thousand.

I get it, Trey. You want comics to sell more. Most of us do since we love reading/creating them. But ignoring facts/experience of others will not make anything better.

Your cost for producing one unit doesn't go up as your company gets bigger. It goes down. A larger company that's producing more units of a product enjoys economies of scale that a small company doesn't.

The more units you produce, the lower your cost per unit. If it were the other way around, then companies would try to get smaller instead of bigger.

How much would it cost you and some employees to produce a car? Do you think you would have a cost advantage over Toyota there?

[MajorHoy]

The publisher of Alterna Comics said that switching to newsprint lowered his TOTAL PRODUCTION COSTS by two-thirds! Alterna is charging only $1.50 for its color floppies, and 99 cents for some B&W floppies.

It's not just that newsprint is cheaper. It's also that 50-pound paper requires more-expensive ink.

These points were covered earlier in this thread, but I realize that reading through the whole thing might be a chore.

By the way, how many paper copies of Alterna's comic books printed on newsprint do you regularly purchase?

As I stated a few posts back,

By the way, have people actually seen the actual, physical comic books that Alterna Comics produces? I looked a couple over at a Barnes& Noble recently, and was less than impressed. We're not talking top/known names for stories and art work, and one issue had printing quality that made me think more in terms of what Charlton Comics grinded out back in the 1970s with printing/coloring/lettering.

I don't know how much I'd want to see DC switch what titles I buy these days to something like that.

[The Darknight Detective]

The publisher of Alterna Comics said that switching to newsprint lowered his TOTAL PRODUCTION COSTS by two-thirds! Alterna is charging only $1.50 for its color floppies, and 99 cents for some B&W floppies.

It's not just that newsprint is cheaper. It's also that 50-pound paper requires more-expensive ink.

These points were covered earlier in this thread, but I realize that reading through the whole thing might be a chore.

If DC were paying their creators per copy what Alterna is, it might work. But DC doesn't, so we're debating something that isn't attainable.

[cranger]

The only way this works is if it can get comics back on newsstands and preferably in high enough circulation to actually sell ads again.

[Brandon Hanvey]

Your cost for producing one unit doesn't go up as your company gets bigger. It goes down. A larger company that's producing more units of a product enjoys economies of scale that a small company doesn't.

The more units you produce, the lower your cost per unit. If it were the other way around, then companies would try to get smaller instead of bigger.

That was part of my point. DC and Marvel print comics on such high volumes that their cost-per-unit is already pretty low. Switching paper and ink will could only lower them a little more.
But even though their unit price is low they are still producing a lot of comics on a yearly basis which add up to a total costs in the millions.

[CaptCleghorn]

The publisher of Alterna Comics said that switching to newsprint lowered his TOTAL PRODUCTION COSTS by two-thirds! Alterna is charging only $1.50 for its color floppies, and 99 cents for some B&W floppies.

It's not just that newsprint is cheaper. It's also that 50-pound paper requires more-expensive ink.

These points were covered earlier in this thread, but I realize that reading through the whole thing might be a chore.

I'm going to try this one more time. I doubt Trey is going to read this as he hasn't seemed to have read any of the other plethora of "this can't happen" posts so far. But hey, it's worth a shot.

1) Alterna-boy say "HIS production costs" were lowered by two thirds. Even assuming he's telling the truth, we need to look at his smaller setup where finding and implementing newsprint publication is possible. It's easier to switch over a small shop than a major company. DC and Marvel would need to totally revamp and rearrange their printing systems. Economies of scale is a valid economic quality, but in setting up a new system, it works differently.
2) You have no idea what production costs are nor what Alterna-boy is referring to when he uses that phrase. They don't pay their creators. Marvel and DC do. That's a huge piece of expense right there. The books don't magically appear at local Toys'R'Usses. Shipping books costs money as well
3) You're ignoring the distribution chain Marvel and DC have as well. Diamond and LCSs get their cuts of $2.99 or $3.99.

[CaptCleghorn]

The only way this works is if it can get comics back on newsstands and preferably in high enough circulation to actually sell ads again.

The lower cost of comics is a reason they are no longer on most newsstands. A copy of Time or TV Guide sells weekly and for the same shelf space delivers 4 or 5 times the profit of a monthly comic book. I've met store owners who even as far back as the early seventies wouldn't carry anything except giant sized comics as 32 pagers weren't worth the money. Newsweek no longer prints paper copies. It's a different world out there.

[Brandon Hanvey]

The only way this works is if it can get comics back on newsstands and preferably in high enough circulation to actually sell ads again.

Newstands have their own "problems" due to returnable sales and their not being as many as their used to be. Ads are tricky as well due print ad revenue dropping and DC/Marvel not having large enough total circulation to get a high asking price. They tend to group all their monthly issues when they quote their ad rates.

[Carabas]

By the way, how many paper copies of Alterna's comic books printed on newsprint do you regularly purchase?

As I stated a few posts back,I don't know how much I'd want to see DC switch what titles I buy these days to something like that.

I had been wondering what those books actually looked like.
I can't think of a place I could go to to look at one over here.

[Brandon Hanvey]

I had been wondering what those books actually looked like.
I can't think of a place I could go to to look at one over here.

Here is a listing of retailers that carry Alterna comics.

https://www.alternacomics.com/retailers

[Carabas]

Here is a listing of retailers that carry Alterna comics.

https://www.alternacomics.com/retailers

That's none in my country.

[numberthirty]

Related: Toys R Us has closed roughly ten percent of it's United States stores as a part of it's current bankruptcy.

[Somecrazyaussie]

As much as I would love a return to newsprint, I realize that it wouldn't be feasible for most publishers in today's market. If the printers still existed, it would. But most print companies dismantled them years ago. Plus most newsprint paper is bought up by the newspapers. So it is harder to produce and get a hold of.

The reason we have the high quality paper for comics is because of the advancements in the colouring process. Plus it has a longer life than newsprint. Newsprint ages and turns off-white/cream. Becoming acidic.

We need to look at other means to lower costs and boost circulation. Comics definitely need to be put back on newsstands. Put them where people can see them and they'll pick them up. Publishers also need to reconsider having advertising to offset printing costs. Just have different tiers like tv networks do for their shows. You can't tell me comic stores wouldn't be open to having their stores listed in a Batman comic? You also have toy companies and video game studios. It is endless.

[MajorHoy]

. . . Publishers also need to reconsider having advertising to offset printing costs. Just have different tiers like tv networks do for their shows. You can't tell me comic stores wouldn't be open to having their stores listed in a Batman comic? You also have toy companies and video game studios. It is endless.

Really? You think non-chain comic book stores want to pay the advertising cost so their advertisement can be seen in places that may not be anywhere near their location(s)? And what would those costs be to those stores?
(By the way we do see ads sometimes for comic book shops in the comic books, but they tend to be the larger operations that may be known more for things like mail order services, etc.)

[numberthirty]

As much as I would love a return to newsprint, I realize that it wouldn't be feasible for most publishers in today's market. If the printers still existed, it would. But most print companies dismantled them years ago. Plus most newsprint paper is bought up by the newspapers. So it is harder to produce and get a hold of.

In addition to what you mentioned here...

Once you are putting the "Regular Usage" wear on what is essentially dead technology, how are you going to maintain those machines without a market for spare parts/replacement parts that being a technology that is in use creates?