Digital BW, The Print

I have had books done by both Lulu and Apple, the Apple book looked  
much better but cost substantially more. It's OK for doing a few  
(Apple's) for an opening gift or to sell (especially the small books).
Mark

On Jan 5, 2006, at 7:49 PM, fjohn1963 wrote:

> Hello, I've been and am still under the impression that Lulu (and  
> Caf� Press for that matter) do not have an option to use that nice,  
> slightly glossy and heavier paper that one normally sees used in a  
> book or high-end periodical primarily dedicated to photography (or  
> other art reproduction). I've looked at Lulu's Help again and it  
> appears that there are still no options for this kind of printing.  
> (Not that they said there would be.) I'm not suggesting that it  
> makes them totally unusable for ANY kind of photography/art  
> oriented book, just that it seems they would be less than optimal,  
> which I can understand considering the per unit prices. A while  
> back I bought a Lulu book called "Streets of New York", by a (non)  
> photographer named "Nitsa". Though I've always admired Nitsa's work  
> (and philosophy) I must admit I bought the book primarily to check  
> out the quality of the printed photos. Unfortunately, I was kind of  
> disappointed. The photos have that low-DPI look, like printing a  
> photo using my HP LaserJet 4L. This is not to suggest that books  
> from Lulu are low quality. For what they cost, they are indeed very  
> nice books. If I were planning to self-publish a novel or my not-so- 
> steamy biography, I'd seriously consider Lulu without any concerns  
> about my book being poorly manufactured. But we're not talking  
> about novels or biographies or any other book whose pages are meant  
> to be read, we're talking about visual art.  Can someone please  
> convince me that I'm wrong about this? Is there a Lulu option that  
> provides for a better class of paper? Maybe something closer to  
> MyPublisher.com's output, or something like Aperture or Blind Spot  
> magazine? Am I just not interpreting their options correctly? BTW -  
> Here's a link to the books by "Nitsa" - http:// 
> www.nonphotography.com/books.html Thank you for any insight you  
> might provide. John F.
>
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>
>
>
> Please visit the Group Homepage to check the Files, and other  
> resources as they are often being updated.
>
> http://groups.yahoo.com/group/DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint
>
> If you wish to receive no emails or just a daily digest, or you  
> wish to unsubscribe, please edit your Membership preferences by  
> visiting this same page.
>
> Please follow these basic guidelines:
> - As threads develop, trim off excess portions of earlier messages  
> to keep them short.
> - Good manners are required at all time. No personal attacks or  
> flames. Hostile, aggressive or argumentative users may be removed  
> from the membership without notice.
> - Keep your posts and threads related to the group topic of digital  
> B&W printing. Users who persistently make off-topic posts may be  
> removed from the membership.
> - By posting on this forum you agree to abide by the group rules  
> and guidelines, and to abide by the actions and decisions of the  
> group Owner and Moderators. See �Group Topic, Rules and Guidelines�  
> in the Files section:
> http://groups.yahoo.com/group/DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint/files/
>
> BY PARTICIPATING IN AND/OR POSTING MESSAGES TO THE DIGITAL BW, THE  
> PRINT YAHOO! GROUP YOU EXPRESSLY UNDERSTAND AND AGREE THAT THE  
> �OWNER� AND �MODERATORS� OF DIGITAL BW, THE PRINT YAHOO GROUP SHALL  
> NOT BE LIABLE TO YOU FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL,  
> CONSEQUENTIAL OR EXEMPLARY DAMAGES, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO,  
> DAMAGES FOR LOSS OF PROFITS, GOODWILL, USE, DATA OR OTHER  
> INTANGIBLE LOSSES (EVEN IF THE  �OWNER� AND �MODERATORS� OF DIGITAL  
> BW, THE PRINT YAHOO GROUP HAVE BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF  
> SUCH DAMAGES), RESULTING FROM: (i) THE USE OR THE INABILITY TO USE  
> THE DIGITAL BW, THE PRINT YAHOO GROUP; (ii) UNAUTHORIZED ACCESS TO  
> OR ALTERATION OF YOUR TRANSMISSIONS OR DATA; (iii) STATEMENTS OR  
> CONDUCT OF ANY THIRD PARTY ON THE DIGITAL BW, THE PRINT YAHOO  
> GROUP; OR (iv) ANY OTHER MATTER RELATING TO THE DIGITAL BW, THE  
> PRINT YAHOO GROUP.
>
>
>
> YAHOO! GROUPS LINKS
>
>  Visit your group "DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint" on the web.
>
>  To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
>  DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
>
>  Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service.
>
>



[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

The paper surface and the printing resolution depend on whether you use the
$0.02/page B&W-only process or the $0.15/page color process. I am looking at
a book printed with the color process and the place where the image is
printed has a slight sheen. I wouldn't call it glossy, but it as good a
surface as I would expect to see in most photography books other than the
high-end coffee-table books. 

 

Don't get me wrong. The quality is not anywhere near what we are getting
with our inkjets. Nor is the color or tone likely to be as predictable or
repeatable. And they do not give you the icc profile to help you judge. But
you have to remember that being a member of this group is proof that you are
unreasonably and obsessively concerned with image quality.  ;-)

 

It is not much of an exaggeration to say that the reason you get bound books
for such a cheap single-copy price is that, with the Xerox iGen3 technology,
you plug a pdf file in one end and a bound book comes out the other end.
There are no CMYK printing plates involved. It's copier technology. 

 

I wish you could see one of their books. Many of you would probably say
"that's cool" and many others would say "want a bunch of junk." You might
try one of these books to check it out. (They are not mine.)

 

http://www.lulu.com/content/165741

http://www.lulu.com/content/110604

http://www.lulu.com/content/94263

 

Lulu.com offers a couple other services that might by if interest to you:

1.	Rather than print your book, lulu.com will just sell the pdf file.
You set the price and lulu.com will take 20%. Maybe it's time to create your
ebook of B&W printing techniques! ;-)
2.	You can sell images on lulu.com. Many people are selling 1500x2000
pixel images for $5. It sounds crazy, but who knows.

 

Steve

 

  _____  

From: DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com
[mailto:DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of fjohn1963
Sent: Thursday, January 05, 2006 4:50 PM
To: DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [Digital BW] Re: b&w micro publishing

 

.  Can someone please convince me that I'm wrong about this? Is there a Lulu
option that provides for a better class of paper? Maybe something closer to
MyPublisher.com's output, or something like Aperture or Blind Spot magazine?
Am I just not interpreting their options correctly? . John F.







[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

esharamaki / Steve

Thank you for your comments and insight.

Steve, I was about to pull the trigger on a copy of "JPG" magazine 
(from Lulu) yesterday afternoon. Your note has encouraged me to do so 
afterall. Looking forward to seeing how it's put together (oh, and the 
pictures of course).

Thanks again.

John F.