New Book on CD-ROM

[j.e.simmons]

I don't have a problem with the pdf format. I have a lot of music software and the manuals are all pdf format now.

Perhaps, Bruce, you might look at one of the printing outfits like lulu.com. I know some folks have been unhappy with them for printing photo books, but they might be perfectly acceptable for a technical book.
juan

[paul stimac]

Bruce,

Perhaps you should offer it for $25 on a CD or $40 for a printed book and let your customers decide how they want to purchase it. Either way, it will be $$ well spent.

John

You can put the printed version up on Blurb.com and increase the price by whatever blurb charges. This will cost you nothing except a little time to rebuild the book with Blurbs software. This can be a very easy process if it's already in pdf format.

There are other "one book at a time" print services like Blurb. I like blurb because they are cheap and the quality is pretty good as long as you have all your images in srgb before bringing them into the book. Blurb will post your book online and handles all your sales and shipping.

[Jay Wolfe]

I fail to understand why people cannot understand that they can print the entire book themselves unless they don't know how to use a printer! Seems to me it's a good medium for this sort of work.

[Mark Stahlke]

I love the irony of a "Guide to Traditional Photography" that's only available in digital format. Delicious.

[A.C.]

I'd like to offer support for your efforts - and I've ordered it as a gift.
Let me know when to expect it.
Cheers,

A.C.

[Tim Hyde]

I suggest that people who refuse to buy books and manuals in electronic format are going to find their hozizons narrowed in years to come. For crying out loud! It's even easier than Jay suggests: take the damned thing down to the corner PIP or Quick Print or Mail Box and have them print it.

This is very good value for 25 bucks, by the way. It includes a lot of information.

[Bruce Barlow]

I'd like to offer support for your efforts - and I've ordered it as a gift.
Let me know when to expect it.
Cheers,

A.C.

Thank you, AC. I got waylaid by having Richard Ritter repair my 4x5 today (traded him for brownies and some other goodies), so it will get air-mailed tomorrow. How long does it take to cross the Big Pond? Don't know.

To the rest: for the cost of paper and a little ink, print it yourself, or better yet, only parts of it. Yes, save your eyes and back from screens and awful chairs (I'm sitting in one right now), but maybe save a tree, too! It's formatted to be easy to read on standard paper (big margins), and printed two-sided (mirror margins).

Lulu.com's entry-level price is way beyond lifetime projected sales, and on-demand printing isn't cheap. These other alternatives for printing and fulfillment raise the price beyond what I want to charge. Right now, if I sell 1,000 copies I will have battled my way up to the current minimum wage, having tracked how much effort has gone into developing it. 1,000 is several times what I project to sell. I ain't in this to pay the grocery bill.

Rather, I'd like it to be used to help folks improve their photography. If I can keep it inexpensive, that's great.

Thanks to those who have offered support, especially esteemed workshop alums!

[PhotoHistorian]

I have not had a chance to review "Finely Focused: a Guide to Traditional Photography" as yet. I look forward to reviewing it in the very near future.
That said, the best photography book I have reviewed of late is a series by photographer J.B. Harlin. Mr. Harlin's four book series include the titles: "Fine Art Black and White Photography"; "The Film Exposure Workbook"; "Fine Art Black and White Printing" and "Using the Wooden Field Camera."
All the books are most informative and very well written. They can be enjoyed by the seasoned large format veteran or the rank beginner.
Here is a link to more info about the books: http://www.jbhphoto.com/jbhbooks.htm

I would highly recommend the series to anyone who is serious about large format, fine art photography,

Walker Edmondson

[jwaddison]

Sounds good to me. I just ordered a copy. I'll either print it myself or take it to the local Mailboxes Etc. (or whatever they call themselves now) and have them do it. I don't mind reading from a computer screen, but my brain has trouble retaining the info.

[Ken Schroeder]

I like the idea of the CD format. I have an extensive personal library which I treasure. However, I find myself doing more study online lately. I don't think most beginning technical information needs to be in book form. I applaud Bruce's effort.

I think Bill Troop has really made very good use of the different media. His Film Developing Cookbook (cowritten with Steve Anchell) should be in all our libraries. The spiral binding makes it very handy to leave open in the darkroom. Bill also gets around Fred Picker's comment, "time makes fibbers of us all" by posting "errata" on his website. Congratulations, Bill, for realizing we all make mistakes and typos and having the courage to make corrections readily available.

The $25 pricing puts the cost where it should be. The actual CD can be reproduced inexpensively in numbers. The fee should go largely to the author for the intellectual part of the product. The CD format helps this. Keep up the good work, Bruce.

Ken