Update on LF Info Book Project

[Frank Petronio]

Hello All,

The book actually exists... it is running 142 pages, 8.5 x 11 inches, softbound. Cyrus and I both have the first test copies from Lulu and as a physcial object, the book has impressive heft and Joakim's cover design helps it to stand out on the coffee table.

But... Lulu sucks. The printing is beyond horrible on both of our copies. Actually the text and color photos aren't bad, but the toned B&W images are nightmares, with mixed green-magenta color bands ruining the images. (And yes these are olive-toned RGB files tagged Adobe RGB just like other acceptable B&W images that lulu has printed for me in the past.)

I have another test in the works to see if tagging the PDF file differently will help, but based on what we've seen this is way beyond a mere profile adjustment. Lulu simply seems to be printing stuff as though they are in an alternative universe where green equals magenta and stripes of both colors are meant to enhance the meaning of otherwise pretty sepia photos.

It's really a matter of quality control being non-existent, worse than it was a few months ago when I got 100 decent books with decent B&W repro.

So... in spite of my past success with getting consistent Lulu results, I am giving up on them unless this current test produces a miracle.

And here we are with a 201 mb PDF looking for a home.

One issue is that other Print On Demand vendors are much more expensive. The book from Lulu was about $25. A similar page count from a better vendor, like Shared Ink, would easily be over $150.

Part of the cost increase is that the better places use an ink-on-paper HP Indigo versus Lulu's inexpensive Xerox Docutech toner-based printing. And places like Shared Ink actually have some clue about quality control.

Another issue is that most of the better places (Blurb, etc.) force you to use their own proprietary layout software, so rebuilding the book page by page would be a tedious pain in the ass.

And while I think this is a great idea and project, I don't think the overall quality of the photos makes the book worth $150 to me. The only reason I would invest $25 in it is because I know the people, not because it is such an impressive book unto itself. So I really question whether it is worth it to spend a lot of money on it?

Right now I have about 24 hours into it and I know Cyrus invested a lot of time too. I'm willing to mess around a bit more but I don't want to start from scratch.

SO...

1. Does anyone know of a decent POD printer ready to take a 142-page, 8.5 x 11 inch, Adobe RGB tagged, 201-mb PDF file? (Plus a nice full bleed wrap cover)

Sometimes a local printer with a Docutech can do a decent job at a reasonable price, so if you know of one and want to give it a shot please speak up.

2. If people would like to download the 201 mb PDF directly and call it a day... does anyone want to donate FTP space where I can stick it?

3. Or any other ideas? I really don't want to set it up at Shared Ink only to find that only three people are going to buy one at $150 each. I doubt I would buy one at that price either.

It's a pretty nice book otherwise. Half the photos are above average.

Best,
Frank

[Michael Graves]

I've got the FTP space you can use. Don't know any PODs though. I'm a product of the conventional publishing industry.

[Ole Tjugen]

2. If people would like to download the 201 mb PDF directly and call it a day... does anyone want to donate FTP space where I can stick it?

I could donate space, but 20 downloads would exceed the monthly traffic quota...

[Michael Graves]

My pathetic little site never comes close to maxing out bandwidth. No problem.

[Ole Tjugen]

Neither does mine, but 20x201 is over 4 Gb of data. That's my quota - plenty for a "pathetic little site" like mine (too), but not enough for this project. Unless we made a "download waiting list".

[Frank Petronio]

The 201mb PDF is "press ready". I just created a 9.9 mb minimum sized version for web viewing sans cover.

But think about it: 500 downloads x 10mb is still a lot... (more than I am willing to deal with)

If somebody wants to post it, I can send the 9.9 mb version to them. It actually looks pretty nice on screen.

Thanks,
Frank

[Frank Petronio]

See for yourself

[Matus Kalisky]

Hello Frank. I am a complete greenhorn in this game, but I have the blurb software at home and it seems pretty simple - it is possible to import many photos at one shot. I may have a look again and see how it would fare with different sizes, but if all of the photos are in one size (that is 8x10@300dpi) it might be not that complicated. One more little comment - Blurb has recently opened also in Europe (somewhere in Luxemburg or so) what might be an advantage for members from here around. I could play around and see what it does and - what the heck - if it works I would transfere all the photos in it, but would prefere somebody more experienced to go over the final file and print prooves. Until I will not try it I can not promise much though...

I could actually host the smaller 10MB file - I am working in a state based research center with unlimited bandwidth. Just send me the file via email.

[Ted Stoddard]

Frank & Cyrus... I think you both have done a great job and spent numerous hours on this project... I for one Thank You Both Very Much... I may have a POD available let me look into it... I can not gurantee they will do it but it will not hurt to look into it... I hope my images were part of that above average! Please tell me they didnt su**... I wouldnt mind spending the extra money to get a better book printed, I am not rich in any means but If it becomes a better printed book then maybe someone can or we all can pitch in for the better book... I do look forward of the final copy printed and receive it in my hands... If you need to contact me please do so... Good Luck to the both of you... We could have a fundraiser if needed...

[Blueberrydesk]

Frank, check your messages here; if no one else is ready and willing, I have the time and space to host and fiddle it into another pod printer or two. My next work job doesn't come up until early Nov.