Also - as an aside - Hahnemuhle has a new paper out: Fine Art Pearl 285gsm (another let's emulate a darkroom fiber print paper). I'm very happy with the Museo Silver Rag - but frankly the more the merrier. Maybe that will drive prices down. You're talking about a buck fifty per letter-size sheet for the Hahnemuhle Pearl. Ah - the niche market. When we (the inkjet people) take over the world - we will abolish glossy paper and force the world to conform to our traditional fiber print-looking ways.
* * *
I have come to the end of this adventure. My conclusion is that it is going to be very expensive and time-consuming to make a high-quality inkjet photo book with say 40 - 75 photographs. It can be done on a limited basis as a prototype to show a prospective publisher, or as a portfolio - or for the wedding couple, but to do this in any quantity for selling to the public is too expensive.
Whether you use the Innova Opus Album, or the new Hahnemuhle Album (which I can't find in the states), or just buy a beautiful scrapbook and paste your pictures on it - you are making something to show your art or ideas to a couple of people.
When you introduce fine-art inkjet printing with hardcover bookbinding - if you include the labor - makes the book way too expensive to sell - unless it's just a small album book with 20 or so prints in it.
So for me - I think the idea is to make prototypes of books - postbound so the pages can be changed around - and see if I can interest a publisher.
Maybe the secret is to just buy a three-ring binder, I've got a nice hole-punch, and just put them in there. In other words, don't try to look like a "real" book. The spiral or the 3-ring binder is actually the best way to view many prints in a certain order. I could even get those little ring reinforcements. And sell each as a one-of-a-kind item.
And with that said - I will go back to my usual line of work - making photographic prints.
* * *
p.s. The process reminds me of the time when I was making hand-assembled photo cards. They were very nice. I sold them at about $4.50 each, which was the most anyone would pay for them. It was a tedious process, but you could somehow convince yourself that it was worth your while when there were only a couple of orders. And one day an order comes in for 700 or 1500 cards. I don't remember the exact number but it was large. and there I sat for the next 2 or 3 weeks making cards. When the cards were finished; and I had switched during the process from one broken printer to one that was working; and filled the house with cards that were drying and flattening under weights; and that some were sticking together because the glue hadn't been put on right; when everything was straightened out - I sat down and figured out that my profit was about half the current minimum wage.
This latest project has the same feel about it. Do it as a means of presenting your ideas to someone, but not as a sellable item (unless you find out that you are indeed famous. You'll know that if other photographers are interested in getting shots of your newborn baby).
6/20/2006
6/19/2006
Another Mermaid
Here's the link for info on the Mermaid Day Parade. I usually wind up at this event. The pull of the ocean and the fun pagan ritual. This year I plan to sneak my camera on the roller-coaster and shoot from there - both the parade and the roller coaster experience. Maybe I'll hide my camera in an airline sick bag.
The Inkjet Photo Book
All this effort to make books, when I don't even think anyone buys books anymore. Nevertheless....
This is the compilation of what I've discovered, on my quest to make a photobook with my own choice of inkjet paper. I don't blame you if you fall asleep reading this. In fact, unless you are interested in reading about the method of trial and error and error and error - I would skip this post entirely.
1) If you want to use a mat finish or high-cotton paper (InnovaArt etc.) and if you're willing to pay about $50 for a post bound book with some paper included) - it's a snap. You can use the Opus Album, or a couple of others. Actually if money is not an issue then just find a bookmaker to use a more professional sewn stitch to bind it for you. And if you don't really care what it looks like - just buy a wire binding system and you can churn out books with your own paper that lie flat for very little money. It doesn't have to be that crummy spiral schoolbook look; they are doing wonderful things with plastic bindings these days (plastic, my boy). It could be black for example.
2) If you are willing to use mat finish type paper, that's light enough, you can do a nice perfect bound book. The thing about perfect-bound (glued) books is that they really don't lie flat. If they do lie flat it's because you've really stretched the glue.
But there is a form of perfect binding where the book does lie flat. I believe they call it the lie-flat method.
To do that - you make the book block (the pages) like a normal perfect bound where the pages are glued together - but you use a slightly different spine, and the front and back endpapers are glued to inside of the covers. Again, these types of books will not work well with a resin-coated, ceramic coated - type of inkjet paper. These papers just don't bend enough and it's like flipping through a book of springy pictures.
3) There is something called a concertina fold (accordian) which will hold heavier paper stock. But you need to make them and the books have a feeling of - I don't know - a ledger / filing cabinet.
4) If you have or can get the case (total cover) together, and where the spine is the right size for the book you want to do - you can drill holes into the back cover, put some screwposts through, punch holes in your paper of choice. Then you have a nice linen cover (no screws in the cover) and a nice screwpost / case binding book. This is - so far my favorite idea. Get the ready-made case from someone like BreezeKit - and then adapt that nice linen cloth cover for to my own tastes.
In other words - the binding for the BreezeKit - it's fine if you use someone's paper that has holes punched in it - and has been creased to bend properly. But if you don't want to pay for very proprietary paper - i.e. you can use your own paper.
But for semi-gloss, luster, gloss paper - you need some sort of page hinging system.
Again - these are available. Lineco makes cloth hole-punched paper hinges with adhesive for the glossy type page to stick to.
Print File also makes a page hinge. And a few others. Some are more expensive than others. Some are double-sided - meaning that you can stick two pages to one hinge; some are single sided. At first thought - you might be leaning towards the double-sided hinge. Not a good idea. Cheaper, but when you realize that by turning one page (top page) you are also turning the second page (second photo attached to the hinge) - when you realize how awful that feels. Forget that and go for the one page hinge - if you are going to go the hinge route.
There is only one problem with the page hinge idea: cost. The cost for the hinges is about the cost for each page of inkjet paper you use. So you are doubling the cost making the print block.
If you do want to use hinges, one way is to make your own. Not as bad as it seems.
And here's how it's done: punch two holes on the short side of the paper to match the two holes in the bottom cover of your bound book. Then slice that paper with a paper cutter about 3/4's inch to the right of the two holes. In other words what you're going to make is a page hinge.
Now - cut a piece of Lineco self-adhesive linen cloth (used for reparing books) - and stick that to the paper you've just cut to put it back together. If you use this method, you cut the cost of the hinging to 1/3 what it would cost to buy pre-made hinges. You also have the ability to space the holes punched into the back of the book where you want them, since you are punching both the book and the hinges.
Another benefit of the cloth hinge is that it doesn't have the bulk or mass of the store-bought hinges. You can cut them quickly on a rotatrim. And to be honest, they don't even need to be exactly the same height - just so that they're shorter than the paper.
I'll have to take the book I made apart and post some pictures.
At any rate - the material costs are like this:
From BreezeKit:
Linen Case
(front back covers, cloth covered, end papers, spine for about 20 - 35 sheets)
$15
Paper: You have to figure your own costs. For me we're in the neighborhood of .45 cents per page.
Linen Cloth: I think I figured this to .15 per sheet, but I'm going to have to check that).
(amount of pages unknown
ScrewPosts (.25 cents each. You'll need two, top and bottoms so let's say .50 per book).
If you want to assume 30 photographic plates then the cost for materials might be around:
$15 cover + .50 screwposts, + linen strips 4.5, paper $13.50 = the neighborhood of $33.50 per completed linen-covered book. As I say, this is a sort of hybrid book, part-case bound, part post bound. Hey, what's a book anyway. I'd like to see someone define that.
There is another way - completely different cover idea that I'm working on. This way promises to be (I know this is like searching for Eldorado) - but anyway I always had a touch of the inventor in me - this is a different idea where you buy the proper card stock, or mat board, and you have it creased in four places. Either by yourself or by a bindery - and the cost should come down and give you more freedom over the dimensions and be even less costly. The need for interior hinges would still be there though.
Oh - one more thing. Anything I've said here goes for doing a ribbon book as well. Instead of posts get a strip of leather if you want a rugged feeling; or ribbon if you're feeling dainty - and do a stitch through the two holes with that.
You see - this is a little like Treasure of Sierra Madre and what happens to you when you take on the quest for gold in whatever form you seek it. I hope that I'll be more like the John Huston character than Fred C. Dobbs.
This is the compilation of what I've discovered, on my quest to make a photobook with my own choice of inkjet paper. I don't blame you if you fall asleep reading this. In fact, unless you are interested in reading about the method of trial and error and error and error - I would skip this post entirely.
1) If you want to use a mat finish or high-cotton paper (InnovaArt etc.) and if you're willing to pay about $50 for a post bound book with some paper included) - it's a snap. You can use the Opus Album, or a couple of others. Actually if money is not an issue then just find a bookmaker to use a more professional sewn stitch to bind it for you. And if you don't really care what it looks like - just buy a wire binding system and you can churn out books with your own paper that lie flat for very little money. It doesn't have to be that crummy spiral schoolbook look; they are doing wonderful things with plastic bindings these days (plastic, my boy). It could be black for example.
2) If you are willing to use mat finish type paper, that's light enough, you can do a nice perfect bound book. The thing about perfect-bound (glued) books is that they really don't lie flat. If they do lie flat it's because you've really stretched the glue.
But there is a form of perfect binding where the book does lie flat. I believe they call it the lie-flat method.
To do that - you make the book block (the pages) like a normal perfect bound where the pages are glued together - but you use a slightly different spine, and the front and back endpapers are glued to inside of the covers. Again, these types of books will not work well with a resin-coated, ceramic coated - type of inkjet paper. These papers just don't bend enough and it's like flipping through a book of springy pictures.
3) There is something called a concertina fold (accordian) which will hold heavier paper stock. But you need to make them and the books have a feeling of - I don't know - a ledger / filing cabinet.
4) If you have or can get the case (total cover) together, and where the spine is the right size for the book you want to do - you can drill holes into the back cover, put some screwposts through, punch holes in your paper of choice. Then you have a nice linen cover (no screws in the cover) and a nice screwpost / case binding book. This is - so far my favorite idea. Get the ready-made case from someone like BreezeKit - and then adapt that nice linen cloth cover for to my own tastes.
In other words - the binding for the BreezeKit - it's fine if you use someone's paper that has holes punched in it - and has been creased to bend properly. But if you don't want to pay for very proprietary paper - i.e. you can use your own paper.
But for semi-gloss, luster, gloss paper - you need some sort of page hinging system.
Again - these are available. Lineco makes cloth hole-punched paper hinges with adhesive for the glossy type page to stick to.
Print File also makes a page hinge. And a few others. Some are more expensive than others. Some are double-sided - meaning that you can stick two pages to one hinge; some are single sided. At first thought - you might be leaning towards the double-sided hinge. Not a good idea. Cheaper, but when you realize that by turning one page (top page) you are also turning the second page (second photo attached to the hinge) - when you realize how awful that feels. Forget that and go for the one page hinge - if you are going to go the hinge route.
There is only one problem with the page hinge idea: cost. The cost for the hinges is about the cost for each page of inkjet paper you use. So you are doubling the cost making the print block.
If you do want to use hinges, one way is to make your own. Not as bad as it seems.
And here's how it's done: punch two holes on the short side of the paper to match the two holes in the bottom cover of your bound book. Then slice that paper with a paper cutter about 3/4's inch to the right of the two holes. In other words what you're going to make is a page hinge.
Now - cut a piece of Lineco self-adhesive linen cloth (used for reparing books) - and stick that to the paper you've just cut to put it back together. If you use this method, you cut the cost of the hinging to 1/3 what it would cost to buy pre-made hinges. You also have the ability to space the holes punched into the back of the book where you want them, since you are punching both the book and the hinges.
Another benefit of the cloth hinge is that it doesn't have the bulk or mass of the store-bought hinges. You can cut them quickly on a rotatrim. And to be honest, they don't even need to be exactly the same height - just so that they're shorter than the paper.
I'll have to take the book I made apart and post some pictures.
At any rate - the material costs are like this:
From BreezeKit:
Linen Case
(front back covers, cloth covered, end papers, spine for about 20 - 35 sheets)
$15
Paper: You have to figure your own costs. For me we're in the neighborhood of .45 cents per page.
Linen Cloth: I think I figured this to .15 per sheet, but I'm going to have to check that).
(amount of pages unknown
ScrewPosts (.25 cents each. You'll need two, top and bottoms so let's say .50 per book).
If you want to assume 30 photographic plates then the cost for materials might be around:
$15 cover + .50 screwposts, + linen strips 4.5, paper $13.50 = the neighborhood of $33.50 per completed linen-covered book. As I say, this is a sort of hybrid book, part-case bound, part post bound. Hey, what's a book anyway. I'd like to see someone define that.
There is another way - completely different cover idea that I'm working on. This way promises to be (I know this is like searching for Eldorado) - but anyway I always had a touch of the inventor in me - this is a different idea where you buy the proper card stock, or mat board, and you have it creased in four places. Either by yourself or by a bindery - and the cost should come down and give you more freedom over the dimensions and be even less costly. The need for interior hinges would still be there though.
Oh - one more thing. Anything I've said here goes for doing a ribbon book as well. Instead of posts get a strip of leather if you want a rugged feeling; or ribbon if you're feeling dainty - and do a stitch through the two holes with that.
You see - this is a little like Treasure of Sierra Madre and what happens to you when you take on the quest for gold in whatever form you seek it. I hope that I'll be more like the John Huston character than Fred C. Dobbs.
m i s c
I've been too busy, partly with a bunch of small orders, and partly with the book binding world to write much recently. There was a back log with the orders because I was waiting for silver rag to come back into stock and also fedex delivered it to the wrong address (next apartment building) even though it was properly addressed. That was scary $450 worth of paper sitting somewhere. But my mailman told me that it was sitting next building over and he is going to get a super fabulous Christmas bonus from me.
Not all work. I was at the Mets game yesterday, and was lucky enough to get shots of everyone screaming their heads off when David Wright hit his grand slam. And also an old seat wiper (if that's what they're called) at the game that got into a conversation with my father, and I was in a good spot to do close-ups of his gnarled hand with the white rag and all that. I miss shooting and as soon as the book thing - which is close now - is finished - I look forward to heading out.
I think next weekend is the Mermaid Day parade. I'd better check that. I don't think I ever did shoot it with the rangefinder. I only pray that for once the day is overcast and not brutally hot.
(The printer is doing six 5 x 7's while I write this. It is a lovely thing.)
Not all work. I was at the Mets game yesterday, and was lucky enough to get shots of everyone screaming their heads off when David Wright hit his grand slam. And also an old seat wiper (if that's what they're called) at the game that got into a conversation with my father, and I was in a good spot to do close-ups of his gnarled hand with the white rag and all that. I miss shooting and as soon as the book thing - which is close now - is finished - I look forward to heading out.
I think next weekend is the Mermaid Day parade. I'd better check that. I don't think I ever did shoot it with the rangefinder. I only pray that for once the day is overcast and not brutally hot.
(The printer is doing six 5 x 7's while I write this. It is a lovely thing.)
6/16/2006
part 100
After all this time - not sure how long - of researching and experimenting with the photo book idea, I also realized that I want to spend my time arranging and maybe commenting about the pictures - not making the book. I made my way down to Sam Flax where I met some people who took pity on me and helped me. Thank you!
I think I'm close now to the self-made hardcover book. I can almost smell it. And I also stumbled with a fallback book that is ready made where you slip your prints into mats in the book. Very nice looking. Unfortunately - more later. The object of this exercise - in case it got lost - is to be able to make a few hardcover books that could be sold for $75 or less - but if nothing else could be used to send to publishers or just show around.
I think I'm close now to the self-made hardcover book. I can almost smell it. And I also stumbled with a fallback book that is ready made where you slip your prints into mats in the book. Very nice looking. Unfortunately - more later. The object of this exercise - in case it got lost - is to be able to make a few hardcover books that could be sold for $75 or less - but if nothing else could be used to send to publishers or just show around.
6/15/2006
Book making Part 99
I've spent a fair amount of money and time on the photobook making project.
What I've learned so far:
First off, if you are going to spend the time and money (paper / ink) to make a fine art photo book then it seems like an awful waste to make it into a "perfect-bound" paperback. You don't want to spend all sorts of money for the nice photo paper of your choice and wrap it with a paperback cover where the pages are glued to the spine. It doesn't make sense.
Speaking of paper back covers - if you are doing a book that is say 11.5 inches wide, then the cover stock needs to be at least double that 23 inches, plus an inch or so for the spine. So you're in the 24 inch range and it's not that easy to find cover stock (I haven't) that's say 8.5 inches by 24 inches. You can do it with roll paper but that poses some other problems such as curling and getting the spine printing just right etc. It can be done - but photo paper on rolls - not the best thing for the cover.
But that takes me back to the hardbound book. The closest I've come so far is the BreezeKit from DigifilmLabs. I have one setting now. The book body, i.e. the pages are bound by individually applying double-sided adhesive to each sheet. This isn't as bad as it seems since the book is only going to hold between 20 - 30 sheets, and I made a little rig so that the applicator has a straight edge to line up with and you can do the 30 pages pretty quickly.
The weak point - as far as I see it - is how the books body is attached to the spine of the ready-made cover: two pieces of black cloth tape. With photo paper - I don't think it will ever lie flat. And it is probably sturdy enough for 20 sheets. And so far, it is the most inexpensive solution for a hard cover book.
During my search for ready-made hard back covers, i.e. so that I could have a wider spine, I came across a product line called FastBack. They sell all the pieces for the hardcover and the binding process, I'll look into it more tomorrow.
* * *
Fastback at least in terms of what's available now - is a dead end. They can only bind along the long edge, i.e. the book must be in portrait format.
What I've learned so far:
First off, if you are going to spend the time and money (paper / ink) to make a fine art photo book then it seems like an awful waste to make it into a "perfect-bound" paperback. You don't want to spend all sorts of money for the nice photo paper of your choice and wrap it with a paperback cover where the pages are glued to the spine. It doesn't make sense.
Speaking of paper back covers - if you are doing a book that is say 11.5 inches wide, then the cover stock needs to be at least double that 23 inches, plus an inch or so for the spine. So you're in the 24 inch range and it's not that easy to find cover stock (I haven't) that's say 8.5 inches by 24 inches. You can do it with roll paper but that poses some other problems such as curling and getting the spine printing just right etc. It can be done - but photo paper on rolls - not the best thing for the cover.
But that takes me back to the hardbound book. The closest I've come so far is the BreezeKit from DigifilmLabs. I have one setting now. The book body, i.e. the pages are bound by individually applying double-sided adhesive to each sheet. This isn't as bad as it seems since the book is only going to hold between 20 - 30 sheets, and I made a little rig so that the applicator has a straight edge to line up with and you can do the 30 pages pretty quickly.
The weak point - as far as I see it - is how the books body is attached to the spine of the ready-made cover: two pieces of black cloth tape. With photo paper - I don't think it will ever lie flat. And it is probably sturdy enough for 20 sheets. And so far, it is the most inexpensive solution for a hard cover book.
During my search for ready-made hard back covers, i.e. so that I could have a wider spine, I came across a product line called FastBack. They sell all the pieces for the hardcover and the binding process, I'll look into it more tomorrow.
* * *
Fastback at least in terms of what's available now - is a dead end. They can only bind along the long edge, i.e. the book must be in portrait format.
6/14/2006
6/13/2006
COMMUTED SENTENCE
The first book I'm working on:
Bus Stop, 23rd Street
Going to Work
The Briefcase
The street preacher was - and as of this writing - is a constant feature on Park Avenue. He appears during rush hour - morning or night - and he scrawls wild tirades into the Park Avenue air: dire hellfire spit from his mouth because we haven’t repented. Or if we have repented, it hasn't been done properly.
Instead of a charsmatic welcome, the street preacher scared the tourists - and bored the regulars.
The morning is filled with good-byes. Yes, I’m off again to the mill. I’ll see you later for dinner. Won’t I? Okay honey. Take care.
The evening is filled with hellos.
Why
COMMUTED SENTENCE
Pictures Taken on The Way to and From Work
Introduction
Downtown to 23rd and Sixth. Uptown to 83rd and second. The trek lasted for seven long years. It’s a good 4 mile walk in New York, mostly because of those damned wide avenues. Sometimes I walked it. Sometimes it was the number 6 train.
That Lexington line is narrower than the IND line or the West side line. There are always delays. And if you are unlucky enough to constantly travel on it - and if you have a fear of crowds - you should avoid the number six.
I always had the camera hanging around my neck. One day my chest began to throb after a long walk. But it wasn’t a coronary - it was from the camera banging against my chest for a few miles. The camera has tried to implant itself in my chest - or if you want to get super-poetic - in my heart.
I almost always found something to shoot. Many of these images haven’t been put on my web site because I found that nobody really wanted to be reminded of this daily grind with pictures on the walls. But they may be tolerable in a small book.
The downtown morning walk was almost always the most fruitful because my nerves hadn’t been deadened yet by my time behind the desk. For the first few years I sat in a cubicle - later a dusty dark office. It was a cubicle world. The maze. Sometimes I would sit at my desk and dream about an overhead shot of the maze, even going so far as to imagine the speckled ceiling tiles disappearing.
Pictures Taken on The Way to and From Work
Introduction
Downtown to 23rd and Sixth. Uptown to 83rd and second. The trek lasted for seven long years. It’s a good 4 mile walk in New York, mostly because of those damned wide avenues. Sometimes I walked it. Sometimes it was the number 6 train.
That Lexington line is narrower than the IND line or the West side line. There are always delays. And if you are unlucky enough to constantly travel on it - and if you have a fear of crowds - you should avoid the number six.
I always had the camera hanging around my neck. One day my chest began to throb after a long walk. But it wasn’t a coronary - it was from the camera banging against my chest for a few miles. The camera has tried to implant itself in my chest - or if you want to get super-poetic - in my heart.
I almost always found something to shoot. Many of these images haven’t been put on my web site because I found that nobody really wanted to be reminded of this daily grind with pictures on the walls. But they may be tolerable in a small book.
The downtown morning walk was almost always the most fruitful because my nerves hadn’t been deadened yet by my time behind the desk. For the first few years I sat in a cubicle - later a dusty dark office. It was a cubicle world. The maze. Sometimes I would sit at my desk and dream about an overhead shot of the maze, even going so far as to imagine the speckled ceiling tiles disappearing.
Bus Stop, 23rd Street
Going to Work
The Briefcase
The street preacher was - and as of this writing - is a constant feature on Park Avenue. He appears during rush hour - morning or night - and he scrawls wild tirades into the Park Avenue air: dire hellfire spit from his mouth because we haven’t repented. Or if we have repented, it hasn't been done properly.
Instead of a charsmatic welcome, the street preacher scared the tourists - and bored the regulars.
The morning is filled with good-byes. Yes, I’m off again to the mill. I’ll see you later for dinner. Won’t I? Okay honey. Take care.
The evening is filled with hellos.
Why
6/12/2006
more bookmaking stuff
I got a chance to go back to the book binding today.
I got a chance to go on a spree in Staples and buy different photo papers, and different papers for text. Now that's something I never thought about before. What paper is best for text?
My idea for the books is that they can be composed of different paper - one paper for the text (both sides), and one for the photos (single side). This is actually how a lot of early books were done: a different paper stock was used for the "plates" and another for the text.
It's inkjet friendly in the sense that you really don't want to print lots and lots of photos on double-sided paper. I know the paper can take it - but for me - every time I put the paper through the printer there's a chance that something will get screwed up on the down side. Some cat hair. Some splat of ink. Ink on the rollers. And of course, there is the money angle: double-sided photo paper is actually more expensive than two single-sided sheets. Plus, if you do go to single-sided for photos, you can choose your favorite paper.
I picked up:
- A linen paper that I like - 25% cotton - but heavy enough so that you don't have to worry about print showing through the other side. And about 8 cents per sheet. 8 CENTS PER SHEET.
- Some 100% cotton paper, which has a nice feel to it - but it's a little more expensive - 14 CENTS per sheet.
And various sorts of photo paper. I wanted to see which turned easily in the book, and wouldn't crack - and also of course the print looked good.
In the middle of all this book binding I upraded the 4800 printer firmware - so now it doesn't complain about "Invalid Media" if you try to print glossy prints from the print tray.
Then there was phumphering my way though InDesign. I'm sure there are quicker ways to do some of what I've been doing - but I've covered the basics:
Flowing text, Picture Frames, Styles, Bleeds (I'm not doing any of them in the first book), ligatures and a few other things.
The last thing I need to do is design the cover. But before that it would be useful to decide what the first book will be.
I got a chance to go on a spree in Staples and buy different photo papers, and different papers for text. Now that's something I never thought about before. What paper is best for text?
My idea for the books is that they can be composed of different paper - one paper for the text (both sides), and one for the photos (single side). This is actually how a lot of early books were done: a different paper stock was used for the "plates" and another for the text.
It's inkjet friendly in the sense that you really don't want to print lots and lots of photos on double-sided paper. I know the paper can take it - but for me - every time I put the paper through the printer there's a chance that something will get screwed up on the down side. Some cat hair. Some splat of ink. Ink on the rollers. And of course, there is the money angle: double-sided photo paper is actually more expensive than two single-sided sheets. Plus, if you do go to single-sided for photos, you can choose your favorite paper.
I picked up:
- A linen paper that I like - 25% cotton - but heavy enough so that you don't have to worry about print showing through the other side. And about 8 cents per sheet. 8 CENTS PER SHEET.
- Some 100% cotton paper, which has a nice feel to it - but it's a little more expensive - 14 CENTS per sheet.
And various sorts of photo paper. I wanted to see which turned easily in the book, and wouldn't crack - and also of course the print looked good.
In the middle of all this book binding I upraded the 4800 printer firmware - so now it doesn't complain about "Invalid Media" if you try to print glossy prints from the print tray.
Then there was phumphering my way though InDesign. I'm sure there are quicker ways to do some of what I've been doing - but I've covered the basics:
Flowing text, Picture Frames, Styles, Bleeds (I'm not doing any of them in the first book), ligatures and a few other things.
The last thing I need to do is design the cover. But before that it would be useful to decide what the first book will be.
6/11/2006
misc
Hi Dave,
I just wanted to let you know that I have now received the print. It is absolutely beautiful (Promenade 5 x 7) and I am completely happy with it. I had actually been wanting to order a copy of that print for about 3 years, so it’s fantastic to finally be able to get one to put on my shelf. Thanks so much.
H. (England)
* * *I finally put the Gigabooks binder together. Looks good. There are a couple of odds and ends I need (the right paper, a guide for my rollatrim) before I put the first book together. Should be in the next few days. The first book will probably be 8 1/2 by 9 inches wide.
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