Cheap copy centers?

[Denise]

I've been having mine done at Kinkos and I was just wondering if there are cheaper and more convinient places. I havent really looked around because i dont have the time. i just like kinkos because they can help you even in collating it...

[Josh Blair]

Sorry I never responded. I lost track of this thread.

At Staples, if you sign up for a rewards card (which is free) you get 10 percent back on all copies plus 10 percent back on all paper and ink purchases. They send you your rewards quarterly.

I stopped going to Staples recently because I found out that the print shop at the university where I work charges 9 cents for a double-sided copy, compared to Staples rate of 16 cents per double-sided copy. While not totally independent, it's much better than corporate (and a hell of a lot cheaper). I still go to Staples to buy paper because they sell this really nice 32-lb paper that looks much better than standard 20-lb paper.

So look into any local universities near you. Also, when having something printed rather than just photocopied (i.e. you send them a PDF), always ask to see a proof. Sometimes you might need to see a couple proofs before you're happy.

[Beth Wagner]

I think it all depends on which Kinkos you go to. I live in Vancouver and I know both ends of the spectrum. At the one downtown they are very unhappy people who want you in and out. Then there is the one in the West end where they will help you with your copying (especially if you look like a damsel in distress).

My first mini-comic was done through a print shop and even though they were doing a digital photocopy I got charged an arm and a leg!

Now the thing is you can usually find cheaper places than Kinkos unless you are doing a tabloid format. I've seen places that go as cheap as $0.04 a copy. It's time consuming but your best bet is to try the Yellow Pages and then look for the places that are closest to you.

[ParadoxMoxie]

I thought i did my zine a lot like other people, but reading through this thread confuses me, I realize I don't understand what half of what is being talked about.

I make up a 1/4 size original blank zine, cut and paste stuff to my satisfaction, take the staples out and scan both sides of each sheet. Then I crop and arrange the scans in the correct order (a headache to be sure) in a document format, then print it double-sided on my refillable-cartridge printer. Then I cut out and assemble the sheets. Or sometimes I lay the individual sheets on the copy machine bed (my printer has a scan/copy function) and copy each side, printing on both sides of the paper. More time consuming but sometimes the print function doesn't want to work with my computer. But it never refuses to copy unless it's out of ink.

I have no idea how the rest of you do it.

[Josh Blair]

At Staples, the rewards program is open to anyone, not just business people, and is free. A few times they've messed up my copies and just given them to me (it depends on the person, I guess), but one time they printed something like 500 copies on the wrong paper and said they'd sell them to me for a discount. I said "no dice." They did print them on the right paper though without giving me any grief, though.


BrightCircle: All of my art is scanned it or e-mailed to me (if it's from someone else) and I lay out the pages then make the whole document a PDF, which I e-mail to the copy shop. I used to do cut and paste a while ago with my first zine.

[NicoleIntrovert]

I pose an ethics question to you all...

Support a LOCAL copy shop that is ALSO a Christian Bookstore

OR

Go to Staples.

[NicoleIntrovert]

Same price. That's where my delimma is. Both are .08 a copy.

Amber / Culture Slut said:

I say if the local copy shop is cheaper, go for it. But sneak some radical zines in with the Christian books!

[Dan 10things]

NicoleIntrovert said:

I pose an ethics question to you all...

Support a LOCAL copy shop that is ALSO a Christian Bookstore

OR

Go to Staples.

I hate questions with no good answers! :) I'm atheist, but would probably go with the local Christian place over Staples if I'd explored all other options. I live in a big city, so there are dozens of printers to choose from, even for offset printing. I can't imagine people paying 8 cents a page for a copy, I can get copies for half that at at least three independent copy shops within about 5 minutes of where I work. But I work in a university district where there are shops competing, the going price seems to be about 4 cents a page or 3 cents a page with a coupon.

[ParadoxMoxie]

Ah. It would be crazy expensive for me too, were it not for the refillable cartridges that my brother has the printer fitted with. For the cost of two new regular cartridges, you can get a bottle of ink that will refill the refillable cartridges like 30 times.

[ParadoxMoxie]

What's the ethics question? Don't we respect diversity?

NicoleIntrovert said:

I pose an ethics question to you all...

Support a LOCAL copy shop that is ALSO a Christian Bookstore

OR

Go to Staples.

[Dan 10things]

BrightCircle said:

What's the ethics question? Don't we respect diversity?

I think this is an unfair way to frame it. Say it was a White Power bookstore, would you ask what's the ethics question, do we respect diversity still? Christianity isn't very respectful of diversity, it's a religion that historically pushes gender inequality and the main force behind the anti-Abortion and anti-Gay rights movements. What's to respect? The homophobia? The puttin' women in their place? The adherence to a phony belief system? The pushing of their religious beliefs into laws that effect us all? Or censoring/not printing "questionable" articles/pictures in your zine? Just sayin', Christians tend to constantly overstep the boundaries by trying to push their agenda on others, I'm not sure why we should respect this or give them our business.

[NicoleIntrovert]

Well said, Dan. Thank you.

There is a difference between respecting someone of a different religion or belief system or respecting their rights to have that belief vs. SUPPORTING that belief.

DISRESPECT would mean i would bust their windows or jam their locks with glue or what have you.

Choosing NOT to utilize their service isn't disrespectful.

Dan 10things said:

BrightCircle said:

What's the ethics question? Don't we respect diversity?

I think this is an unfair way to frame it. Say it was a White Power bookstore, would you ask what's the ethics question, do we respect diversity still? Christianity isn't very respectful of diversity, it's a religion that historically pushes gender inequality and the main force behind the anti-Abortion and anti-Gay rights movements. What's to respect? The homophobia? The puttin' women in their place? The adherence to a phony belief system? The pushing of their religious beliefs into laws that effect us all? Or censoring/not printing "questionable" articles/pictures in your zine? Just sayin', Christians tend to constantly overstep the boundaries by trying to push their agenda on others, I'm not sure why we should respect this or give them our business.

[ParadoxMoxie]

I understand your point of view now.

Dan 10things said:

BrightCircle said:

What's the ethics question? Don't we respect diversity?

I think this is an unfair way to frame it. Say it was a White Power bookstore, would you ask what's the ethics question, do we respect diversity still? Christianity isn't very respectful of diversity, it's a religion that historically pushes gender inequality and the main force behind the anti-Abortion and anti-Gay rights movements. What's to respect? The homophobia? The puttin' women in their place? The adherence to a phony belief system? The pushing of their religious beliefs into laws that effect us all? Or censoring/not printing "questionable" articles/pictures in your zine? Just sayin', Christians tend to constantly overstep the boundaries by trying to push their agenda on others, I'm not sure why we should respect this or give them our business.