How / where to print...

[Lee Taylor]

I'm not sure if anyone already posted anything about this but I was wondering how and where everyone else gets their zines printed / copied? At the moment I'm at Uni and thankfully have access to free photocopies by borrowing lecturers' copy cards mwah haha so I can do it pretty easily there, but I leave in about 7 months and I'm not sure how I'll do it from then on.

Does anyone print stuff from home on their own printer, or do people tend to get them done somewhere or go to places like libraries and use their photocopiers...?

Thanks :)

[Hoodrat Militia]

i have no time to read all the comments so i'm not sure if somebody already said this one:

office max is really easy to get free copies from.
after you print the machine will give you the option to print your receipt or keep going and they pretty much just trust you to bring the receipt up after you print.
so if you print a bunch of them and then discard the expensive ones (or all of them) you can leave paying little to nothing.

[Lee Taylor]

Ooh you rebel you; I'm far too good and honest to carry out something like that! ;) I'm not sure if we have a local Office Max; I'll have to look out for one. Sounds pretty easy to scam copies from there though so may be worth looking into. Don't they have CCTV?
xox

Hoodrat Militia said:

i have no time to read all the comments so i'm not sure if somebody already said this one:

office max is really easy to get free copies from.
after you print the machine will give you the option to print your receipt or keep going and they pretty much just trust you to bring the receipt up after you print.
so if you print a bunch of them and then discard the expensive ones (or all of them) you can leave paying little to nothing.

[Hannah (Not Lonely Zine)]

I'm glad someone asked this, as it's something I've been wondering about lately. When I made zines 8-ish years ago I used to go to copy shops to get them printed, but it wasn't great as a) it cost a lot and b) the staff were often very nosy.

The zine I'm working on now is quite personal and I'm not very comfortable with copy shop staff reading it (I realise this is ridiculous since I'll be wanting strangers to read it and advertising it online. But somehow the thought of people who don't "understand" zines reading it, right in front of me makes me uncomfortable, however silly it sounds now I've written it down here...)

My current options are to either:
i) do it at work, I reckon if I stay late I can get away with printing off a ton of copies but there is an ethical disadvantage to this, especially as I work for a voluntary organsiation. Although as I am there on a student placement as part of my degree they don't pay me so perhaps I could see it as payment...
ii) do it at university, although I'm not sure how easy it will be to get their copiers to print double sided
iii) print it at home as we have a laser printer. My main problem with this is that the margins on the printer seem to be really wide, but perhaps I can adjust them.

(My first post and I have waffled on...)

[Lee Osborne]

Nick Cato said:

Home printers can be way MORE expensive than looking for the cheapest copy place near you...although if you're only doing a few copies it's okay.

If you're going to print at home, don't use an inkjet - the cost is astronomical. I have a cheap mono laser printer, with manual duplexing. It's about the same as a cheap copy place in terms of cost, and I can do everything at home.

[Lee Osborne]

Hannah Faye said:

I'm glad someone asked this, as it's something I've been wondering about lately. When I made zines 8-ish years ago I used to go to copy shops to get them printed, but it wasn't great as a) it cost a lot and b) the staff were often very nosy.

The zine I'm working on now is quite personal and I'm not very comfortable with copy shop staff reading it (I realise this is ridiculous since I'll be wanting strangers to read it and advertising it online. But somehow the thought of people who don't "understand" zines reading it, right in front of me makes me uncomfortable, however silly it sounds now I've written it down here...)

My current options are to either:
i) do it at work, I reckon if I stay late I can get away with printing off a ton of copies but there is an ethical disadvantage to this, especially as I work for a voluntary organsiation. Although as I am there on a student placement as part of my degree they don't pay me so perhaps I could see it as payment...
ii) do it at university, although I'm not sure how easy it will be to get their copiers to print double sided
iii) print it at home as we have a laser printer. My main problem with this is that the margins on the printer seem to be really wide, but perhaps I can adjust them.

(My first post and I have waffled on...)

You should be able to print reasonably close to the edge of the page. I did my first zine on a photocopier, but I've recently "digitally remastered" it by scanning the pages and laser-printing it. It's only fractionally smaller in area than a photocopy. I have a Brother HL-2035 printer - very reasonable price in Argos. If you have a scanner at home as well, you're sorted.

[Hannah (Not Lonely Zine)]

That sounds good! I do have a scanner, it's old but should do. My partner just pointed out that it prints at low resolution though, so maybe it'd be better for A5 size instead of A6 (and mine is A6). But it's good to hear that printing is possible without losing a lot of page space. And digitally remastering your zine is a great idea!

Lee Osborne said:

Hannah Faye said:

I'm glad someone asked this, as it's something I've been wondering about lately. When I made zines 8-ish years ago I used to go to copy shops to get them printed, but it wasn't great as a) it cost a lot and b) the staff were often very nosy.

The zine I'm working on now is quite personal and I'm not very comfortable with copy shop staff reading it (I realise this is ridiculous since I'll be wanting strangers to read it and advertising it online. But somehow the thought of people who don't "understand" zines reading it, right in front of me makes me uncomfortable, however silly it sounds now I've written it down here...)

My current options are to either:
i) do it at work, I reckon if I stay late I can get away with printing off a ton of copies but there is an ethical disadvantage to this, especially as I work for a voluntary organsiation. Although as I am there on a student placement as part of my degree they don't pay me so perhaps I could see it as payment...
ii) do it at university, although I'm not sure how easy it will be to get their copiers to print double sided
iii) print it at home as we have a laser printer. My main problem with this is that the margins on the printer seem to be really wide, but perhaps I can adjust them.

(My first post and I have waffled on...)

You should be able to print reasonably close to the edge of the page. I did my first zine on a photocopier, but I've recently "digitally remastered" it by scanning the pages and laser-printing it. It's only fractionally smaller in area than a photocopy. I have a Brother HL-2035 printer - very reasonable price in Argos. If you have a scanner at home as well, you're sorted.

[Lee Taylor]

Haha that doesn't sound ridiculous; I think that's pretty understandable :) I don't tend to write anything too personal at the moment though so I don't think I'd be too fussed about them reading what was in it (nosy beggers). When I use the copiers at Uni I just print on one side and then flip the paper over and put it back in the tray (once I've worked out which way it comes out) so that works okay. I guess I still need to get a printer and scanner at home then for when I leave Uni...
And thanks for waffling :)
xox

Hannah Faye said:

I'm glad someone asked this, as it's something I've been wondering about lately. When I made zines 8-ish years ago I used to go to copy shops to get them printed, but it wasn't great as a) it cost a lot and b) the staff were often very nosy.

The zine I'm working on now is quite personal and I'm not very comfortable with copy shop staff reading it (I realise this is ridiculous since I'll be wanting strangers to read it and advertising it online. But somehow the thought of people who don't "understand" zines reading it, right in front of me makes me uncomfortable, however silly it sounds now I've written it down here...)

My current options are to either:
i) do it at work, I reckon if I stay late I can get away with printing off a ton of copies but there is an ethical disadvantage to this, especially as I work for a voluntary organsiation. Although as I am there on a student placement as part of my degree they don't pay me so perhaps I could see it as payment...
ii) do it at university, although I'm not sure how easy it will be to get their copiers to print double sided
iii) print it at home as we have a laser printer. My main problem with this is that the margins on the printer seem to be really wide, but perhaps I can adjust them.

(My first post and I have waffled on...)

[Lee Taylor]

Hey, I was just looking at your printer and it looks pretty good but I did notice toners are pretty expensive; how often are you having to change them? And I need to get a scanner too...any thoughts on multi-function thingies? I'm wondering if it's worth getting one that does everything but I think they may cost more to run, etc..?
xox

Lee Osborne said:

Hannah Faye said:

I'm glad someone asked this, as it's something I've been wondering about lately. When I made zines 8-ish years ago I used to go to copy shops to get them printed, but it wasn't great as a) it cost a lot and b) the staff were often very nosy.

The zine I'm working on now is quite personal and I'm not very comfortable with copy shop staff reading it (I realise this is ridiculous since I'll be wanting strangers to read it and advertising it online. But somehow the thought of people who don't "understand" zines reading it, right in front of me makes me uncomfortable, however silly it sounds now I've written it down here...)

My current options are to either:
i) do it at work, I reckon if I stay late I can get away with printing off a ton of copies but there is an ethical disadvantage to this, especially as I work for a voluntary organsiation. Although as I am there on a student placement as part of my degree they don't pay me so perhaps I could see it as payment...
ii) do it at university, although I'm not sure how easy it will be to get their copiers to print double sided
iii) print it at home as we have a laser printer. My main problem with this is that the margins on the printer seem to be really wide, but perhaps I can adjust them.

(My first post and I have waffled on...)

You should be able to print reasonably close to the edge of the page. I did my first zine on a photocopier, but I've recently "digitally remastered" it by scanning the pages and laser-printing it. It's only fractionally smaller in area than a photocopy. I have a Brother HL-2035 printer - very reasonable price in Argos. If you have a scanner at home as well, you're sorted.

[Lee Osborne]

Lee Taylor said:

Hey, I was just looking at your printer and it looks pretty good but I did notice toners are pretty expensive; how often are you having to change them? And I need to get a scanner too...any thoughts on multi-function thingies? I'm wondering if it's worth getting one that does everything but I think they may cost more to run, etc..?
xox

Yeah...the cartridges are expensive, but in terms of cost-per-page, it's not bad at all, and quicker and cheaper than inkjet. Also, laser printers produce very good quality text, and largely emulate photocopiers, given that they use the same technology - I chose a laser specifically because I intend to print zines on it.

I think the cost per page on my printer is about 3p a pop, so less than most copy shops.

I avoid multi-function devices like the plague. They're jacks of all trades and masters of none. I have an Epson V100 flatbed scanner that does negs and slides too - it's a nice little machine. Multifunction devices are huge compromises, and most of them are inkjet anyway, so I'd avoid them, unless you happen to be very short of deskspace.

[Lee Taylor]

Hmm, sounds like a laserjet is the best option then. I don't really intend to print much in colour anyway so yeah, mfds may be worth avoiding. I guess I'll have to browse for a seperate scanner then...
Thanks for all of the advice :)
xox

Lee Osborne said:

Lee Taylor said:

Hey, I was just looking at your printer and it looks pretty good but I did notice toners are pretty expensive; how often are you having to change them? And I need to get a scanner too...any thoughts on multi-function thingies? I'm wondering if it's worth getting one that does everything but I think they may cost more to run, etc..?
xox

Yeah...the cartridges are expensive, but in terms of cost-per-page, it's not bad at all, and quicker and cheaper than inkjet. Also, laser printers produce very good quality text, and largely emulate photocopiers, given that they use the same technology - I chose a laser specifically because I intend to print zines on it.

I think the cost per page on my printer is about 3p a pop, so less than most copy shops.

I avoid multi-function devices like the plague. They're jacks of all trades and masters of none. I have an Epson V100 flatbed scanner that does negs and slides too - it's a nice little machine. Multifunction devices are huge compromises, and most of them are inkjet anyway, so I'd avoid them, unless you happen to be very short of deskspace.

[Hannah (Not Lonely Zine)]

Thank you! :) & I'm glad you appreciated the waffling! Sounds like you've got your uni copiers sussed. Currently my best bet is to use the one at work I think, although I'll have to come up with an excuse to stay late one day.

Lee Taylor said:

Haha that doesn't sound ridiculous; I think that's pretty understandable :) I don't tend to write anything too personal at the moment though so I don't think I'd be too fussed about them reading what was in it (nosy beggers). When I use the copiers at Uni I just print on one side and then flip the paper over and put it back in the tray (once I've worked out which way it comes out) so that works okay. I guess I still need to get a printer and scanner at home then for when I leave Uni...
And thanks for waffling :)
xox

Hannah Faye said:

I'm glad someone asked this, as it's something I've been wondering about lately. When I made zines 8-ish years ago I used to go to copy shops to get them printed, but it wasn't great as a) it cost a lot and b) the staff were often very nosy.

The zine I'm working on now is quite personal and I'm not very comfortable with copy shop staff reading it (I realise this is ridiculous since I'll be wanting strangers to read it and advertising it online. But somehow the thought of people who don't "understand" zines reading it, right in front of me makes me uncomfortable, however silly it sounds now I've written it down here...)

My current options are to either:
i) do it at work, I reckon if I stay late I can get away with printing off a ton of copies but there is an ethical disadvantage to this, especially as I work for a voluntary organsiation. Although as I am there on a student placement as part of my degree they don't pay me so perhaps I could see it as payment...
ii) do it at university, although I'm not sure how easy it will be to get their copiers to print double sided
iii) print it at home as we have a laser printer. My main problem with this is that the margins on the printer seem to be really wide, but perhaps I can adjust them.

(My first post and I have waffled on...)

[Lee Osborne]

Dakota Phoenix said:

Digital duplicators anyone?

Has anyone used, or even heard of digital duplicators? They can do BW impressions for somewhere around one third of a cent. Yeah, you heard that right. 100 impressions would cost about 30 cents! This is not a pipe dream. Digital duplicators work on the same mechanical principles as mimeographs of 30ish years ago. A stencil aka master is burnt from the original. That stencil is wrapped around a drum. The drum spins and liquid ink flows through it while the paper flows through completely flat. Less moving parts, less opportunity for jams, no need for heated fusers. Those are the plusses.

The downside is the cost. Riso is the most widely distributed brand for these things. Yeah, the same group that created Print Gocco. Their lowest cost model goes for over $2000.00, which is totally out of reach for the average zine crafter. They do show up on ebay though, and I'm waiting for mine to arrive next week. It was $12,500 when new and I got it for about 1/20th of that, or about $500. It is also important to make sure your locale is within reach of a service technician willing to work on the thing if it needs repairs. My lunch break is over, I'll post more later...

The capital cost of that is massive, though. Unless you're absolutely certain you'll be doing multiple large print runs over many years, it can't be worthwhile unless you're setting up a commercial printing business.

I still think a cheap mono laser printer is the best solution for low-volume DIY printing. I've been very happy with mine so far.