Really Need Help printing book for self-publishing

Hi,

I really really really would appreciate help on this one. This has become so much harder than I ever expected.

Basically I printed a book on Blurb as a concept, and it looked fantastic. 12"x12". ~200 pages. "Proline" uncoated paper--basically really thick uncoated paper with good texture. Looks amazing... BUT the binding really sucks. Many of the pictures are landscape and run across both pages, so the tight binding obscures a portion of the picture. Most of the pictures are fine this way, but a few I could not layout correctly to avoid obscuring important parts.

So, I have a large collection of photobooks, and many of the books have a binding that's very loose, and the pages spread very far. Not absolutely flat, but close enough. I also would consider books using an accordion style of printing, but I'm afraid after decades of use the creases would eventually tear. I dunno--not sure what would happen. But at least a normally bound book can be repaired in that department.

So I figure I could find a print/binding house that could do my book with the same printing and paper as Burb, but with the fancier binding that opens flatter, and with a linen hardcover.

And WOW.... after calling many places.... I could not believe how hard it was to find someone to do this. One place "declined to bid." Another place said they would only take it on if they designed it from the ground up. And most other places just flat out said they couldn't do it as it did not fit their preset templates.

My plan is to get an estimate for cost for a run of 50, 100, 200, or 300 books and then hit up kickstarter to get the funds. But I'm totally stuck getting even a quote.

Help please!?!?!

Anyone have recommendations on who can print/bind such a book?

Thanks.

I have never used them, but I know that AdoramaPix have lay-flat bindings.

Bcaps wrote in post #17894299
I have never used them, but I know that AdoramaPix have lay-flat bindings.

thanks Dave. yeah, i actually have tried their product before, and it does indeed lie nearly perfectly plat. unfortunately they have some ridiculously severe limitations, including a max book size of ~74 pages? something like that. also, it's crazy expensive--not suitable for reselling.

(not related to the book thing, but they also got some stupid policies regarding file sizes. like you gotta upgrade your account for a fee to use higher res photos. i don't get their business plan--why cripple your service like that? i mean, if people can't get the quality they want, they'll just go elsewhere. but whatever, i guess i'm not the successful dude who owns adorama so what do i know.)

this service, which would be awesome cause they do lots of the special custom stuff, was recommended to me like a year ago:

http://www.conveyoredi​tions.com/

i'm not sure if they're still in business though cause i saw a strange note somewhere saying something about that. i did submit a quote request, and they have yet to get back to me.

........don't suppose anyone else has published a book?

.

Bcaps wrote in post #17894299
I have never used them, but I know that AdoramaPix have lay-flat bindings.

Xyclopx wrote in post #17894418
thanks Dave. yeah, i actually have tried their product before, and it does indeed lie nearly perfectly plat. unfortunately they have some ridiculously severe limitations, including a max book size of ~74 pages? something like that. also, it's crazy expensive--not suitable for reselling.

(not related to the book thing, but they also got some stupid policies regarding file sizes. like you gotta upgrade your account for a fee to use higher res photos. i don't get their business plan--why cripple your service like that? i mean, if people can't get the quality they want, they'll just go elsewhere. but whatever, i guess i'm not the successful dude who owns adorama so what do i know.)

Perhaps Helen Oster could post to this thread and clear up any misunderstandings about AdoramaPix's policies.
As far as I know, Helen does not work for AdoramaPix, but she does work for the parent/sister company, Adorama, and perhaps she has a good working knowledge of AdoramaPix's user interface.

I, for one, would benefit from learning more about what is offered in the photo book product line, as I have had a terrible time finding any book printing service that completely satisfies my criteria for top-shelf quality and customizability at a reasonable (fair, not cheap) price.

.

Tom Reichner wrote in post #17894577
.
Perhaps Helen Oster could post to this thread and clear up any misunderstandings about AdoramaPix's policies.
As far as I know, Helen does not work for AdoramaPix, but she does work for the parent/sister company, Adorama, and perhaps she has a good working knowledge of AdoramaPix's user interface.

sure. that'll be great.

yup. blurb is the best quality for the money i've found so far, for print-on-demand, especially using their 30-35% off discount codes that come out every quarter or so. but alas, though their printing is awesome, they have few choices for coverings and binding. and their high-volume printing is still too expensive.

(btw, i have also submitted a request for a quote to Blurb's high-volume department, which operates a bit differently. they can offer more choices, but you're gonna have to order a lot. 300 books will allow you to choose more options for the cover. ........but to change the binding, they have to go offset printing and requires a 500+ book order! anyway, their rep is working on my quote now for 500 books, but the 300 book order already came in at $42k! and that would be with $800 worth of shipping )

....anyway, i now know a bit more of how this all works since first posting this. turns out what i need is called "smyth sewn" binding. it's what they use in the nicer books you buy. those books open far wider than "case binding" which Blurb uses. there is also "perfect binding" which is used in softcovers, but seems like might be able to be incorporated into a hardcover. not sure. i am also open to accordion-style printing, but i have yet to find any place that can do this in the way i want.

anyway, now i'm looking for:

50-200 books
smyth sewn binding or accordion-style printing
linen cover
no-luster nice paper
black and white (as opposed to color or duotone)