I'm going to quote one of the Editors I've been working with during my day job and many others, "Where did the rest of the year go?" 

Here we are, standing at the final step before entering the second half of the year and I'm really glad to say that I've found a Hobonichi Daily layout which I'm happy with for my Cousin - the same layout that I had for April, mentioned in my previous Plannerd Feature post. 

For the months following, I've just shortened the amount of space I needed for each section so that I'll have more space for pieces like these:

One of the greatest gifts from the Hobonichi (Or the Cousin, in my case), would be the flexibility their daily pages give you. While I would caution you against pressing your pencils and pens too forcefully on the paper (I've torn through a couple of pages), my "Notes" section has made me a very happy planner over the last couple of months.

Future posts will most likely be a look into what I've been drawing, writing, or just scribbling from my #hobonichi365 features. So stay tuned and enjoy!

Now that you’ve set your work to the correct specifications and sent your work to print, what’s next? Logistical processes get so little credit but they are so important in the long run. Together with a few of my other boothing friends, we’ve come up with a few tips on what else to consider once your products are ready.

Storage

If you’re printing more than 50 books, you’ll need to consider how you’ll store your products. Non-book products have their considerations as well. Here’s what I learnt from other artists:

• Books
  • After checking a few copies, keep your books back in the box
  • Keep the boxes either on the bottom shelf or on the floor, in a visible area that doesn’t obstruct others
  • If you have a lot of books and are working with a collaborator, split your load or pool some money to rent a storage space (I don’t recommend the latter unless you have more than 500 books).

 

• Posters, Postcards, & Prints
  • Keep them in their plastic slips and away from light
  • Ensure they’re lying on a flat surface
  • For postcards and prints, I know it’s really tempting to use rubber bands and clips to hold them together, but prolonged storage can result in imprints and rust, so I’d say go with either wrapping or plastic slips
  • If you only have a few copies left, keep them in their plastic slips and in a poster tube

 

• Badges, Keyrings, & Acrylic Accessories
  • Similar to other accessories, keep them in their plastic bags
  • Avoid keeping them in tight spaces

Packaging

For a majority of my boothing experience, I didn’t think about packaging, especially since I was only selling books. However, as conventions and events continue to get more footfall, packaging becomes increasingly important – not just its appearance but its preparation as well. Here are a few tips:

• If you can, buy in bulk. The party shops next to Bugis+ (Singapore) can give you pretty good deals on plastic / paper bags. If you’re in Thailand, Talad Rodfai and Chatuchak have some great deals on packaging too.
• Start packing your products early (Thanks Ben, for this tip!) – you don’t want to have a situation where you end up going to your event still packing.

Transport

Transporting your goods comes in two stages – From the Printer to You, and From You to the Booth / Shop.
How are you going to get your goods from the printer to wherever you need it? Most of us have two options: We collect the books from the printers’ ourselves, or we pay a delivery fee and the printers send the books / products to our provided address.

Do keep these points in mind though:

• If you’re collecting your products yourself –
  • Arrange your own transport
  • Prepare carriers – most printers just put your products in bags or boxes. The IKEA blue carrier bag or market trolleys are both fine.

 

• If you’d like the printer to deliver your products –
  • Check if you’re eligible for delivery first – some printers only deliver if the amount you print exceeds a certain number, some printers don’t deliver non-books
  • Check if the delivery price falls within your budget – just ask the printer, or find the difference between quotes with and without the delivery option.

Many creators I know have roller luggage handy (about medium-sized) to store their goods and deco – it’s a pretty handy tool if you’re talking about having to lug a good lot of items for a couple of days.

Note: Some printers give you the option of delivering straight to your event – I would advise against this option if it’s your first job / you have not worked with this printer before. The costs will go up and there won’t be time for you to check product quality before you put them up for sale. Also, you don’t really want to lug 200 copies around, it’s not fun and there’s no guarantee that you’ll be selling all of them in one event.

And that marks the end of my Printing for Indie Creators post series! I hope you’ve managed to find some pointers for your own projects.
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Stay tuned for the printable accompanying these posts.

Now that your work is nicely laid out, you’ve checked your bleed borders, and your specifications are checked and ready to go, your next logical step would be to source for a production house. In our current case (as indie writers and comic artists), it’ll be to look for a printer.

If you haven’t got a clue or finished your pre-printing checks, however, I’d suggest you read my previous post in this series just to get a feel of what you’ll need to take note of before sending your work to print.

When you source printers for your work, there are more aspects to think about besides price. Here are some areas to look out for:

Printing Services & Their Clients

What are you printing? Postcards? Prints? Comics? Zines? Different printers have different services or specializations – make sure that the printer provides services you require.

At the same time, it’ll be a good idea to check out their clients. Better still, their address. For indie creators, a print shop in the middle of a mall or an accessible shopping area is good enough.

When you find printers who are in the middle of an industrial estate, or have loads of clients who deal with journals or magazines, chances are, they’ll be way out of your budget.

Quotations & Accessibility

Some printers have the option to get a sample quote on their website – you just key in your project specifications and they give you an estimate price. For many others, you’ll either have to go to the print shop personally or send them an email to ask.

When you get your quotes though, it’ll help if you can take note of the following:

• Overall price and price per page – compare this with your budget.
• Specifications – some printers like to recommend services with their quotations. What’s important is that you make your specifications clear in the final quote.
• The fine print – are there any terms and conditions with the quotes and print job recommended to you? Make it clear and understand what you’re getting into.

Note: Be prudent with your budget and manage your expectations if it’s your first time with a printer. There will be some level of error or defects with at least a few copies during some point of your requested job – be prepared for that and don’t go into a fit when there’s an error with a few copies, nothing is perfect all the time.

Delivery

If you’re printing locally, this won’t be as huge a consideration for you. However, do keep this in mind – the faster you need your prints, the higher the costs may be.

If you’re printing your goods overseas, however, there might be a few things to consider:

• Always check the additional delivery costs before you make a decision – book delivery via truck from Malaysia to Singapore can add another RM200+ (~SGD70) to your bill.
• If you’re shipping goods in via sea, make sure you check the paperwork needed for shipping and clearance – some printers have different prices from printer to door, and from printer to port.

Again, if you’re not sure, ask.

How We Usually Find Printers:

A good number of us found our printers via word-of-mouth. If you have friends who have been making zines or indie books for a while, you may want to ask about their printer contacts (nicely, of course). In Singapore, Peace Centre and Sunshine Plaza have a hotbed of printers, so you may want to have a look there.

P / S – I tend to go to Peace Centre’s Leadership Printers at Peace Centre and Dezain Print at Sunshine Plaza.
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Are there any good printers in Asia you’d like to recommend? We’d like to hear from you in the comments!