Printing Options

Figuring out the best and most economical way to print your children's book can be tricky. There are many options and they all have different benefits. In this post I will discuss the different options and when I think they are suitable.

The first point I would like to make is that printing has a few set rules that can help you.

1. The larger the quantity of books you order at a time the less they will cost per book. If you order 100 books you will pay a lot more per book than if you order 1000. The set up involved with printing books is fairly extensive and does not change with the quantity. It takes a printer the same amount of effort to print 100 books as it does 1000 the only difference is material costs like ink and paper and a slight time difference.

2. The more you pay for printing the better quality you should receive. This is not always true however if you are thinking your printing bill is ridiculously cheap there is probably a reason. There are many ways printers can bring down the cost of printing to save customers money. A lot of the time this involves taking shortcuts that sacrifice quality.

There are three common options for printing your book.

Print on Demand
There is now a lot of self publishing companies’ online offering print on demand services. This means you don’t have to pay anything up front. As people order your book the printer prints a copy and sends it to the customer. The cost of the print comes out of the price the customer pays for the book and you get the difference as your profit minus a small publishing fee. This is a great for beginners just trying to get their book out there. However the printing price per book is a lot higher than other printing methods so if you want to sell more than a few thousand at a time this is not a very good option.
Publish your book with CreateSpace: get high royalties, low book prices, and expanded distribution.
Lulu

Gang Run Printing
Gang run printing is when a printer prints multiple print jobs in the same run. This means the set up cost of the job is split between the jobs therefore bringing down the cost of set up for each customer. The set up process involves setting up the colour plates correctly and adjusting them to suit the job. This means that if your job is being printed with multiple other jobs the colour set up will be to suit all of the jobs not just yours. This can mean slight variations in colour when printing the same job in six months time with the same printer. Most of them do not guarantee colour matching. This is not necessarily important for children's books as no customer will be comparing them side by side.

Quality Printing
The last option is high quality printing where your job is being printing in its own run and colour matched to your specifications. This is obviously going to produce the best overall result however it comes with a cost. As your job will be printed by its self you will be paying for the whole set up cost. This will make your per book price quite high. This is a good option is you are printing a large run of more than 1000 or are trying to get something very specialised and specific with the printing and finishing.
PrintRunner.com

7 Self Publishing Options

In this post I will name what I believe to be the 7 best self publishing options for children's books. Use the information below as a guide as each book is different and requires a unique service and business plan. There are many different self publishing options but it is important to understand the differences before getting started.
     

(1) Print on Demand Publishers
Print on demand are companies that print and distribute the books once ordered and paid for by the customer. This means as a self publisher you have no set up costs as you don’t have to pay anything. This is great for someone just getting started as you can get the project up and running asap. With these services come a few risks. These companies print your job with hundreds of others at the same time meaning they don’t specifically set the printers to your job. This could result in slight discrepancies in the consistency of the printing. Most of which will not be noticeable to customers as they only see one book at a time. However if you order one box of books in January and then six months later get another box they may vary in colour slightly. The risk is small but it’s something to be aware of.
Publish your book with CreateSpace: get high royalties, low book prices, and expanded distribution.
Lulu
Lighting Source
WingSpan

(2) Online Printing Companies
There are wide ranges of online print companies who can print anything from business cards to novels. These services are usually very cheap and can be a great option for self publishing as with such a low cost per item it allows you to make a large profit on each book. These services get cheaper per item the larger the quantity. So you would want to start with at least 500 books. The risk with these is the same as option (1) as they are printing your job with many other jobs there is no guarantee for colour matching.
PrintRunner.com

(3) Local Print Shop
Another option is to use your local print shop/company. This is usually a bit more expensive however it has great advantages. By dealing with your printer face to face they can show you examples of stock and product options. They can create consistent colour matching every time. This is a great option if you have no experience dealing with printers and publishers. They will be only too happy to hold your hand through the process and they are able to make sure you get your desired result.

(4) eBook
Creating an eBook is as each as creating a .Pdf from a word document. You can either use ePub format or .Pdf format. This is completely free and allows you to distribute you book online through thousands of avenues. This is a great way of testing your book to make sure it is worth creating print versions.
Kobobooks.com
eBooks.com

(5) iPad app
A great new way to publish you children’s book is as an iPad application on iTunes. This is the latest avenue for children's books so there is a great need for new exciting products. The problem is this is not the easiest format to create. In order to create an exciting iPad app you need an experienced coder to create interactive elements. If you know someone with these skills or have the money to pay for them then go for it!
iTunes, App Store, iBookstore, and Mac App Store
  

(6) Audio book
An audio book is a great way to publish your children's book. There are many great tools online including translators to assist you with this process. The great thing is like the eBook you can be selling it online and make your story available to the world very easily. You won’t need illustrations with this method which will save you a bit of money.

(7) YouTube
Another great way to get your book out there is through YouTube. Create a slideshow like movie or a basic animation and publish it to you tube. This is a great medium for children who are learning to read as you can have the written words being followed by the narrator allowing the child to try and read a long.



I invite you to comment on this post with other great ways of publishing a children's book.