After last week’s blog post about my experiences making Print on Demand or POD books, I realized that we have several POD books right here in gallery inventory. That means it’s time to create a “curated collection” of these very interesting artist books.

Print on demand artist books are digitally designed and machine-bound books created by artists using online services such as Blurb.com or Lulu.com. Many book artists are experimenting with POD technology to create quick editions that can be ordered over the web in quantities as few as one copy at a time.

Here at 23 Sandy we stock a selection of POD books created by artists who usually create hand-bound artist books but are creating POD books for various artistic, conceptual or economic reasons. For example, Clifton Meador tells us he “uses print on demand service as a way of allowing time to concentrate on articulating ideas.” The time saved by skipping the hand-binding process allows artists to move on quickly to the next book. This is a nice benefit for those of us who have more ideas than time.

The books we stock here at 23 Sandy are not technically printed on demand. We ask the artists to order a few copies of their books and then send them to us for physical inventory. This may not fit the strict definition of POD books, but it allows us to distribute these books to our customers who might not normally find such unique titles online.

Click here to view our curated collection of POD books currently in gallery inventory.

Click here to learn how to make your own POD books.

And, if you are an artist creating print on demand artist books I’d love to consider them for gallery inventory. Contact me here to tell me about your work.

Bless This House, by Laura Russell and Nicole Bowmer

Print on demand books are hot right now. Many artists love the idea of publishing their own book, whether as an artist book, a portfolio, a thesis or even a self-published novel. Of course, we book artists have been doing this for years, binding our books by hand using traditional techniques and materials. But, sometimes you don’t want to do the binding yourself, or you are looking for a more commercial-style book. Enter the world of Print on Demand (POD books).

POD books are pretty much what you would imagine—you have a book idea, and through the magic of your computer and the internet, you can self publish one copy or hundreds, allowing you total control of the book publishing process.

Most print on demand vendors make it very simple to upload, layout, and create your book. But, as with all digital endeavors there are variables and a long list of seemingly intimidating vendors and options. So, this article is intended to offer my own experiences in the world of print on demand publishing.

One Best Bit of Advice

My most important tip for anyone considering their first POD book: create one copy of your book using each of the vendors you are considering. Try out at least two or three different vendors, design and upload your book and order one copy of the same book from each vendor as a proof. When they arrive you can compare the same books side by side to decide your preferences for image accuracy and resolution, paper stock quality, size, binding methods, and even website interface. Believe me this is worth the time and effort involved. You’ll be amazed at the differences in options.

Uncommon Threads Exhibition Catalog Cover

Order a Proof
My second bit of important advice is to be sure you order one proof of your book before ordering multiple copies. I can almost guarantee that you will see changes you want to make to either text or images before you order multiple copies.

Pricing
Will it be cost effective to print your book? That depends on a few factors. Do you want to resell your book or just publish a few copies for gifts? Prices will vary depending on the size of the book and number of copies. On the flip side, the more copies you order, the less they will cost per unit. I tend to use different vendors when I am looking for top quality than when I am looking to re-sell books with a profit. Some of the vendor’s prices are so high that there is no room for markup. You’ll have a hard time selling a soft cover book for $50.

Image Quality
POD books have really found a strong niche in the photography world. The simplicity and speed of the process is appealing, making POD books a terrific showcase for photographs or an excellent portfolio presentation option or self-promo piece. Of course, those of you with a keen photographic eye will wonder about the accuracy of the reproduction. Again, this will vary from publisher to publisher. You’ll have to balance our your need for own subjective need for quality with the prices offered.

Software Considerations
Many of these vendors require you to download their software to access their templates and book creation software. Their templates may offer just the level of design that you need, or you may want something more customized. If you have professional graphic design software you can design your own book, output to a PDF and then upload the PDF to the vendor.

A tip for photographers: Photoshop is not a layout program. Image layout in Photoshop is fine, of course, but its not acceptable for type. Photoshop naturally “rasterizes” type which will result in fuzzy edges. Use a design program.

Storefront Options
Many print on demand vendors have an online storefront that you can create for your books. This is a great way to sell your books online and not have to deal with payment, order fulfillment, shipping and such. Most of the services can sell you ISBN numbers and offer packages to have your book listed on Amazon or other bookselling avenues. Click here to see what the store for my own books looks like.

Curling Covers Caveat
One thing to watch out for: some covers on soft cover, perfect bound books seem to have a very pronounced upward curl, perpendicular to the spine. This is due to improper cover paper grain direction. Blurb seems to be the worst culprit. There are plenty of complaints about this issue, but I haven’t heard if it has been corrected.

My Vendor Experiences
I have had a lot of experience creating POD books. Several of my own artist books have been printed as POD books as a second edition after the initial first edition handmade book sold out. Plus, for five years we have created two catalogs each year for our big national juried exhibitions in the gallery. We also had an exhibition back in March of 2009 called Photo+Book that provided a terrific sampling of vendors and options. If you live in the Portland area stop by the gallery some time. I’ll show you my box of sample books from several different vendors.

Here’s what I’ve learned from trying various vendors. All of these vendors have varying pluses and minuses depending on the user preferences for quality/price. Keep in mind, this is not a comprehensive list of vendors, there are many, many more. These are just the vendors I have tried myself.

1. Blurb.com. Simple to use software and templates. Top quality. Very good color accuracy and resolution. Upgraded paper options available. Very expensive. Storefront available for selling your own books on their site.

Bless This House, my trailer park book, hard cover with dust jacket costs me $40 to print at Blurb, not including shipping. Soft cover, perfect binding runs about $30 on Blurb.

2. Lulu.com. Simple to use software and templates. Medium quality. Medium color accuracy. More noise in photographs, especially in mid-tones. Lower prices mean a better profit margin if color accuracy is not as important. Storefront available.

Bless this House, soft cover, perfect binding, slightly smaller than Blurb costs $17 at Lulu, about half the price of Blurb. My exhibition catalogs cost about $15.

3. Apple, iPhoto. Easiest to use of all. Build books in iPhoto or Aperture, then an easy upload process. Very good quality. Limited size and paper options. Highest price. Limited template designs. No storefront. I made a book as a Christmas gift one year using iPhoto. Each book cost $65.

4. LightningSource.com. Very difficult to use. No templates, no design software, long list of rules for creating files. Best for professional designers. Long turnaround time. Pretty good quality/color accuracy. Photos tend to be slightly noisy. But, all of this is compensated for by their very low prices. About half the price of Lulu. No storefront. I’ve used this company for a few of our exhibition catalogs with good results. One warning. Lightning Source will not let you open an account if you use Lulu as they are one of Lulu’s suppliers.

5. CreateSpace.com (an Amazon company.) Very low prices. I could get my catalogs down to less than $6 per unit, but I chose not to sacrifice quality. Color not horrible, a bit flat. Paper seemed very thin and flimsy. Great option for a very cheap, down and dirty book. Storefront available.

Buy Local
I love that POD book printing and binding has become a local option as well. There are a couple of local Portland options to explore.

Digicraft. Long-time photo lab operator, Al Berreth is doing some interesting things with POD books. He’s taking print on demand one step further and working hard to accommodate special requests for unusual paper stocks and other options. His eye for quality and personalized service make this a great option for particular Portlanders. Digicraft’s web site is here.

Publication Studio, also based in Portland is really more of a publisher, creating books for authors and artists they love. But, they also provide print on demand services. Last I heard their cover options are limited, but worth exploring. More info here.

On related bit of news that shows how big print on demand is becoming. Portland’s famous Powell’s Bookstore has recently purchased an Espresso Book Machine. Not a publish-your-own option, just a retail purchase option. Order any book title from a computer database and it prints a fresh copy just for you in minutes. This should be very interesting to watch. I love how Powell’s is working so hard to adapt to this crazy digital world instead of just rolling over and dying like many bookstores. There is a terrific video of the Espresso machine in action here.

So there you have it. Everything I know about print on demand. Now, go make a book!

Click here to see an online catalog for Interplay.

Featuring: Elizabeth M. Claffey, Lauren Henkin,
Clifton Meador and Laura Russell
Showing Through May 12, 2012

To celebrate Portland Photo Month, 23 Sandy Gallery is pleased to present four photographers who create artist books using very different approaches in terms of style, structure, materials and concept. Interplay showcases one-of-a-kind and limited edition artist books by Elizabeth M. Claffey, Lauren Henkin, Clifton Meador and Laura Russell. From fine bindings to altered books, to print on demand books and pop ups, this show will is an exploration of the crossover between the art of photography and the art of the book. Each of the four artists use the book form to push beyond the two-dimensional limits of the photographic medium by melding their photos into art in the form of a book.

Click here to see an online catalog for Interplay.

Elizabeth M. Claffey creates one-of-a-kind altered books. Her series titled Medical History, utilizes vintage medical text and reference books to explore family history and folklore through the juxtaposition of words, photographs, and pre-existing text. This work is inspired by the content of the found object, as well as by the artist’s folkloric inheritance, which often describes the physical experiences of family members and ancestors. Through personal narrative, this work comments on broader issues of physical intimacy, trends in medical science that can have permanent effects, and the meaning of the body in a familial context. Preview Elizabeth’s work here.

Lauren Henkin creates artist books that could be considered “fine press photographic artist books.” Her richly printed black and white images, high-quality papers and commissioned fine bindings are created in limited editions and feature images that pay homage to the overlooked or discarded in our everyday — toys left on the floor, dresses hanging in a closet, or trees growing beside dumpsters. Henkin tell us, “I work from the inside out, using photography as a way to share very personal experiences that hopefully, can be shared by many. When I look back on my work, seeing the progression from one series to another, I see a visual diary of my life, my worries, my fears and hopes.” Preview Lauren’s work here.

Clifton Meador is an artist whose work combines photography, writing, printmaking, and design to explore how history, narrative, and place shape the space of the book. Interplay will feature a project Meador created called Fifty Two. For the year after his fifty-second birthday, he made a book a week about the events and thoughts happening in his life each week. He did not hand-bind these books himself, but instead used a print on demand service as a way of allowing time to concentrate on articulating his ideas. His goal was creating word and image pieces that investigated how a book is a time-based experience of an idea, rather than making work that was extensive explorations of materiality in books. Meador tells us his “larger goal for this project was to engage the quotidian character of life as it is lived.” Preview Clif’s work here.

Laura Russell takes a wholly different path in the creation of her limit-edition artist books. As a photographer in the digital world she found herself drawn to bookbinding as a way of using her hands again. After giving up the dark room to go digital, the book arts gave her a chance to step away from the computer screen. Her love of materials and the structural possibilities of the book give her the freedom to expand her photographic images to make books that are sculptural in nature. She revels in alternative book forms including pop up books and movable books and frequently incorporates non-traditional materials such as plywood, Plexiglas or Coroplast. Her limited edition, hand-bound artist books are at once a celebration of the vernacular and her own small efforts to preserve our social, cultural and commercial landscape. Preview Laura’s work here.

ARTIST BIOGRAPHIES

Elizabeth M. Claffey is a photographer and book artist currently based in Boise, Idaho, where she teaches photography at Boise State University. She holds an MFA in photography, with a secondary concentration in Women’s Studies, from Texas Woman’s University. After taking a Bachelor of Arts degree at Earlham College in 2003, where she received honors for her photographic thesis on women’s body image issues and eating disorders, Elizabeth attended the Salt Institute for Documentary Studies. Her work has been recognized by Critical Mass, PDN Magazine, Galerie Huit, The Eddie Adams Workshop, and various other galleries and publications including The Chronicle of Higher Education, USA Today, The Dallas Morning News, and The Kinsey Institute.

Clifton Meador is an artist whose work combines photography, writing, printmaking, and design to explore how history, narrative, and place shape the space of the book. He has been the recipient of many grants and fellowships, most notably two New York Foundation for the Arts Fellowships, and a Fulbright Scholar Award to the Republic of Georgia. His work is featured in many collections including the Library of the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, and the Yale Art of the Book collection. He is currently a Professor and Director of the Interdisciplinary MFA in Book and Paper at Columbia College Chicago. Before coming to Columbia College Chicago in 2005, he was an Associate Professor at SUNY New Paltz, teaching design for ten years. He was the director of Nexus Press from 1985 to 1988, and has collaborated in producing many artists’ books.

Lauren Henkin is a private educator, reviewer, frequent speaker, Photolucida board member, author of five books, and active member in the photographic community. She graduated from Washington University in St. Louis with a BA in Architecture. Her work is widely collected by private collectors as well as institutions such as Southeast Museum of Photography, Beinecke Library, Yale University and Baker-Berry Library at Dartmouth College. Her work has been published in numerous journals on photography and the book arts including Shots Magazine, Black+White Magazine, Diffusion Magazine, Flak Photo, Urbanautica, Landscape Stories, Parenthesis and The Washington Post. She is a Px3 multi-category winner, Oregon Regional Arts & Culture Council grant winner, with other award nominations in both the Brink Emerging Artist and Contemporary Northwest Art Awards. In addition, she founded Photo Radio, an online audio program presenting interviews with curators, gallerists, artists, publishers, educators and other industry professionals.

Laura Russell holds a BBA from Northwood University and had a 15-year career in graphic design and marketing before becoming a full time working artist in 2002 and then opening 23 Sandy Gallery in 2007. She has served on the boards of several organizations including Art Source Portland, Photolucida, the Portland Art Dealers Association and the Colorado Women’s Caucus for Art. Her artist books are collected by many museums and libraries; including the Museum of Modern Art in New York, SFMOMA, the University of California Berkeley Environmental Design Library, and the Tate Collection in London. She travels extensively to lecture on various topics related to the book and paper arts. This is the first time her work will be exhibited at the gallery.

View Interplay’s full online catalog here.