6/1/2023 0 Comments Simple comic page margin![]() The trim size is just that: the line where the page will eventually be cut.Instead, you may want to lay out another, smaller box to bound your actual panels and dialogue. Note that if you were to put panel borders on this line, they’d sit only 1/2″ from the final edge of the book, which, often, doesn’t look very good. You put all your main action, characters, and dialogue within that box, and you know it won’t get trimmed off by an overzealous or sloppy printer. The idea with live area in a full-bleed page is that, even though you can’t literally see it, it forms the margin of safety. The safety zone, aka the live area is at least 1/4″ inside the trim size, and often more.When you draw a bleed, you have three edges to be aware of: the live area, the trim size, and the bleed. Here’s what your page might look like if you don’t properly lay out your bleed. If you don’t know how big and what shape the paper will be, you can’t plan for a bleed. Why? Because the nature of the bleed is that the ink runs off the edges of the paper. That is, you must know the book’s final trim size (the size it will be cut to after printing and binding). (bleeds shown in Lydia Roberts’ Fake Robot)įirst of all, and this is essential, you must know how the work is going to be printed. This makes your layout task more complicated. However, you can only “see” bleeds in the final printed book and you need to plan ahead if you have decided to use them. In some traditions-manga in particular-bleeds are so essential as to be part of the basic storytelling vocabulary. Look for shops that compete by actually offering better service, more variety, and that treat you well and reliably pull your books.Bleeds-where the image runs off the page-are a powerful dramatic tool in comics. They'll drop that shop like a bad fucking habit and start looking online. Now customers that come in expecting the same discount they've gotten for the last two years suddenly aren't getting it. Remaining shop no longer has to give the discount, so he drops it. Neither one makes as much money, have to start cutting corners/employees/etc. Original shop then goes to 15%, and so forth. One gives a 10% to bring customers over from the other shop. Shops that do this to 'compete' with one another kill themselves. You could have a sale for a week, but not a recurring discount, at least as an LCS. Two, if you ever stop giving your discount, you'll lose customers as they'll expect any discount to be permanent. You should never offer discounts, at least on new books. Shops screw themselves when they offer discounts. He wouldn't be paid off if he was just relying on new comics, I can tell you that much.Īnd a side note on this which is why I'm making a separate post: If he never did Pokemon, not sure where he'd be in paying off the land/building. That's why it's important for shops to diversify if they want to stay in business. In like two years, Pokemon paid off that land and building, and you're talking several hundred thousand dollars. Brought in a ton of Pokemon when the English version launched, and with his prior connections, could always bring in boxes even when every other distributor was sold out. Around that time, the owner went to a trade show and got started with Pokemon cards while they were still only in Japan. Speaking of diversifying, my LCS got out of a mall and bought some land and built a building. That's basically free $100 bills right there. I've seen my LCS buy a lot and end up finding a Hulk 181 in it. Bag em, board em, and pay someone to grade them (employee) still doesn't compare to what they can bring in. You'd be amazed at what people come in wanting to sell and not ask for much. Those, depending on the situation, costs them very little. The biggest item generally to their income is back issues. These help flush out the bills and everything and pay the employees. Depending on the item, where they bought it (trade shows are great!), etc. That's why they'll sometimes carry games, rpg books, warhammer, Magic, toys, dice, etc. The real money is in back issues and diversifying. It's what pays the bills, but unless they're a big shop with a hundred pull boxes, it's not covering much else. But new books aren't really where they make their money.
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