shibagani48

Weekly report Dec - 2

Added 2023-12-09 13:57:14 +0000 UTC

Hello everyone!
Let's take a look at the progress from this week!

Comic Market Preparation

This week, I focused solely on this task.

The cost of printing doujinshi varies significantly depending on the submission deadline. Since Modus's manga was completed last week, I urgently laid out the pages and created the cover.

Selecting a print shop was quite challenging. There are countless print shops that handle doujinshi, each with different prices and specialties. Although I requested quotes from multiple printers, some were unable to handle the production of horizontally formatted books like this comic book. Additionally, when printing in large quantities, offset printing is the preferred method. However, this results in a color mode called CMYK, which slightly reduces color vibrancy. While there are more RGB-accurate printing methods with the latest technology, due to time constraints, I had to compromise and opt for CMYK printing this time.

There was much research to be done on aspects such as binding methods and paper types, but with limited time for careful consideration, I chose a standard plan.

After quickly receiving estimates from two companies, I encountered a minor hiccup. I requested quotes with the same conditions from A and B, and although A was slightly cheaper, when I considered changing the paper size, B became significantly more affordable. When I conveyed this to A over the phone, they unexpectedly offered an even lower price on the spot. Feeling uncertain, I informed B about this, and they, too, offered a further discount.

I've experienced this auction-like exchange before, during a time when I sought quotes from multiple movers. While it's possible to continually lower prices by pitting companies against each other, it somehow makes me feel like the antagonist.

Being indecisive, even as I write this article, I haven't formally decided where to place the order. Fortunately, both companies extended the submission deadline to next week, so I plan to make a decision tomorrow. Anticipating sales to overseas markets from Japan this time, I decided to print a considerable quantity, but the cost is a substantial sum that I don't usually deal with, adding to my indecisiveness. Everyone, please buy it!!!

Originally, I planned to create posters for sale, but due to the considerable size and the limited storage space at the venue, as well as the inconvenience for customers to carry them, it seems that few people would buy them. I may need to reconsider by reducing the size, but I really wanted to make and sell these giant posters somehow.

Also, I had plans to sell the demo for Helversus, but after conducting a pre-check, considering the frequent occurrence of bugs and the inability to address them sufficiently, I decided to distribute it for free. The distribution method is still under consideration.