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The Xerox Factor
Photocopy Shops Reviewed
One of the largest stumbling blocks in producing your own small press comic is getting cheap good quality photocopying. Here are some places that have been road tested for zine-friendliness. Do let us know of any more.
Bristol
K.B Printing
Pensford Hill, Pensford, Bristol (01179553067)
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
About thirty minutes bus ride outside Bristol, although there are only buses every 1-2 hours (it's just down the road from Whitchurch) The problem is, Pensford is only a small village. The wait could of course be taken up by popping into one of the four pubs (really! And I recommend 'The Rising Sun') and then picking up the booklets, before bussing it again
K.B is an old-style print shop but v. professional - stapling, folding, typo corrections, all the usual at very reasonable prices. This is were I got the Bristol 2001 TRS2, Leaflit batch and Comic Artist's Guide To Reproduction done. There's a price list on the wall, but it's outdated to the customer's advantage. KB are reportedly only busy one week of a month, are helpful and know what they are doing. As an example of their pricers, 1 x A3 Double-Sided cost 10p and 250 x A3 D/S cost 7p each.
(Andy Luke)
Kall Kwik
Centre 513, Tower House, 46 Fairfax Street, Bristol, BS31 3BN
(07715 043297) web email
Handy town centre location, but for the whole, I was not impressed. England is littered with stores boasting '5p a copy', so there is no reason for somewhere like Kall Kwik. For a print run of about 50 x 12 A4 DS, I'd imagine they take two to three days. Kall Kwik are overpriced and incompetent. They let me down at the last minute by shredding the cover of a magazine. It was sellotaped on the join, yes, and no, I don't know what possessed their staff member to try to fit it through the feeder. They did not try to repair the damage, nor did they attempt to copy the remainder of the document. I was up against a harsh deadline, and despite taking my phone number, was no attempt to contact me reagrading the error (well remedied at low cost and short notice by KB Printing)
Kall Kwik: An absolute strain on legs, wallet and patience.
(Andy Luke)
London
Catford Print Centre
3 Bellingham Road, Bellingham, Catford, London, SE6 2PN
(020) 8695 0101 web
I’ve never been to this print-centre nor am I aware of the qulities of the service. It’s included here as it’s one of the vast overflow of pamphlets that accompanied me home from the Bristol Comics 2001 festival. So, somebody has been there! Please send in more details if you have had any experience with the Catford Print Centre.
30 minutes from Central London, and close to Bellingham train station, Catford’s pahlet boasts a "State Of The Art" Pre-Press Department, offset printing, digital printing and finishing departments. Also handling paperback books (minimum 100), full colour posters(minimum 1) and personalised greeting cards leaflets and calendars(minimum 50).
Catford Print Centre was established in 1985, has a staff of 20 with "250 years of print related experience between them" and a factory of 4,000 sq. feet.
(Andy Luke)
N. Ireland
The Link Family Youth and Community Centre
South Street, Newtownards
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
Most copyshops and libraries in Ulster charge 10p a copy, with reductions for bulk starting at 1-2p for 200 copies. Therefore, somewhere like The Link, who have copied mst of my work from 1998-2001, has been invaluable. As 'The Link' is a community centre with cafe, and too many young people hoarding the pool table, the photocopy service is only a siderline operating from the upstairs office. Prices are 5p a copy (A$) and 9p (A3), d/s A4 (9p) and 15p for A3 d/s. There is no clear pricing cut for bulk copies, although the staff are quite fond of rounding figures off to the nearest cheaper pound or fifty. Particularly, if you're a regular.
The problem with 'The Link', if it is a problem, is they're not overly keen on bulk, double-sided things as comic books, particularly if the pages aren't lined up in ready-to-print fashion. They could ask you if you fancy doing it yourself , which is reassuring if you know your way around a copier. (The machine does about 30 A4 DS a minute and can also handle A£. The people behind 'The Link', Diane Holt and Anne Morrow are extremely helpful and friendly and sweet.
PHOTOCOPYING ONLY
Opening Hours Mon-Fri 10-5 (Upstairs only till one), Closed for lunch 1-2pm
(Andy Luke)
ARDS DEVELOPMENT BUREAU
43-45 Francis Street, Newtownards
www.ardsonline.com info@ards-development.co.uk 02891814625
RECOMMENDED
A relatively new outfit (opened mid 2000), and I've only used their copy service a number of times. They offer photocopying, scanning, binding, laminating and possibly cutting provided it's a small amount. Also a very reasonable internet service ( Jan 2001 prices: £2 per hour, £1 concession) Photocopying is approximately 3/5p for an A4 and 6/10p for an A3, 9p for A4 D/S and 18p for A3 D/S. Discounts for bulk vary.
Ulster photocopying prices are regularly more costly than those in Greater Britain, and Newtownards Town Centre is particularly bad as far as it's meagre collection of services of this kind are concerned. Places like 'The Link' and Ards Development Bureau are veritable holy grails.
Be precise in your instructions, supply ready-made templates, or ask if you can work the copier, if there is any doubt. The ADB is a very reasonable resource centre
Opening Hours Mon-Thurs 9-4.30pm Fri 9-3.30pm Close for lunch between 1-2pm
(Andy Luke)