[BPB] Boards.ie Photography Yearbook 2009 - Planning stage - [!! POLL ADDED !!]

AnCatDubh

I may be submitting an image.

There appears to be a natural swell of opinion that last years efforts was good and not to change it (it wasn't broke so don't fix it).

I think it can be taken as accepted that the product will be through self selection by individuals of their submission. The only limiting factor may be the number of images included and what makes it economically acceptable to purchase. If that did come to pass, then a lottery system could be used for selection but last year everyone who was in a position to submit was actually included.

Essentially - similar format to last year. Similar number of images. And in a worst case scenario - similar cost. If a workable solution can be found to achieving lower cost then everyone will probably be happy with such a situation.

Does anyone know of or have experience of an on-line money collection service where people could pay as they would with blurb to a central "Boards Book Santa Strike Force" account in which to gather the orders? I'm not suggesting that this is the way to go but wondering what options are there as we may need something like that for the badge / buttons too.

mrmac

I may be submitting an image.

AnCatDubh wrote: »

Does anyone know of or have experience of an on-line money collection service ...

Paypal?
You don't need a PayPal account to pay money in - just a debit/credit card?

If Blurb accept payment by PayPal - I don't think you'll have to pay any fees. I think you only pay a fee if you remove the money by transferring to a bank account?

Maybe some PayPal users could confirm??

Morrisseeee

I may be submitting an image.

There appears to be a natural swell of opinion that last years efforts was good and not to change it (it wasn't broke so don't fix it).

I agree, it worked well. But we should still keep an 'open' mind (at this early stage) on what we can do, otherwise a good oportunity might be missed !
The idea of the 2nd book was an outlandish one I guess, while I still like the idea, the overheads of running it might be too much.

artyeva

I may be submitting an image.

mrmac wrote: »

Paypal?
You don't need a PayPal account to pay money in - just a debit/credit card?

If Blurb accept payment by PayPal - I don't think you'll have to pay any fees. I think you only pay a fee if you remove the money by transferring to a bank account?

Maybe some PayPal users could confirm??

yup, you only get charged if you transfer the funds out of a paypal a/c into a bank a/c. think it's free for amounts over €100 and €1 for amounts of €1 - €99.

AnCatDubh

I may be submitting an image.

artyeva wrote: »

yup, you only get charged if you transfer the funds out of a paypal a/c into a bank a/c. think it's free for amounts over €100 and €1 for amounts of €1 - €99.

Just also to be aware -in receiving transactions i.e. someone ordering a book, there are fees associated with it;

Per Transaction 1.9% - 3.4% + €0.35 EUR

Each book purchase (transaction) would thus incur €0.35 + 3.4% of the book cost (assume €35) €1.19 = €1.54

It looks very easy to set up and offers turnkey solutions on inventories, order monitoring, etc...

Ideo

I may be submitting an image.

For the Dublin Delivery Group (or DDD) I think we ordered 50 books or so. Got the bulk discount of 10% and I found another code on the internet that gave another 5% off (think it was 5% anyway!).

Only problem with having a print run of 300 or 500 is how do we distribute them? Most of the books were picked up at the Dublin meet but it was tedious enough for myself meeting up with people and giving them books. Wouldn't be up for doing it again tbh!

Maybe we can see what the printer comes back with price wise and go from there? If the price was good, then perhaps we could approach Easons and see would they be interested? Love to know how Martin King's photo book was organised, Did the bookshops make any money on this or just sell at a flat rate with all proceeds going to Temple St hospital?

IMO, I don't think there should be a theme. Perhaps throughout the book we could catorgorise the photos according theme into little sections, but dont say section 1, 2, 3? Just a thought!

AnCatDubh is spot on about teh additional paypal costs too. I would suggest setting up a bank account this year for the book!

mrmac

I may be submitting an image.

Update - bad news = no prices yet, and unlikely to get one without supplying a lot more info.

Good news - found a local printer who can print as many, or as few as we need! Once the book is on file, he's happy to print off an extra 10, 20, 100 or whatever quantity we want.

BUT - before he'll provide a quote, he wants to make a mock up, to show both sides what's involved. He wants to see what we want, and to show us what the print quality will be like. Good idea.

So, I need a few things to progress this.

I need the layout files from last years yearbook, including the images. I don't need all the files, but enough to generate a decent mock-up. If anyone had a particular problem with the print quality of their shot, I'd like to include these for comparison.

I need to know that it's ok for me to do this! I really don't want to upset anyone, and if you don't want me to use your shot in this way - please say so.

I'd really appreciate it if someone could lend me a copy, or copies, of last years yearbook, with the different cover options, i.e. softcover, hardcover & image wrap. I promise to take excellent care of it, and return it safely.
I've already sent mine to a mate in the UK for a reference.

Lastly, I'll need a few of ye to volunteer to inspect the mock up. So expect a meeting call once I get a sample.

xia

I may be submitting an image.

Thanks for looking around! As I wasn't involved in last years book I can't help with pics or books but could have a look at the mock up if the others are willing to give him a try. Sounds uncomplicated enough to me and as some were concerned about last years quality...
Btw where is he based? Letterkenny, Maynooth or Carlow?;)

mrmac

I may be submitting an image.

Printers are up in Donegal - but I'm up and down the N2 every week
I'm sure we can arrange something to suit most.

mrmac

I may be submitting an image.

mrmac wrote: »

So, I need a few things to progress this. ....

I'm still waiting .....

Are the layout files available, or are they only on Blurb?

Anyone NOT happy with the print of their image last year, who'd be happy for me to get it re-printed as a sample?

Anyone who does not wish to have their shot reproduced again?

Anyone who'd lend me their copy of last years book?

(Must.... learn....... patience. :rolleyes: )

rahtkennades

I may be submitting an image.

Hi mr mac. I think the layout should still be up on blurb as the book is still for sale. Whyulittle or thOnda should have access to these.
I think it's possible to export as a PDF file too, so the layout would be kept intact.
I've no probe with my image being reprinted and I did feel it was very dark last year.
Can't help with the lend of a book as I don't have it to hand atm.

ThOnda

I may be submitting an image.

There is some access, but my memory is short and time limited. I will try to give you more details tomorrow.

Rb

I may be submitting an image.

I'm interested in submitting an image.

Does it have to be a "new" one or can it be one I've already posted on boards? There's some shots I've taken and am really happy with how they've turned out, and would love to see them in a book alongside a load of good photographers work, but understand if they have to be "new".

If so, what is the deadline?

mrmac

I may be submitting an image.

Rb - I don't see any mention of it having to be new work. In fact, I'd say that it should be something that you've shared with the rest of us!

As for a deadline - I'm guessing it's very close to printing time, which looks like it'll be some time in September/October.

If you've an image in mind, that you've already done, why not post it up for C&C, and ask others for input?

That's my plan anyway - there's so much talent on here, it can't hurt to ask for help.

eas

When the time is right, it may be a good idea to post instructions on how to "soft proof" your print in photoshop using blurbs printer profile. These instructions are on blurb.com

As long as peoples monitors are reasonably accurate it should remove a good amount of peoples worries about how the print will look.

I bought one of the books and although very happy for everyone and a very worthy purchase, it did seem as though the book didn't get proofed properly.

Another suggestion would be to designate someone with proper experience and knowledge as "art director" type position who would be responsible for getting the best results possible.


just my 2c.

mrmac

I may be submitting an image.

mrmac wrote: »

I'm still waiting .....

Are the layout files available, or are they only on Blurb?

Anyone NOT happy with the print of their image last year, who'd be happy for me to get it re-printed as a sample?

Anyone who does not wish to have their shot reproduced again?

Anyone who'd lend me their copy of last years book?

(Must.... learn....... patience. :rolleyes: )

Another week goes by .......

AnCatDubh

I may be submitting an image.

mrmac wrote: »

Another week goes by .......

and tumbleweed blows through the ole ghost thread - nah, I think people have started to disperse a little with holidays and stuff.

Are the layout files available, or are they only on Blurb?

Big shout out to whyulittle and ThOnda here - more whyulittle I think.

Anyone NOT happy with the print of their image last year, who'd be happy for me to get it re-printed as a sample?

Come on people - there were some although I thought the whole thing was marvellous. A couple who weren't though would be nice to come forward - if not on thread - PM mrmac directly.

Anyone who does not wish to have their shot reproduced again

I think (and am sure you are thinking) you'd have to do it by agreement to respect the rights of people - I was happy with mine - 'ESUA' in the book and you are welcome to my source image that i used if it will serve as one.

Again shout out to people - come on - pipe up if you are ok here. Mrmac is going out of the way to get some leg work done and needs a little agreement and assistance here.

Anyone who'd lend me their copy of last years book?

Yup - so long as you take very good care. It comes down once every 3 months or so for me to oogle at and I did so recently so you are welcome to it assuming a return is in order within ( 3 months ). I'll Pm you locations that i'm at and if not I can do postage if you don't mind parting with a postal address (I promise I won't stalk you or your kin ).

MartMax

I may be submitting an image.

mrmac wrote: »

Another week goes by .......

Go ahead with mine, even if you have to reprint it on 20 pages

dakar

I may be submitting an image.

'Lucy, 4 days old ' is my contribution. Feel free to use it for layout or proofing purposes or whatever. If you need a decent res file, PM me.

Buzz Lightyear

I may be submitting an image.

Mrmac , you can borrow mine of you want to meet somewhere this week. Give me a buzz. I've a soft copy.

Pigwidgeon

I may be submitting an image.

yeah you can use my image for the test book no problem, mine was "stairway to heaven"

edit: i don't have the original i just remembered, (lost everything on my comp to a nasty virus) all i have is the flickr version if that's any use?

ThOnda

I may be submitting an image.

I'll try to get on-line in the evening to dig the password and login for Blurb.

Morrisseeee

I may be submitting an image.

You can use my image (any way you like)
/it was fairly ordinary looking back on it now, I wish I had have used something different !:eek:

I still have the Blurb download software, ie. BookSmart (if you register you can download it). It lets you design the book on your own PC. I think we used this layout last year The one with the green tick).

AnCatDubh

I may be submitting an image.

mrmac - if you want to PM an email address to people who are indicating they are happy for their image from last year to be used, they can then email it to you as submitted last year.

I think the email account used last year was subsequently removed or the individual emails with images removed as part of the finishing procedure.

Kazujo

You can use my pic too

Ideo

I may be submitting an image.

any update on this? mrmac im happy for you to test run my image. i was actually disappointed it came out so dark so maybe its a good one to use in that regards. think the general consensus was that some images were darker than planned. don't think in any case they were brighter than planned, just fyi!

melekalikimaka

I may be submitting an image.

aye mine wasnt great either. sting wrays, work away if you wish

I only saw this now,mine didn't look great in the book so feel free to use it("Lost").It came out a bit too dark.

Cabaal

I may be submitting an image.

You can use mine for a test book also, its Kilkenny Castle by Barry somers, if you need a copy of image file just PM me

sunny2004

I may be submitting an image.

Cabaal wrote: »

You can use mine for a test book also, its Kilkenny Castle by Barry somers, if you need a copy of image file just PM me

Just online for a few moments so cant read it all, you can use my image if it helps..