Thesis printing

Ostrom

Ok the day is (almost) here, now I need to print 5 copies of my thesis (3 for exams office, one for me and one for supervisor). Unfortunately, including appendices, end-notes, and a vast array of tables, it is over 600 pages long.

I have quite a few diagrams which require color printing, so I'm wondering what my options are. I called a few places, and the ones who will accept a complete pdf, and manually separate color pages from black and white are charging up to 12c per page, which works out just shy of €400 in total.

Does anyone know of a service with a competitive (or negotiable) rate who might take care of the complete document?

djpbarry

I used thesiscomplete.ie to do mine a couple of years ago but I'm not sure if they're still in business. Cost just over €100 for three copies.

Powerhouse

Genuinely not trying to be smart but at the extortionate rates being charged for printing it would be economical to buy a printer and paper yourself and hook it up to the laptop. Like I said, that's a genuine suggestion. You'd get a printer for €50/€60 and a couple of hundred sheets of A4 paper for a few euros.

djpbarry

Powerhouse wrote: »

Genuinely not trying to be smart but at the extortionate rates being charged for printing it would be economical to buy a printer and paper yourself and hook it up to the laptop. Like I said, that's a genuine suggestion. You'd get a printer for €50/€60 and a couple of hundred sheets of A4 paper for a few euros.

But it also needs to be bound?

Sica

Way back in the day to cut costs I printed my own thesis and then brought the pages in to a place on Camden Street to be bound. http://www.thesiscentre.ie/ says the same service still exists and will cost €25 per thesis.

Ostrom

Thanks for all the suggestions, I've decided to separate the colour pages into a single file and pay for those. I think ill be able to get away with printing a copy myself, photocopying it, then inserting the colour pages. A bit more labour intensive, but cheapest overall. I'm going with thesis bound (in case anyone searches for a similar thread in future), and have found them very helpful.

kerry4sam

efla wrote: »

Thanks for all the suggestions, I've decided to separate the colour pages into a single file and pay for those. I think ill be able to get away with printing a copy myself, photocopying it, then inserting the colour pages. A bit more labour intensive, but cheapest overall. I'm going with thesis bound (in case anyone searches for a similar thread in future), and have found them very helpful.

All I will say about the photocopying is that be very careful and watch each page as some can present dark lines on them, pending quality of photocopier.

After all that work by you, and well done on completing your thesis btw , it would be a shame to not let that quality shine through on completion.

djpbarry

kerry4sam wrote: »

All I will say about the photocopying is that be very careful and watch each page as some can present dark lines on them, pending quality of photocopier.

After all that work by you, and well done on completing your thesis btw , it would be a shame to not let that quality shine through on completion.

I would go further and say that photocopying is a really bad idea - the quality will be poor and your work presented in a bad light as a result.

kerry4sam

efla wrote: »

Ok the day is (almost) here, now I need to print 5 copies of my thesis (3 for exams office, one for me and one for supervisor). Unfortunately, including appendices, end-notes, and a vast array of tables, it is over 600 pages long.

I have quite a few diagrams which require color printing, so I'm wondering what my options are. I called a few places, and the ones who will accept a complete pdf, and manually separate color pages from black and white are charging up to 12c per page, which works out just shy of €400 in total.

Does anyone know of a service with a competitive (or negotiable) rate who might take care of the complete document?

When I finished my own, the company in Cork printed it off on different paper than normal printer paper and bound it and really looked professional.

~> OP: look around for quotes. Will make it all worth your while. Honest!

Alternatively, purchase a printer as mentioned above, but purchase some good quality printing paper, not the standard printer paper as the difference in the quality of paper is evident in the finished product too.

It can be expensive, but think of who will be reading this and it will be a nice way to complete your hard work too

Ostrom

I hadn't thought of the crappy photocopy quality I must admit. I think I will take the hit and shop around for a quote - as you say, it is worth it considering the time spent.

djpbarry

efla wrote: »

I hadn't thought of the crappy photocopy quality I must admit. I think I will take the hit and shop around for a quote - as you say, it is worth it considering the time spent.

It is indeed and in the grand scheme of things, what you spend on getting your thesis printed properly is not a great deal of money at all.

Powerhouse

djpbarry wrote: »

But it also needs to be bound?

Yes, but that can be done separately and relatively cheaply. I know when I did my Masters' thesis I needed three copies and had to get only one bound. It might be different for others of course.

kerry4sam

Powerhouse wrote: »

Yes, but that can be done separately and relatively cheaply. I know when I did my Masters' thesis I needed three copies and had to get only one bound. It might be different for others of course.

I done 3 copies of my own also. Only 1 was required but the more copies you get bound, the lower the costs too.

I thought it would be nice to have a copy for myself to add to my other course-work to complete my backup of my work over the years. Also, had another copy bound, just-in-case it went missing, or was somehow damaged and another copy was needed.

Sir Ophiuchus

You should call Reads and see if they'd give you a special quote. Their standard thesis printing rates are here: http://www.reads.ie/print-thesis.php

I've used them before, and they're really quite cheap and are happy to discuss individual projects and maybe give you a bit of a discount.

Ostrom

All done, cost a small fortune but it was last minute, so largely my own fault....

It was worth it, for the savings of hassle and time that would have gone into printing it myself. Very happy to have it all out of my head and in front of me, finally.

Thanks for all the suggestions!

kerry4sam

efla wrote: »

All done, cost a small fortune but it was last minute, so largely my own fault....

It was worth it, for the savings of hassle and time that would have gone into printing it myself. Very happy to have it all out of my head and in front of me, finally.

Thanks for all the suggestions!

Many Congrats on the completion of your thesis!