The Cerebus Oversize Project: MY Kinko's vs YOUR Kinko's

DAVE SIM:
Okay, as I'm typing this, we are six days and roughly 21 hours away from the actual TCOP launch (see SLEDGEHAMMER below)!

If you have questions or, particularly, suggestions, they're certainly welcome since, so far as we know, this has never been done before and it's certainly something virtually ALL artists and publishers have been leery about:  making high resolution digital files available for sale.  If you want, you can try talking us out of it!  :)

LOTS of tweaking has been done but, as I always say, a good idea can come from anywhere.

It has definite pluses.  As compared with Kickstarter where, four months later, we're still only part of the way through the fulfillment process (John is suggesting that we'll be at the printing and signing point sometime in the next week: I sure hope so! SINCERE apologies!), unless something goes seriously wrong next Friday, if you click on SLEDGEHAMMER and pay for it, you'll get it immediately.

Some allowances will have to be made in some cases for download time -- they are HUGE, HUGE files -- but even then it will be "ALMOST immediately".

I liked Sandeep's comment:  "It's really a question of MY Kinko's versus YOUR Kinko's" if we had gone the route of printing and shipping them.  High resolution files like these you will be able to print anywhere.  Some places will farm them out (the place who did the #187 cover did it and had it back in two or three days), other places can do them "on site".  You can definitely shop for the best price, as well online.

This way also allows you to choose what you want the images printed on if you choose to have them printed.

I wouldn't underrate that as a key "individualizing" point.  "MY Kinko's comes with MY choices and you're stuck with them".  Some people are "glossy" people and same people are "flat" people.  I prefer artwork on glossy paper.

If I was getting SLEDGEHAMMER printed here, as the co-artist, I would go glossy.  However, beyond a certain size -- if I was getting SLEDGEHAMMER printed the same size as the #187 two foot by three foot -- I might go "flat".  My choice would also depend on whether I was getting it framed under glass or getting it laminated or hot-pressed or cold-pressed onto some kind of board.  Those aren't right or wrong ways: it's all personal preference.

But, if I was doing it, you would be stuck with glossy. 

If you're getting all of them printed and storing them in a portfolio or folder, then you can print them to the exact size of the portfolio or wherever it is that you'll be storing them.

Most print shops have examples of their oversized work either on display or available for view.  The average customer isn't going to notice because the average customer isn't getting oversized work done.

The people in the print shop can explain in great detail what the different processes are that they have available and what the different visual effects created by those different processes are.