Congratulations on getting your comic book printing ready for lift off. How good does that feel, did you enjoy the writing and design process?
Well, we will guide you through the process of finding out how much does it cost to print a comic and making sure your PDF file is print ready. Then we'll send your artwork to our top of the range machines and deliver the finished comic in 3-5 working days. Easy! We'll even pay the delivery costs for you within the UK ?
Which step are you at? Scroll through the Journey and dive in ? Everything you need to print the perfect comic is here in helpful detail.
➡️ Get Started on your Print Journey
Or keep going down this page to get inspired by showcase examples of previous comic printing and decide which visual aesthetic and style you like best.
Any questions, please do give us a shout. Our patient, friendly team is here to help on email, phone and live chat.
We have been doing this a while now and have seen a lot of impressive comics come off our presses. To give you a head start with your comic printing, here are four print specifications which work well (and photos of them, see right). Each has its own characteristics which have proven to be winning combinations from a production perspective, based on how much comics cost to print and most importantly, they have reader appeal. With our team's expertise, we can bring your artwork to life and create a successful and visually stunning comic for your readers to enjoy.
If any of our showcase options would work for your project, take a note of the spec and jump on our project builder to receive your bespoke quotation. Or ping us an email on hello@exwhyzed.com if that is easier.
Showcase Style 1 – a high impact, stapled graphic novel:
A4 Saddle Stitched Booklets
4pp Cover onto 250gsm Gloss
Gloss Lamination to outer
16 Inner Pages onto 170gsm Uncoated
Four colour print throughout.
Showcase Style 2 – a standard cost-effective, A5 self cover comic:
A5 Booklet
20pp Self Cover onto 115gsm Uncoated
Four colour print throughout
Trimmed, collated and staple bound.
Showcase Style 3 – a dynamic, chunky A4 solution:
A4 Perfect Bound Books
4pp Cover onto 300gsm Uncoated
Matt Lamination to outer
40 inside pages onto 170gsm Silk
Four colour print throughout.
Showcase Style 4 – an impressive, perfect bound comic to show off the whole portfolio:
A4 Perfect Bound Books.
4pp Cover onto 350gsm Silk.
Matt Lamination and Gloss Spot UV varnish to outer.
Full colour print to outer.
112pp Text onto 170gsm Silk.
Full colour print throughout.
Amendments you could consider to the print specs shown above>>>
• As a paper weight guide: 100-130gsm are thin/standard paper weights. 170gsm is thick paper. 200-250gsm is thin card and 300-350gsm is a thick card cover.
• Switch to gloss lamination for a shiny aesthetic.
• Stapling for up to 76 pages (over 40 pages will bounce when folded)
• Perfect binding for 32 pages or more.
• If you can edit the content and reduce the number of pages, that will save you money and provide cheap comic book printing.
• Decreasing the trim size to from A4 to A5 or from A5 to A6 will also save money and make the publication more pocket-sized. OR you could increase to A4 for a larger surface area and a more impressive graphic novel.
• For a more dynamic front cover, pick out a logo or the comic's title on the cover and apply Spot UV varnishing to makes it shine and dance when titled towards the light (this is an additional £280 which is a flat fee for 1-500 copies).
There are almost infinite possibilities on size, finishing and papers so we offer expert knowledge and advice before your job goes to press.
Not sure where to start, ask us for a free paper sample pack to get the ball rolling. It is much easier to make an informed decision on the kind of finish and appearance you’re after when you can see and hold the paper rather than guessing over email.
Broadly speaking, there is a choice of silk, gloss or uncoated finish in all weights from 100gsm to 350gsm.
In the meantime, have a look the following page for paper inspiration.
This is easy…if you have up to 40 pages then we recommend stapling your comics (also called wire stitching and saddle stitching). We can staple up to 72 pages but the paper has to be very thin to achieve that – a self-cover comic with all the pages onto 100gsm works well if you are staple binding more than 40 pages. For printing your comic book, you can choose to have it as a single PDF file with all pages in order, including the outside front cover, inside front cover, inside back cover, and outside back cover, as single pages instead of spreads. Alternatively, for a more professional and durable finish, you can opt for perfect bound comic books, which require a cover file PDF of 2 spreads (outer cover and inner cover with spine).
If the number of pages is 32 or more then the comics will be thick enough for us to glue as a perfect bind publication. This method gives a professional looking, book style finish with a square spine.
We specialise in beautifully printed comics from our top of the range Indigo digital presses. If you are printing up to 700 copies then digital printing is your winning choice. For more established publications which print 700 copies or more, our litho presses provide you with the best pricing for your comic printing needs.
We always try and quote for a few quantity options to help bring your unit price down. We’re keen to see your artwork in print so if there’s a more cost effective size or way to print then we’ll let you know. Our team is always accessible and ready to answer your questions.
Send us the print ready PDF artwork and we can deliver stapled comics in 3 working days and perfect bound comic books in 4/5 working days, KAPOW! ? They will be delivered by tracked courier and we will be in touch when they leave Ex Why Zed HQ then again on the morning with a one hour window once they have been loaded onto a van.
If you would like a test copy first then it’s best to allow an extra week for us to print, deliver, look through and make tweaks.
Enjoy looking through our Portfolio of recent comic and graphic novel projects.
Choose a style you love, then get your work into print at Ex Why Zed ?
We have done our best to give you a huge wealth of information on this page and in our guides but if here are some frequently asked questions to help you get your work into print.
If you haven't already seen it, do also watch our feature length Definitive Zine Printing Guide which will give you some ideas on what can be achieved with your comic and graphic novels too.
Ready to place an order? Brilliant, you’ll need to upload the files using www.wetransfer.com sending them to hello@exwhyzed.com and in the comments box let us know the number of copies you’re going for and the best address for delivery. We’ll then give your artwork a free preflight check to highlight any potential issues and will email with any advice or recommendations before going to production.
Once we receive your print ready artwork, we’ll aim to deliver in 3-5 working days. If you are working to a crucial deadline PLEASE allow more time – there’s no harm in getting the artwork to us early so we can deliver a few days before your launch ?
https://www.youtube.com/embed/9elKD4qeGKU
https://www.exwhyzed.com/resources/setting-3mm-bleed-on-artwork-for-print/
We will need 3mm bleed on all the edges, you'll notice at the moment that the artwork stops at the crop marks - it needs to extend 3mm beyond this to avoid any chance of a white border.
This page includes illustrated and video guides on how to set up bleed correctly.
You might have set this up correctly in InDesign but when you export to PDF just make sure that in the 'Marks and Bleeds' menu you not only tick 'Crop Marks' but you also add '3mm' in to the four bleed boxes - top, bottom, inside and outside. This will add the bleed to the exported PDF.
It's one of two things:
Have you dragged the background image out 3mm beyond the black line on your Indesign file into the bleed area? Try that then export again.
OR you have done the above but then when you're exporting you need to click the Marks and Bleeds menu, then type '3mm' into the four bleed boxes. This will add the bleed to the pdf.
Remember, we’ll need a hi res pdf file with 3mm bleed and crop marks on each edge to go ahead please. Sending it over correctly first time means we can go straight to print. Do have a last check through our file set up guides to make sure all the boxes are ticked.
The old print industry maxim is that it is possible to have two of these when you send a job to print. Stop Press! At Ex Why Zed we have changed the rulebook and are confident we can now offer all three! The highest quality printing, for the best prices and delivered when you need it.
We like to interact with our customers, find out about their projects and have a bit of dialogue rather than hide behind a massive, confusing spreadsheet on a website. We provide a bespoke quote for each and every job because your project is bespoke and unique.
Don’t get us wrong, our process is quick and efficient but we like to add extra value by starting a conversation with you first. Remember conversations? Yep, they are what happened before your phone was glued to your head! 🙂
For this reason we don’t list all our prices online but get in touch either in email or through our quote form and we will give you a bespoke quote.
Yes! Check out this case study for A Dream for Two by Katie Handley.
If you are looking to print a book featuring images that appear black & white or monochrome on screen but are actually in full colour then this is a crucial video for you to watch, absorb and act on. It can be extremely hard to effectively print black-and-white images in digital print. Thankfully, this isn't our first rodeo so in the video below we take a deep dive into how to get around this and why it is so difficult. This is an issue that you will encounter at every printer but at Ex Why Zed we are keen to point it out and help before going ahead.
If you're based in the UK or the US and looking to print a custom comic book, welcome to Ex Why Zed. We are proud to offer high-quality comic printing services, with a wide range of paper and printing options, and deliver right to your doorstep.
Ready to place an order? Well done on getting your artwork ready for print! Now go ahead and upload the file/s using WeTransfer.com
It is super easy, free and you don’t need an account. Add hello@exwhyzed.com in the 'Email to' box. In the message area, tell us your print spec, number of copies you would like to print and the best address for delivery. We then get a download link with your files, simple as that!
Comic book sizes can vary depending on your personal preference. Choose a simple A6, A5 or A5 for ease or push the boundaries with an off-kilter custom size that catches the eye. We print manga size comics, standard UK comic book size and classic US comic book size. Got an idea of your own? We're all ears!
There are various paper options you can choose from, including but not limited to silk, gloss and uncoated paper. Each type has different characteristics that can affect the look and feel of your project. All of our papers are FSC Certified for sustainable comic book printing and many are also 100% Recycled.
Jump on our Project Builder to choose your options or send us an email directly on hello@exwhyzed.com and we will come back to you asap with a quote. Not quite instant, but usually within a few minutes if it's a week day. We're keen to print your work and move the project forward so our team will be in touch asap.
An added bonus is that delivery within the UK is Free, we also delivery worldwide by tracked courier. Comics, graphic novels and booklets are all vat free so there are no cheeky add-ons with our quotes, we will be transparent and give you the total price from the off.
Yes, we can print any custom size from A6 to A3 portrait or from A5 to A5 landscape. Choose any bespoke size within these parameters to make your artwork stand out.
Check out our guide on the Best Design Software where you'll find an in-depth comparison between Adobe InDesign and it's rivals. Ultimately, all we need from you to print a comic is a pdf format file.
You can save it in CMYK or we can convert it to that format in one click here to save you time.
There are several types of book binding options available when it comes to online comic book printing. Popular options include perfect binding, saddle stitch binding. Saddle Stitching is a little bit of print jargon but in layman's terms is 'stapling' or 'wire stitching'. Simply put, we'll fold the printed sheets in half and they are bound with two staples down the spine - exactly as you'd expect for a comic 🙂
Absolutely! Any questions, do give us a shout, remember we are here to help on email, phone and live chat. Once you send the PDF print file, we will give it a thorough free file-check and come back to you with a digital proof to your important content for any last errors before we go ahead to print.
Hi! Welcome to Ex Why Zed ?
There are plenty of online printing services, but at Ex Why Zed we print your work the professional way and deliver in rapid time. We don't ask you to chuck a set of JPGs at your screen like the other online companies. We print from industry standard PDF artwork to ensure your finished work is the best it possibly can be.
Our Comic Book team are thorough, patient and will ensure everything looks correct before we go anywhere near the big green Print button. So it's worth researching, getting quotes, and perhaps ordering a few sample prints to ascertain the quality.
