peapodgrrl
Hi everyone:
I am a frequent contributor on another tarot community, and due to some emails I have received from artists as well as a request from the Webmistress of this tarot community I just mentioned, I have put together a post about what it takes to self-publish your own deck--the details and "down and dirty" stuff any artist needs to consider. Some of this information may be old news to you, or stuff you already know. In any case, please feel free to PM me with any questions, or visit The Dreaming in Color website and go to the contact form to email me. I hope someone finds this helpful.
____________________________________________________
The lovely and special Ferol asked me if I would write a post about the trials and travails of self publishing one’s own deck. Interestingly enough, I recently received a few emails from artists who are interested in doing the same thing, and they wrote to me for help. Ever since I have become a web and graphic designer and digital artist, I have made it a point to help and mentor up and coming artists. I remember how difficult it was when I started, and how very much alone I felt, so I made a promise to myself that if I could ever help another artist, I would.
If you are going to be publishing your own tarot or oracle deck, you first have to make an important decision: are you doing this for yourself, or are you doing this to sell? If the latter, do you want to sell retail only or do you want to play with “the big boys” and wholesale your decks? These are very important questions and issues you must think about carefully before you begin. If you are seriously looking to develop a business by selling your decks, you need to strongly consider bulk sales---or wholesaling. But wholesaling requires printing cheaply, and that is a whole ‘nuther ball of wax and there is a lot you need to know. More about that later.
JUST A FEW DECKS
For those of you who just want to print a couple of decks for your friends and family and yourself, why not do it yourself with a good home printer? I recommend the Epson R800 (very reasonable at about $400) and any HP printer will do the job, too. (HP ink can be more expensive than Epson, so be careful about which printer you choose. Check ink costs before you buy any printer). You will have to cut the cards by hand, however, and paper and ink isn't cheap---but you will be able to make your own decks this way.
PREPARING YOUR ART FOR PROFESSIONAL PRINTING
All printers will insist on a digital art file (Quark, Photoshop, Illustrator) that is at least 300 DPI in resolution. So let’s say your cards are 3” x 5”, that means that each art file will measure 900 pixels by 1500 pixels. Keep in mind, too, that your printer will be cropping the image, so you need to supply artwork that is about ¼ inch larger around than the actual size (i.e., 3.25 x 5.25). My suggestion is to ask your printer to send you a template to work from, with cropmarks already present, so you can work within the crop lines in your layers. This is especially important if you have keywords on the cards, and/or your signature. You don’t want type to be cropped off the card. You also need to ask whether your printer prints in CMYK or RGB. This makes a very big different in the end color; if they print in CMYK that means you need to create your digital files in CMYK. CMYK is duller than RGB, and less luminescent—so you have to compensate for that by increasing saturation levels and contrast. (Watch out for your reds in CMYK, they tend to turn orangey so you need to compensate for that in your art program). However, if you are only doing a small print order, many printers will do your decks using digital copiers---these are amazing machines that allow you to print in RGB (definitely my preference, the colors, to a practiced eye, are richer. Dreaming in Color is printed in RGB, but that is going to change very soon, as we are now going to print in China.). Large print runs will always, without exception, be in CMYK.
If you are not a digital artist, I am not sure how one makes their art into digital files, which is what printers work from. Probably high end digital scans. You’ll need to talk to some printers about that. All my art is digital, so I am really only conversant about that.
SMALL ORDERS
If you are merely looking to print a couple of hundred decks for your friends and family, and maybe sell some online or through local retailers, be prepared to spend a couple of thousand dollars—maybe two thousand, if you go to a reputable printer who will supply you with a top notch product. Keep in mind that no matter where you go to print, you must insist on a sample deck first so you can make sure the printing quality, stock and color is acceptable; this way, you can make changes when you go to press. They will probably not cut the cards when they send you the prints for approval, they will most likely send you the images on sheets, and you will only be able to see a final deck after the "real printing." If you want a printed box, you’re talking a lot more money, and many printers are not set up to print boxes. Those that are want a small fortune for them. Keep in mind that many US printers are not set up for card deck printing; it requires a dye cut to make the rounded corners. Of course, you don’t *have* to have rounded corners, they add to the cost. But if you’re happy with a shrinkwrapped deck and a little foldout black and white booklet (LWB) to go inside the shrinkwrap, there are many American printers who can do that. The cheapest I found came to about $6-7 per deck, with a minimum order of five hundred. Want a box and an adhesive label? Add another dollar to the cost, at least. You might want to sell them in drawstring pouches, which you can buy in bulk, but you’ll end up spending as much (if not more) than if you bought boxes to house the cards. When we started Dreaming in Color, we bought gift boxes separately and had adhesive labels printed, and we put everything together by hand. (That, thankfully, is going to be a thing of the past very soon!)
The more you print, the lower the per-unit cost gets. So if you print 20M decks, you will pay a lot less per deck than you would if you print 10M. There is also always a set up charge for the press, and that should be a one-time charge.
So where do you find a printer? Start Googling. And then make phone calls, a lot of them. And send out a lot of emails to printers you think might be able to work with you. This is a long, arduous process and it will take a lot of time and commitment to find a printer that is suitable for you, no matter what your end sales goal is.
STARTING A BUSINESS
If you are serious about starting a business for your deck, you need to think about a couple of things. First, if you print in the US, your cost per deck will be so high as to prevent you from wholesaling them. If you merely want to retail them, ie, go directly to the consumer, you still can print in the US, but you will sell less decks if you insist on making a large profit on each deck.
Wholesaling, however, is not something you can do if you print in the US. You will be forced to go outside of the US to print, usually to the Pacific Rim. When you wholesale items, the retailer automatically doubles the price so if the end consumer ends up with a $50+ price tag for a deck, they won’t buy it. And neither will the retail store, because they won’t be able to move the item---no matter how beautiful or unusual the deck might be. That’s why you need to research Pacific Rim printers---China, Korea, Taiwan---and just finding someone who is fluent in English to act as a liaison with the production crew can be daunting. This takes work, time, perseverance and, most of all, patience. It also takes a lot of money, you are going to be spending anywhere from $8,000 and up, because these printers will only do large runs. Add shipping from China, and you are also adding a goodly amount to the per-unit cost. But your cost per deck will still be low, and it will enable you to wholesale them.
Once you have your Pacific-Rim printed decks, you need to market them. You'll need some kind of literature like a brochure, talking about your deck and explaining what is different about it to a prospective buyer. One major source is New Age Retailer, the trade pub that all the new age and holistic stores in that genre read. You need to do email marketing, buy mailing lists and send out promo packs, and all of this advertising and marketing costs money. The web is fabulous for selling retail if you know how to market on the web, but to get your deck into stores requires "real world marketing" and the constant mailing of promotional packs that include card samples--they are going to want to touch and feel these cards and see them in person. However, if you want to start a business, a deck won't be enough. These stores want to see a full product line, and eventually this is something you are going to have to consider if you are serious about starting a business.
Your deck will also need something that is called an ISBN number, or “International Standard Book Number”. This is crucial if you are to be stocked in stores. This is a barcode that they assign your product, and every deck of cards and book in the world that is retailed has one of these numbers. For more information on ISBNs, go to www.bowker.com. An ISBN is absolutely necessary if you want to sell your deck in retail stores anywhere in the world.
US GAMES, LLEWELYN, HAY HOUSE
How about getting your deck published by a company instead of doing it yourself? Well, that’s an exciting idea. The above three companies I just mentioned publish lots and lots of tarot decks. But keep in mind that you are an unknown, and therefore have no weight to throw around when negotiating with, say, a US Games. The good part is that, if they decide to buy your deck, you won’t have to worry about printing, marketing, retailing, wholesaling, ISBN’s or anything else. They’ll do all the work for you. But remember, they will also insist on creative control over your product, and if you’re anything like me, that’ll make your hair stand up on end when they ask you to change something about your art, or if their vision isn’t exactly the same as yours. Your control will be very much compromised, they will have staff artists and writers mucking around YOUR work, but then again, the financial risk will be theirs, not yours. On the other hand, you also don’t stand to make as much money as you do when self-publishing, but you also don’t stand to lose money by the investment in printing (and advertising, marketing, etc), either. So it all comes down to which way feels most comfortable for you, and how much time (and money) you are willing to invest in your deck. Because if you aren’t willing to put in at least a year of research and back-breaking work to print and market your deck, then perhaps a US Games is the best way to go. If it is, I would talk to artists who have been that route and learn what they went through, and the pitfalls they discovered. Learning from their mistakes in negotiating and contracts will only help you in the long run.
Hopefully, this will give artists some idea of what is required to self-publish. It's certainly long, hard work, but very definitely the most rewarding way to go. I wish every artist here the best of luck.
Sweet purple dreams,
Mindy Sommers
Dreaming in Color Luman Deck
I am a frequent contributor on another tarot community, and due to some emails I have received from artists as well as a request from the Webmistress of this tarot community I just mentioned, I have put together a post about what it takes to self-publish your own deck--the details and "down and dirty" stuff any artist needs to consider. Some of this information may be old news to you, or stuff you already know. In any case, please feel free to PM me with any questions, or visit The Dreaming in Color website and go to the contact form to email me. I hope someone finds this helpful.
____________________________________________________
The lovely and special Ferol asked me if I would write a post about the trials and travails of self publishing one’s own deck. Interestingly enough, I recently received a few emails from artists who are interested in doing the same thing, and they wrote to me for help. Ever since I have become a web and graphic designer and digital artist, I have made it a point to help and mentor up and coming artists. I remember how difficult it was when I started, and how very much alone I felt, so I made a promise to myself that if I could ever help another artist, I would.
If you are going to be publishing your own tarot or oracle deck, you first have to make an important decision: are you doing this for yourself, or are you doing this to sell? If the latter, do you want to sell retail only or do you want to play with “the big boys” and wholesale your decks? These are very important questions and issues you must think about carefully before you begin. If you are seriously looking to develop a business by selling your decks, you need to strongly consider bulk sales---or wholesaling. But wholesaling requires printing cheaply, and that is a whole ‘nuther ball of wax and there is a lot you need to know. More about that later.
JUST A FEW DECKS
For those of you who just want to print a couple of decks for your friends and family and yourself, why not do it yourself with a good home printer? I recommend the Epson R800 (very reasonable at about $400) and any HP printer will do the job, too. (HP ink can be more expensive than Epson, so be careful about which printer you choose. Check ink costs before you buy any printer). You will have to cut the cards by hand, however, and paper and ink isn't cheap---but you will be able to make your own decks this way.
PREPARING YOUR ART FOR PROFESSIONAL PRINTING
All printers will insist on a digital art file (Quark, Photoshop, Illustrator) that is at least 300 DPI in resolution. So let’s say your cards are 3” x 5”, that means that each art file will measure 900 pixels by 1500 pixels. Keep in mind, too, that your printer will be cropping the image, so you need to supply artwork that is about ¼ inch larger around than the actual size (i.e., 3.25 x 5.25). My suggestion is to ask your printer to send you a template to work from, with cropmarks already present, so you can work within the crop lines in your layers. This is especially important if you have keywords on the cards, and/or your signature. You don’t want type to be cropped off the card. You also need to ask whether your printer prints in CMYK or RGB. This makes a very big different in the end color; if they print in CMYK that means you need to create your digital files in CMYK. CMYK is duller than RGB, and less luminescent—so you have to compensate for that by increasing saturation levels and contrast. (Watch out for your reds in CMYK, they tend to turn orangey so you need to compensate for that in your art program). However, if you are only doing a small print order, many printers will do your decks using digital copiers---these are amazing machines that allow you to print in RGB (definitely my preference, the colors, to a practiced eye, are richer. Dreaming in Color is printed in RGB, but that is going to change very soon, as we are now going to print in China.). Large print runs will always, without exception, be in CMYK.
If you are not a digital artist, I am not sure how one makes their art into digital files, which is what printers work from. Probably high end digital scans. You’ll need to talk to some printers about that. All my art is digital, so I am really only conversant about that.
SMALL ORDERS
If you are merely looking to print a couple of hundred decks for your friends and family, and maybe sell some online or through local retailers, be prepared to spend a couple of thousand dollars—maybe two thousand, if you go to a reputable printer who will supply you with a top notch product. Keep in mind that no matter where you go to print, you must insist on a sample deck first so you can make sure the printing quality, stock and color is acceptable; this way, you can make changes when you go to press. They will probably not cut the cards when they send you the prints for approval, they will most likely send you the images on sheets, and you will only be able to see a final deck after the "real printing." If you want a printed box, you’re talking a lot more money, and many printers are not set up to print boxes. Those that are want a small fortune for them. Keep in mind that many US printers are not set up for card deck printing; it requires a dye cut to make the rounded corners. Of course, you don’t *have* to have rounded corners, they add to the cost. But if you’re happy with a shrinkwrapped deck and a little foldout black and white booklet (LWB) to go inside the shrinkwrap, there are many American printers who can do that. The cheapest I found came to about $6-7 per deck, with a minimum order of five hundred. Want a box and an adhesive label? Add another dollar to the cost, at least. You might want to sell them in drawstring pouches, which you can buy in bulk, but you’ll end up spending as much (if not more) than if you bought boxes to house the cards. When we started Dreaming in Color, we bought gift boxes separately and had adhesive labels printed, and we put everything together by hand. (That, thankfully, is going to be a thing of the past very soon!)
The more you print, the lower the per-unit cost gets. So if you print 20M decks, you will pay a lot less per deck than you would if you print 10M. There is also always a set up charge for the press, and that should be a one-time charge.
So where do you find a printer? Start Googling. And then make phone calls, a lot of them. And send out a lot of emails to printers you think might be able to work with you. This is a long, arduous process and it will take a lot of time and commitment to find a printer that is suitable for you, no matter what your end sales goal is.
STARTING A BUSINESS
If you are serious about starting a business for your deck, you need to think about a couple of things. First, if you print in the US, your cost per deck will be so high as to prevent you from wholesaling them. If you merely want to retail them, ie, go directly to the consumer, you still can print in the US, but you will sell less decks if you insist on making a large profit on each deck.
Wholesaling, however, is not something you can do if you print in the US. You will be forced to go outside of the US to print, usually to the Pacific Rim. When you wholesale items, the retailer automatically doubles the price so if the end consumer ends up with a $50+ price tag for a deck, they won’t buy it. And neither will the retail store, because they won’t be able to move the item---no matter how beautiful or unusual the deck might be. That’s why you need to research Pacific Rim printers---China, Korea, Taiwan---and just finding someone who is fluent in English to act as a liaison with the production crew can be daunting. This takes work, time, perseverance and, most of all, patience. It also takes a lot of money, you are going to be spending anywhere from $8,000 and up, because these printers will only do large runs. Add shipping from China, and you are also adding a goodly amount to the per-unit cost. But your cost per deck will still be low, and it will enable you to wholesale them.
Once you have your Pacific-Rim printed decks, you need to market them. You'll need some kind of literature like a brochure, talking about your deck and explaining what is different about it to a prospective buyer. One major source is New Age Retailer, the trade pub that all the new age and holistic stores in that genre read. You need to do email marketing, buy mailing lists and send out promo packs, and all of this advertising and marketing costs money. The web is fabulous for selling retail if you know how to market on the web, but to get your deck into stores requires "real world marketing" and the constant mailing of promotional packs that include card samples--they are going to want to touch and feel these cards and see them in person. However, if you want to start a business, a deck won't be enough. These stores want to see a full product line, and eventually this is something you are going to have to consider if you are serious about starting a business.
Your deck will also need something that is called an ISBN number, or “International Standard Book Number”. This is crucial if you are to be stocked in stores. This is a barcode that they assign your product, and every deck of cards and book in the world that is retailed has one of these numbers. For more information on ISBNs, go to www.bowker.com. An ISBN is absolutely necessary if you want to sell your deck in retail stores anywhere in the world.
US GAMES, LLEWELYN, HAY HOUSE
How about getting your deck published by a company instead of doing it yourself? Well, that’s an exciting idea. The above three companies I just mentioned publish lots and lots of tarot decks. But keep in mind that you are an unknown, and therefore have no weight to throw around when negotiating with, say, a US Games. The good part is that, if they decide to buy your deck, you won’t have to worry about printing, marketing, retailing, wholesaling, ISBN’s or anything else. They’ll do all the work for you. But remember, they will also insist on creative control over your product, and if you’re anything like me, that’ll make your hair stand up on end when they ask you to change something about your art, or if their vision isn’t exactly the same as yours. Your control will be very much compromised, they will have staff artists and writers mucking around YOUR work, but then again, the financial risk will be theirs, not yours. On the other hand, you also don’t stand to make as much money as you do when self-publishing, but you also don’t stand to lose money by the investment in printing (and advertising, marketing, etc), either. So it all comes down to which way feels most comfortable for you, and how much time (and money) you are willing to invest in your deck. Because if you aren’t willing to put in at least a year of research and back-breaking work to print and market your deck, then perhaps a US Games is the best way to go. If it is, I would talk to artists who have been that route and learn what they went through, and the pitfalls they discovered. Learning from their mistakes in negotiating and contracts will only help you in the long run.
Hopefully, this will give artists some idea of what is required to self-publish. It's certainly long, hard work, but very definitely the most rewarding way to go. I wish every artist here the best of luck.
Sweet purple dreams,
Mindy Sommers
Dreaming in Color Luman Deck
I ultimately found someone who was substantially less expensive. Carta Mundi was so high as to make the project undoable.