Facebook location: David Banks, dpbanks@gmail.com

1/31

Cover art for a three volume set of Lucifer using the Capitol Bindery art & cloth method.

Cover ideas for a two volume set of Werewolf by Night using the Capitol Bindery art & cloth method.

1/30

Had breakfast with Kevin and Scott at Capitol Bindery. No new books this week, dropped off 18 for Kevin to work on. Then off to Bindery 59 to drop off 5 books for Mike to work on. After that I went to Snow Dog and left off 4 books for Todd to work on.

Hardcover Score Card - Capitol
22 books at Capitol to be bound.
5 books at my house waiting to go to the bindery.(and 9 books have been put into storage for a customer who seems to have disappeared.)

Soft Cover Score Card - Snow Dog
0 books at Snow Dog to be bound.
0 book at my house waiting to go to the bindery.

Hardcover Score Card - Snow Dog
4 books at Snow Dog to be bound.
0 book at my house waiting to go to the bindery

Note: This continues a series of entries (started in late December) covering responses to a set of books made to beta-test a new book bindery.

A few months ago, I was contacted by someone who wanted to start his own bindery specializing in comic book bookbinding. He wanted offer bare bones, low cost, no frills books.

He asked me to represent him in a similar fashion as to how I work with other binderies. I told him that for me to get involved we would first have to do some testing.

So he bound up ten volumes of comics and I sent them out to volunteer beta-testers.

Here is the tenth beta-tester response.

1/29

Finished prepping books for Capitol Bindery. Worked on scanning elements for two new projects. Finished a couple Snow Dog hardcover designs.

1/28

Took the day off.

Two more books arrived to be made into Snow Dog hardcover volumes.

1/27

Shipped a box of finished books to a customer. Worked on designs for two Snow Dog hard cover volumes and two Capitol Bindery dust jackets.

1/26

Two more books arrived to be made in Capitol Bindery hardcover volumes with the art on the covers. Stopped by Snow Dog to pick up some finished items (a laminated dustjacket, a softcover volume and a hardcover volume) all for the same customer.

1/25

Shipped 4 boxes of finished books and samples to customers.

Fourteen books arrived to be made into Capitol Bindery hardcover volumes. Five of them are the new Capitol art on the cover product! Spent the night unpacking and prepping them.

1/24

Note: This continues a series of entries (started in late December) covering responses to a set of books made to beta-test a new book bindery.

A few months ago, I was contacted by someone who wanted to start his own bindery specializing in comic book bookbinding. He wanted offer bare bones, low cost, no frills books.

He asked me to represent him in a similar fashion as to how I work with other binderies. I told him that for me to get involved we would first have to do some testing.

So he bound up ten volumes of comics and I sent them out to volunteer beta-testers.

Here is the ninth beta-tester response.

1. What is your idea of a no frills book? (What are the specifications?): My idea of a no-frills book is essentially what i got: no fancy logos/dies, no bookmark ribbons, etc.

2. What would be willing to pay for it?: I'd be willing to pay between $10 and 15 for an absolute no-frills book. But I'd be willing to pay a little more on a per option basis (like Library Binding).

3. What are your thoughts on the sample you have received?: Extremely well-trimmed, nicely rounded spine. Crisp edges on the stamping. Tight corners. Gutter loss is noticeable, but I'm not sure what could be done about that. Overall, an extremely nice look product.

4. What are your thoughts in having a start-up bindery handling your project?: I'd be willing to throw some "lesser" projects their way at first in order to build a rapport and see how consistent quality is.

1/23

Had Breakfast with Kevin and Scott at Capitol Bindery. Picked up 8 finished books.

Hardcover Score Card - Capitol
4 books at Capitol to be bound.
7 books at my house waiting to go to the bindery.(and 9 books have been put into storage for a customer who seems to have disappeared.)

Soft Cover Score Card - Snow Dog
1 books at Snow Dog to be bound.
0 book at my house waiting to go to the bindery.

Hardcover Score Card - Snow Dog
5 books at Snow Dog to be bound.
2 book at my house waiting to go to the bindery

1/22

Worked on cleaning up scans for two Snow Dog hardcover volumes and two Capitol Bindery dust jackets.

1/21

Started scanning elements for two Snow Dog hardcover volumes and two Capitol Bindery dust jackets.

Two more books arrived to be made into Capitol Bindery hardcover volumes.

1/20

Worked on answering a new avalanche of emails. The funniest was one that asked "what exactly do you do?" I laughed right out loud!

Got another nice review for the new Capitol Bindery product.

"Standard oversewn binding method per Capitol with trimmed edges.  Opens freely with smooth sides.  Head and Tail bands and lines with Black Buckram and Silver Foil.  All are secure with no printing errors.  The Silver Foil Text on the spine is larger than most, which gives it good eye appeal on the shelf.  The front and back covers seem structurally sound as any bound comic books I have received in the past.  The Photo/Scan portion of the cover has been laminated very nicely with a glossy finish.  I compared it to a Professional Textbook and the gloss finish was equal to or better than.  Next, I compared the Photo/Scan Buckram seams (were the Buckram meets the Photo/Scan) to a Two-Tone Bound Buckram Book by Capitol.  The seams had virtually no raised point, very smooth and better than the Two-Tone Buckram book.  I am in agreement with the other reviewers it that fact book feels and looks much better in person than pictures or words can do it justice."

1/19

Worked on revisions to pricing requests. Two books arrived to be made into Snow Dog hardcover volumes.

1/18

Worked all day on trying to catch up on email questions and pricing requests.

1/17

Worked on two long-term scan and bind projects.

1/16

Busy day. Picked up another dample from Mike at Bindery 59. This one has head bands and footers.

Met with Kevin at Capitol. Dropped off 4 new books to work on and picked up six finished books.

This was an interesting request. Just a blank book. Maybe the customer will use it for convention sketches.

Here are three books for the same customer. This one will have a dustjacket.

Look at all the stamping on this book!

We have volume two of this project in the shop being worked on. I think there will be a third volume.

We have bound many volumes of this title for the same customer but not in order. It pays to keep good records!

Met with Todd at Snow Dog. Dropped of 1 softcover and 5 hardcover books for him to work on.

I discussed volume discount ideas with each bindery.

Two books arrived to be made into hardcover volumes at Capitol Bindery.

Hardcover Score Card - Capitol
10 books at Capitol to be bound.
6 books at my house waiting to go to the bindery.(and 9 books have been put into storage for a customer who seems to have disappeared.)

Soft Cover Score Card - Snow Dog
1 books at Snow Dog to be bound.
0 book at my house waiting to go to the bindery.

Hardcover Score Card - Snow Dog
5 books at Snow Dog to be bound.
0 book at my house waiting to go to the bindery

1/15

Finished prepping books to take to Capitol and Snow Dog on Saturday.

Got a nice review on the new Capitol Bindery product.

"I've had the sample for 3 hours now and I'm amazed. It's as good if not better then any Capitol book I have had done in the past. The book itself has the quality of a Capitol bound book. It also has a newer/more contemporary look with the photo cover. It breaks the old library textbook look of a standard bound book. The transition from buckram to the picture is flawless. Both covers feel very sturdy. The picture on each cover is also a very nice quality thick stock paper. It has a nice gloss finish and feels like it won't rip or tear from being taken on and off the shelf, which was one of my initial worries before seeing the book. This book feels and looks better than anything Marvel or DC has put out."

1/14

Worked on the backlog of email questions and pricing requests.

1/13

Began working on restructuring pricing so that will be uniform across all three binderies. The new new pricing will include volume discounts and a possible rewards program for regualr customers.

1/12

Worked on some more changes to dust jackets. Then worked on my two scan and bind projects that I stillhaven't finsihed. (Sigh.)

1/11

Worked on changes to several dust jackets.

1/10

More dust jackets.

Yes, another Miracleman book. We have come full circle. This one is for the person who started the Miracleman binding craze with his sale of a Miracleman volume for $2,200 on eBay.

1/9

Had breakfast with Kevin and Scott today at Capitol Bindery. Picked up six finished books.

Hardcover Score Card - Capitol
13 books at Capitol to be bound.
4 books at my house waiting to go to the bindery.(and 9 books have been put into storage for a customer who seems to have disappeared.)

Soft Cover Score Card - Snow Dog
0 books at Snow Dog to be bound.
1 book at my house waiting to go to the bindery.

Hardcover Score Card - Snow Dog
0 books at Snow Dog to be bound.
1 book at my house waiting to go to the bindery

Layout sheet for a new product.

Finished sample.

1/8

Took the night off.

1/7

Dust jacket idea.

1/6

Customer designed cover for a Snow Dog hardcover book.

For the same customer a design for Snow Dog soft cover book.

1/5

Continued to answer email requests.

1/4

Worked on answering a backlog of email requests.

1/3

Note: This continues a series of entries (started in late December) covering responses to a set of books made to beta-test a new book bindery.

A few months ago, I was contacted by someone who wanted to start his own bindery specializing in comic book bookbinding. He wanted offer bare bones, low cost, no frills books.

He asked me to represent him in a similar fashion as to how I work with other binderies. I told him that for me to get involved we would first have to do some testing.

So he bound up ten volumes of comics and I sent them out to volunteer beta-testers.

Here is the eighth beta-tester response.

1. What is your idea of a no frills book? (What are the specifications?)

A no frills book to me is a book that will cover all of the basic binding needs and wants.  This includes the following:

A good selection of different colors of buckram to choose from, The ability to choose between optional head and tail lines or panel lines (Depending on the customers needs/wants), A standard font with different colors to choose from, Head and tail bands, White end pages, and Rounded spine

2. What would be willing to pay for it?

I would pay $20 for the no frills book that I described.  I feel that head and tail bands aren't necessary, but would be nice if they were already included in a basic bind.

3. What are your thoughts on the sample you have received?

The sample is great.  The book is firm and the pages are tight.  The corners of each cover are flat, not as rounded or thick as an LBC book.  I like the font and font size.  I also like that the title goes down the spine vertically instead of horizontally.  My book has a thicker card stock cover.  The only thing that bugs me is where one issue ends and the next begins.  That is 2 card stock covers back to back.  Because of this, the pages tend not to lay flat and make it a little harder to turn the pages.  (This is a nitpick, and to each their own.)

4. What are your thoughts in having a start-up bindery handling your project?

I have no problems at all with a start-up bindery handling my project.  I personally would send a test project to see how their project would come out, but with receiving this sample I would have no problems sending in a set of comics to be bound.

1/2

Had breakfast with Kevin and Scott today at Capitol Bindery. Picked up a nice set of ten books all containing the work of John Byrne. I dropped off 13 new books for Kevin to work on.

Hardcover Score Card - Capitol
19 books at Capitol to be bound.
4 books at my house waiting to go to the bindery.(and 9 books have been put into storage for a customer who seems to have disappeared.)

Soft Cover Score Card - Snow Dog
0 books at Snow Dog to be bound.
1 book at my house waiting to go to the bindery.

Hardcover Score Card - Snow Dog
0 books at Snow Dog to be bound.
1 book at my house waiting to go to the bindery

1/1

Happy New Year everyone! In six weeks I will be a grandfather and in 90 days I leave my day job to work on bindery project full-time! I welcome 2010 with all of its fresh possibilities!

===============

Here is the sixth beta-tester response.

1. What is your idea of a no frills book? (What are the specifications?)

To me, a "no frills" book means:

- oversewn, standard buckram with white endpages, at least up to 2" thick (meaning, no additional charges for extra thickness below this; of course, the binder could set the threshold higher if they wished), spine-stamping using a default font, optional panel lines, trimmed, bound as-is (no additional prep work by the bindery), shipping to/from the bindery would be the responsibility of the individual

2. What would be willing to pay for it?

Realistically, no more than $20-25 for a simple "no frills" book. If a start-up bindery wants to attract comic book customers-- especially when it comes to the non-deluxe binds, it has to remain competitive with LBC's $15 basic binding fee. I don't think too many people would balk at paying an extra $5, maybe $10 if, say, the bindery offered different "no frills" or a superior binding. Once you hit $30, though, I think a lot of people will either say "Well, I can get 2 decent books from LBC for the price of 1" or they will opt to spend a bit more for Capitol's deluxe package.

3. What are your thoughts on the sample you have received?

I'm very impressed, especially if the bindery is still looking to "break" into the comic book binding market. Granted, it's only one book and I would've liked to see how they fare with thicker books but, overall, it satisfied everything I'm looking for in a basic "no frills" bind: good straight trimming, no glue defects on the edges/endpages or interior pages, rounded spine, and clear, solid stamping (no flaking).

4. What are your thoughts in having a start-up bindery handling your project?

I would have no qualms using this start-up bindery given the quality of the sample, especially for a few binds at first, provided #2 was met. If they can't be price-competitive, then they need to offer something that sets them apart (especially since LBC has the big advantage of a large library of comic book dies available for public use) like

- including front cover spine stamping or head/tail lines in the standard binding fee

- maybe a discounted price for large-volume orders i.e. $25 for one book. $20/book for 5-10, $15/book for 10+

I agree that, as a way to entice customers, the bindery might consider fronting the costs themselves for the basic company spine dies (at least DC & Marvel). I don't use the die option that much but I know it's important to others.

That said, while price is important, it's not the only thing. After all, given the success Capitol has had with comic book customers, people are willing to pay for quality. $20 may not be feasible, especially since that price would be shared between you( as the rep) and them. However, if the bindery can consistently provide quality binds (especially in areas where LBC still has occasional problems) and great customer service, people will use them. The number of people interested in binding comics is growing so that the addition of another bindery devoted to this sub-hobby of ours will be a welcome addition.

I wish you and the bindery good luck!

=======================

Here is the seventh beta-tester response.

This morning I looked over the sample and I do believe it is a quality bind if the price is economical. The gutter seems a bit tight to me, but this may have more to my never binding current books. My binds tend to be pre-1995. End paper seems to extend a little too much, which would make it hard for an artist to do a sketch, should I be lucky enough to get one at a show. Maybe that is just nitpicking on my part. The binding itself seems strong and I like the size of the font chosen for the spine and front cover. Library's basic font is terribly small, so I never use it and upgrade to hand lettering instead. The lack of headbands does make it appear somewhat cheap, but I am have become religious about using them for my binds. It's worth a little extra cash to give the binding a more expensive and pleasing appearance. The head and tail lines on the spine are a nice bonus.

Comparing to Library Binding, a similar effort would cost $30 or so because they charge extra for a font this large and also extra for the cover. I think $35 for this sample, but adding head and tail bands, would put it in the ballpark of where it needs to be. Drop the cover lettering and I think $25 is a good price because of the size of the spine lettering. No head/tail bands and it would have to be $20. 

Turnaround time is huge. Library has been all over the map. I once waited four months for a large load of books to come back to me. I have also had a six week turnaround. Then there is the question of dies. Library has a huge selection that grows with each passing week. Capital doesn't have as many, but they have some darned good ones and certainly their quality control is the best around.

I'm open to try a title or two with them when I return from SE extended holiday, depending on the price. Will their method allow for customers to remove staples and pages themselves, or will they need to have each floppy complete? Removing back pages and advertisements is something I now try and do with each project I take on.

What follows is domestic and international ordering information for Capitol Bindery and Snow Bindery books:

Standard Ordering information (hardcover)-United States

Reservations are required. Email me at dpbanks@gmail.com for availability of production slots. Price: $50.00 (for three lines of type and up to 25 issues in one hardcover volume). Shipping: Return Shipping is FREE. Two book minimum per order or twenty book maximum per order. Payment expected with order. Accepted forms of payment: PayPal, Personal Check or Money Order. Make payment and ship books to: David Banks P.O. Box 45394 Omaha, NE 68145. Books produced by Capitol Bindery.

Standard Ordering information (softcover)-United States

Reservations are required. Email me at dpbanks@gmail.com for availability of production slots. Price: $19.95 (for 6 to 18 issues in one soft cover volume). Shipping: Fast $9.85 (as many books as fit in the flat rate box) / Slow $5.50 (2-3 books). Two book minimum per order or ten book maximum per order. Payment expected with order. Accepted forms of payment: Personal Check or Money Order. No PayPal. Make payment and ship books to:David Banks P.O. Box 45394 Omaha, NE 68145. If you are producing your own cover, the cover file should be sent on Disk as uncompressed Photoshop PSD file. Free assistance for cover design and production (Although tips to the paypal virtual tip jar are appreciated. Paypal id: dpbanks@earthlink.net) Books produced by Snow Dog Printing/Binding.

Standard Ordering information (glue-bound image-wrap hardcover)-United States

Reservations are required. Email me at dpbanks@gmail.com for availability of production slots. Price: $39.95 (for 6 to 18 issues in one hardcover volume). Shipping: Fast $9.85 (as many books as fit in the flat rate box 3-4) / Slow $5.50 (2-3 books). Two book minimum per order or ten book maximum per order. Payment expected with order. Accepted forms of payment: Personal Check or Money Order. No PayPal. Make payment and ship books to: David Banks P.O. Box 45394 Omaha, NE 68145. If you are producing your own cover, the cover file should be sent on Disk as an uncompressed Photoshop PSD file. Free assistance for cover design and production (Although tips to the paypal virtual tip jar are appreciated. Paypal id: dpbanks@earthlink.net). Books produced by Snow Dog Printing/Binding.

For International Orders some of the details are different for the number of books that can be ordered at one time and the shipping details.

Standard Ordering information (hardcover)-International

Reservations are required. Email me at dpbanks@gmail.com for availability of production slots. Price: $50.00 (for three lines of type and up to 25 issues in one hardcover volume). Shipping: International Shipping charges to be determined on a case by case basis. Two book minimum/maximum per order. Payment expected with order. Accepted forms of payment: PayPal (paypal id: dpbanks@earthlink.net). Make payment and ship books to: David Banks P.O. Box 45394 Omaha, NE 68145. Books produced by Capitol Bindery.

Standard Ordering information (soft cover)-International

Reservations are required. Email me at dpbanks@gmail.com for availability of production slots. Price: $19.95 (for 6 to 18 issues in one soft cover volume). Shipping: International Shipping charges to be determined on a case by case basis. Two book minimum/maximum per order. Payment expected with order. Accepted forms of payment: PayPal (paypal id: dpbanks@earthlink.net). Make payment and ship books to: David Banks P.O. Box 45394 Omaha, NE 68145. If you are producing your own cover, the cover file should be sent on Disk as an uncompressed Photoshop PSD file. Free assistance for cover design and production (Although tips to the paypal virtual tip jar are appreciated. Paypal id: dpbanks@earthlink.net). Books produced by Snow Dog Printing/Binding.

Standard Ordering information (glue-bound image-wrap hardcover)-International

Reservations are required. Email me at dpbanks@gmail.com for availability of production slots. Price: $39.95 (for 6 to 18 issues in one hardcover cover volume). Shipping: International Shipping charges to be determined on a case by case basis. Two book minimum/maximum per order. Payment expected with order. Accepted forms of payment: PayPal (paypal id: dpbanks@earthlink.net). Make payment and ship books to: David Banks P.O. Box 45394 Omaha, NE 68145. If you are producing your own cover, the cover file should be sent on Disk as an uncompressed Photoshop PSD file. Free assistance for cover design and production (Although tips to the paypal virtual tip jar are appreciated. Paypal id: dpbanks@earthlink.net). Books produced by Snow Dog Printing/Binding.

I was interviewed for a podcast about comic book bookbinding.