9 {{ upvoteCount | shortNum }}
9 {{ upvoteCount | shortNum }}

[Offline Publishing] DVD Plus Physical Book Combo - Combining Kunaki and Lulu?

by Fabian Tan
7 replies
Hey Warriors,

I'm looking to branch out into offline publishing soon and create physical information products.

Been doing some research for the last few hours and have found Kunaki to be a suitable solution for manufacturing DVDs.

I have also been researching the costs and processes for using Lulu to produce physical books.

My goal is to create a home study course with physical DVDs and books combined. Is there a way to have the DVDs from Kunaki and the books from Lulu (or another print-on-demand service) to be seamlessly delivered to the customer in one neat package?

I could use Lulu's DVD service, but their cost per DVD is a few times more expensive than Kunaki's.

Any advice is very much appreciated!

Fabian
#book #combining #combo #dvd #kunaki #lulu #offline #physical #publishing
  • Profile picture of the author Fabian Tan
    Thanks Rob, I thought so. Are there other services that combine DVD and book publishing beside Lulu (and Cafepress)?

    Fabian
    Signature
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[1895130].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Loren Woirhaye
    Music publishers do this all the time.

    Personally I think POD services like Lulu are ridiculously overpriced -
    they make their money off people who don't want to invest in
    a serious printing commitment. Those flimsy 200 page books
    from POD services would cost you $2-3 each to make in relatively
    small quantities with creative printing and binding arrangements.

    At Lulu and similar services you're paying more wholesale than
    many comparable real-published books cost to the retail
    customer.

    An option used by music publishers often is spiral and comb
    bindings. This way the books are cheap to make-up in-house
    as the orders come in, with CDs sleaved in the back. The
    advantage is the darn books open flat, which is hella useful
    for any kind of study guide you have to refer to again and
    again.

    I'm sure you know your margins and stuff. Small comics presses
    run graphic novels in lots of under 100 for conventions. The
    printing is costly, but they'd get reamed on the binding if they
    didn't do it in-house because binders charge high prices for
    small binding runs. Thus they do it in house. I've seen how it's
    done and it's wicked clever and very do-able with minimal tooling.

    Books bound in-house can be taken to a print shop with a stack
    cutting sheer to trim the edges for cheap.
    Signature
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[1895188].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author Fabian Tan
      Originally Posted by Loren Woirhaye View Post

      Music publishers do this all the time.

      Personally I think POD services like Lulu are ridiculously overpriced -
      they make their money off people who don't want to invest in
      a serious printing commitment. Those flimsy 200 page books
      from POD services would cost you $2-3 each to make in relatively
      small quantities with creative printing and binding arrangements.

      At Lulu and similar services you're paying more wholesale than
      many comparable real-published books cost to the retail
      customer.

      An option used by music publishers often is spiral and comb
      bindings. This way the books are cheap to make-up in-house
      as the orders come in, with CDs sleaved in the back. The
      advantage is the darn books open flat, which is hella useful
      for any kind of study guide you have to refer to again and
      again.

      I'm sure you know your margins and stuff. Small comics presses
      run graphic novels in lots of under 100 for conventions. The
      printing is costly, but they'd get reamed on the binding if they
      didn't do it in-house because binders charge high prices for
      small binding runs. Thus they do it in house. I've seen how it's
      done and it's wicked clever and very do-able with minimal tooling.

      Books bound in-house can be taken to a print shop with a stack
      cutting sheer to trim the edges for cheap.
      Thanks for the advice Loren. Lulu's are certainly expensive. Just did a calculation for an A4-sized, 50-page color paperback and the cost is already around $19.

      Doing it in-house is certainly an option. So I would have to get the DVD's from Kunaki delivered to my own office (instead of dropshipping to the customer) and then ship the package to customers from there onwards?

      Fabian
      Signature
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[1895214].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author PPPPaul
    Fabian, I have wondered the same thing and came to the conclusion that it was better to use the "physical" product for the thing that would have the most impact -- the book -- and to include a download/streaming membership for the bits.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[1895202].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Istvan Horvath
    I'd still do a search for fulfillment house/company/services: a lot of them offer CD/DVD + print on demand.
    Signature

    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[1895242].message }}

Trending Topics