Saturday Deep Dive: Reading a Printer's Spec Sheet

Today's Dive into the deeper archive of Webcomics.com takes us to May 19, 2009, when we discussed reading a printer's spec sheet.

So, you've decided to get a quote from and honest-to-goodness printer for your next book run. You've e-mailed a quote request, and you've gotten a prompt response. One that you cannot decipher for the life of you. Fear not, here's a quick guide based on an actual book quote:

QUANTITY: 500- 1,000- 1,500 (10 % overs/unders) SIZE: 8 1/2 X 11 finished, with bleedsCOVER: Printed 4/0, Process, offset printing. Gloss lamination. Supplied by customer: PDF files.Supplied by printer: Color proofs, 1 set, high resolution digital. TEXT: 60 lbs text House brand uncoated offset - Printed 1/1 (Black), offset printing. BINDING: Perfect bound. PACKING: In double wall cartons on skids. FREIGHT: F.O.B. Client: Philadelphia, PA 191** USA- Residential delivery with tailgate. Additional handling, freight or storage is extra TAXES: Applicable taxes extra. TERMS: To be determined - Subject to review. QUANTITY: 500       -      1,000     -    1,500 Total cost: $2119.00  -   $2749.00  -  $3369.00 Per-Unit: $4.238      -   $2.749     -    $2.246

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Friday Archive Dive: Selling Ads on Your Site

Today's Archive Dive comes from May 8, 2012, when we discussed selling ads on your site.

I was approached by a member who has started actively selling ads on his site (as opposed to running ads from an ad network like Google AdSense or Project Wonderful). The exchange was enlightening, so, with his kind permission, I'm sharing it here.

Q.: I have three ads on my site (a Leaderboard and two Skyscraper ads). All of the ad slots are being taken by companies that "own" that ad slot for that month (they have the option to submit up to five ads of their own to rotate throughout the month). Currently, in total, I am making $250 per ad slot for a total of $750 per month. Am I charging enough for these ads?

In my opinion, I think you're making a big mistake.

Read the entire post and comment there.

Open Call: Banner Ad Hot Seat

In the recent member survey of potential Hot Seat topics, banner advertising came in second to Character Design, with 13%.

So, if you'd like to participate in the next Banner Ad Hot Seat, please give me the following in the Comments section below...

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In-Text Advertising

You have many options when you're running ads from an ad network on your site. You can run straight-up banner ads, of course, but you may choose to include pop-up ads, pop-unders, and in-text ads.

Pop-ups and pop-unders are pretty universally reviled, and most publishers opt out of this kind of ad delivery instinctively. After all, we don't like visiting sites with those kinds of ads, so we don't want to force that on out readers.

But in-text ads present a much more subtle intrusion on our site, and therefore, they might be a little more tempting.

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Character Design Hot Seat: Deadeye Dick and The Fourth

This is the last in a series of discussions of character design. Rules are the same as all Hot Seat discussions. I'll open up with a few remarks, and then the members at large can take the discussion further.

As always, click on the images to see them bigger.

Deadeye Dick

The Fourth

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