Andrew (bookseller era)
I mentioned yesterday that I needed to install the cut sheet feeder in order to print on multiple sheets of paper.
It turns out that this cut sheet feeder is broken. I'm not exactly sure how.
I ordered another one. It'll be here in a few days. I found it pretty cheap (which, like, Epson still sells them new for less than $100, so it's not surprising that I found one.)
Andrew (bookseller era)
My #ZineStation
Andrew (bookseller era)
Once I have the new one, I'll figure out exactly how this one is supposed to go together so I can fix it, and then I *should* be able to install both of them side by side, for a total capacity of 200 sheets at a time.
I'm looking for software to do booklet imposition in DOS or MS Windows 3.1
I wonder if Word will do it? I never even checked. I doubt it though, and at any rate, this thing doesn't do automatic duplexing, so I'll have to manually duplex.
Andrew (bookseller era)
The net result, once I have the kinks worked out, is that I will be able to print digest sized (5.5" x 8.5") booklets of 4 - 60 pages (4 pages per sheet, max capacity for my standard long arm stapler is roughly 15 sheets, or 60 pages) for basically the cost of paper and staples. (math breakdown in next post.)
Andrew (bookseller era)
Based on current estimates, I will get around 2500 side of a paper printed with this ink ribbon, or 5000 pages of a zine printed, for $7 per ribbon.
That's $0.0014 per page, or less than 3 cents of ink per 20 page zine.
If I'm paying $2.50 for a ream of paper from microcenter, that's half a cent per sheet of paper, or $0.00125 per page, for a cost of less 2.5 cents per 20 page zine.
Based on Amazon pricing, staples are $0.00028 each. Each zine uses two, so $0.00056
(cont.)
Andrew (bookseller era)
Total cost per 20 page zine: $0.05356
I'm almost certainly underestimating the lifespan of the ink, as well. I won't know for sure until I've started printing.
When we were doing this with a laser printer, our cost per issue ran around 9 cents, so this is much cheaper. (and that didn't include the cost of the drum.)
For 100 copies, we're looking at $5. For 1000, $50.
Andrew (bookseller era)
Assuming that I print 5 nights a week, 5 zines a night (the same material or different material doesn't matter. I have plenty in the archives already, and I'm writing more.)
That's 25 issues a week completed, with only minimal effort from me, for a cost of around a dollar and thirty cents (or just over a quarter a day.)
At that rate, I can make plenty of interesting things, without burning myself out or spending any noticeable amount of money.
Andrew (bookseller era)
Stamps are, what, 50 cents if I print online, 55 if I buy in store?
And I can get 100 digest (6x9) envelopes for $10.
So I can print a zine for five cents, stick it in an envelope for 10 cents, and stick a stamp on it for 55 cents. Total cost with shipping 70.4 cents.
If I sell them online, my payment processor will eat ~10% + 50 cents per transaction, so I'd need to clear $1.40 to break even. Call it $3, and I could have a nice little slow hobby going.
Andrew (bookseller era)
So anyway, I'm still working out the kinks, but it looks like this is going to be a regular thing for me going forward.
So that's cool.
Chirp! is a social network. It runs on GNU social, version 2.0.1-beta0, available under the GNU Affero General Public License.
All Chirp! content and data are available under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 license.