Why do some people call items like these books, and some people call them zines?
I suspect that since they’re not monographs – hardcovers with 80 or 100 pages (or more!) and costing often $80 or $100 (or more!), that some people don’t like the term books for them, but I don’t think zines fit either – either the DIY idea of zines or like versions of magazines.
These are softcover books, not printed at home and not like magazines, and so I call them books.
How are they produced?
These are Print On Demand, just like photographic prints. Unlike photographs, they are printed by a different process that works better for books. (You can get photo books printed with photo print processes, but they cost mostly $100 or more.)
I did dozens of proofs to figure out how to make the best looking books possible. It’s been an interesting learning process. I’m glad to see my images printed again.
What are the differences between Amazon and Lulu?
Amazon is … Amazon. You are probably already familiar with their attitudes, policies, processes and fulfillment. I think they have at least eight print locations, and an unknown number of printers at each location.
Lulu is a Certified B Corporation, so they have high social and environmental impact standards (their words) and have printed millions of books (overall, not just for me). I am not sure how many print locations or printers they have.
As far as I know, both companies also use anonymous contract printers, not just in-house printing, to cover more of the country with physically close options.
What are the differences between the Amazon and Lulu versions of the books?
Very little. I have not seen books produced at every facility for both companies, but I think everything is printed on the same type of printer.
I think in general the paper from Lulu is very, very slightly thicker and shinier than it is at Amazon; we’re talking something like 5/1000ths of an inch! However, I have not seen books (or the paper) from every facility, and I’m sure they vary. The Amazon books have two blank sheets at the back and then on the back of the last page there is a date and location of printing. Also, the Amazon books have a barcode on the back. The Lulu copies do not have either the extra pages or the barcode.
What other differences are there?
I’m sure packaging varies, but for these books, so far, Amazon has tended to use padded envelopes and Lulu has used thin boxes. Both Lulu’s shipping and their customer service seems to be a bit less quick than Amazon’s. (I have gotten books from Amazon in two days to a week; Lulu usually takes two to three weeks.) If you have Amazon Prime, the Amazon books are eligible. You can often find Lulu.com coupons on the internet for a discount.
I would not offer both options if I did not think they both looked good.As a new WordPress user, you should go to your dashboard to delete this page and create new pages for your content. Have fun!