North American Publishing Firm - Pipe dream or possibility?

[cgutzmer]

I have been kicking this around in my head for a while now.... I am considering opening a publishing firm. Buying a big (and likely older) warehouse type building. Well probably not too big.... and starting my own print shop. It would also start out with laser cutting and vacu forming in the beginning. I am talking full time career move here. Likely just be little old me at first with no experience in the field.

Short run digital style printing press and a medium level laser cutter for starters. No idea about vac formers but probably something home made.

With Ecardmodels moving in on 2000 available models and many of them I think are quality enough to go to press. A lot more of them with a little more polishing (mostly in the directions area)

I could also see possibly being a stateside printing house for the European business's.

Of course I know little about the business. I plan on calling a few local printing companies and publishers to see what I can learn about the business and see if it would even be possible to run this equipment without extensive training or if I could learn on the fly. I pick up fairly quickly (I think)

So what do you guys think? Pipe Dream or Possibility? Suggestions, comments, thoughts about the idea?
Thanks!
Chris

[Inky]

I say go for it Chris, you will never know till you try it. Always follow your dreams.

[whulsey]

Chris, I spend many years working in the graphics/pre-press field both were we had our own presses and were we jobbed the actual press work out. Running a press and setting up the art work is a lot like being a mechanic: you can learn to change plugs and oil quickly; but to really become proficent takes some training and a lot of time.
Been out of the field for several years, but imagine that there is still a lot of hungry printers out there with equipment and personnel looking for work. Since you have already started developing a sales and marketing company and design teams that you work with, I think you would probably be better off continuing on that track. Then develop a relationship with a commercial printer to actually do the pure production work for you on a contract basis.

Just my uncorrected for inflation 2 cents worth

[Zathros]

Do it! You could have your own encompassing forum/shop/design/delivery. There is no way to get so many models here without paying ridiculous shipping rates. Think of the designers you would attract! I think you could do it. I don't think you could get the stateside printing from other printing companies if you are off loading work, you would have to put up guarantees the work would not "leak" out. You would have control over all aspects of the operation. If you start out with some Laser cutting machines, the option of selling pre-cut model would rule. Then there is the commercial, non model side of printing. Some money there too. Just don't buy a lot of old machines, do it modern and with machines that expand on capability. Don't buy someone elses old machines, and obsolescence. IMHO

[SJPONeill]

The trick would be to identify the unfilled niches...as Whulsey says, there are already a bunch of commercial printers who could do that for you and who also probably have enough diversity in business to cover slack periods...

Printing on and/or supplying metal finishes may be one printing niche area...?

Vacformed accessories are probably an obvious area, as are simple turned detail parts like gun barrels and wheels, and of course laser-cut parts especially for those models that do not already have these parts from Europe...

Also providing properly (i.e. that take into account changes in paper thickness etc) rescaled (up or down) versions of some models in hard copy or digitally might be another area.

The fact that you would be an English-speaking company would probably be a big plus as many people are somewhat nervous about dealing with offshore and non-English speaking vendors...

[cdavenport]

In the current economic climate, I would suggest a bit of caution.

By that, I mean considering the advice already given and making a trial run to gauge the market.

As for the niche, that's the hard part. If I was going to start with a kit, I would think of AirDave's B-24 repaints with laser-etched formers and vacformed gun turrets. That would make an interesting package. Those two areas are the weakest points of the Marek B-24s anyway. To help you get started, I can create and vacform the turrets.

Just an idea.

[The Orange]

I've got nothing to add constructively other than,

This would be, and is an excellent idea! I'm speaking purely on the desire of having a publishing firm based in North America.

Kenlwest's designs, like the X-15, and SR-71 and, imagine a published printed metallic version of the B-58! I agree, there are many designers out there whose work should be published, and I support your endeavor wholeheartedly!

I REALLY hope this occurs!

[DEATH ANGELS]

I feel Whulsey has framed the main problem well. You are talking about printing, laser cutting, vac-forming and part production. Each division intails large cash outlay (for me) for even basic equipment. Basic equipment usually comes with many more function problems, higher materal loss, and part failures. Used equiptment will be the best option but picking out used equiptment with no background could backfire like a kid picking out a used car. Then after you have a printer there are the printed kits to be upgraded, instructions, paper and card stocks, plastics, inks, packing, advertising, molds and patterns, and this just scratches the surface. Also there is the time. Working 14 hours a day 6 days a week how many kits can one person print, check, pack, stock, pull, pack, and ship, while learning method and machine, doing repairs, handling supply issues, doing prep for the next kits in the production cycle, and running the general business.
Even in the best of times production art people had it tuff finding constant work. So finding a top notch man to produce printed product on his printers should be fairly easy. He has the equiptment and knowledge along with materal and supply cost problems. You only have to pay for his time while needed and while he produces you are left free to handle other aspects and projects. The cost of a printer and any one weeks production worth of card, ink, airconditioning, power, and losses would in all likelyhood pay for one years worth of product or more.
Then there is lazer cutting that may turn out to be much cheeper and easyer to get from idea to merchandise than any other branch in the family. But there may be a much smaller customer base. Lazer cutting may also be impractical for any but hidden parts due to the burnt edges. A better alternative could be a cutting plotter that could be used to cut out up to 100% of a kit. Production plotters amr mostlikely less expensive than lazer plotters. In either case the main bump in the learning curve would be the vector programming so for most card modelers that should be a smooth road. Though you would require a machine that could cut based on optical alignment points to cut out preprinted stock.
Wish I lived in the same town so I could stay at your door for work when you start to get the American Precision Card Models up and running. I would love to see printing closer to the real thing when it comes to kits of aircraft from polished show finished to weary bare metal finished war birds. There are over 20,000 customers at this site alone. Put me on the mailing list.

[Nemesis7485]

I would advise extreme caution if you intend on concentrating solely on paper models. If you are thinking of diversifying into other areas such as printing flyers, stationary, brochures, etc, then that would be a possiblity. Models only..... I would seriously reconsider unless you are prepared to swallow any losses.

There are just way too many pirated and free models out there. Anything you publish will be pirated within days. You also have to remember that paper models are a VERY niche market. Even in America. Look at your own eCard models store. How many regular customers do you have? Enough to make a printing run of any individual kit profitable, even if they ALL bought a copy? We've already started to see some established paper model businesses closing shop and I suspect we will see more over the coming months and years.

I made this mistake. I spent a bucket load of money developing and producing a hard copy model but hardly any sold. Not because it's no good but because there simply isn't enough interest in paper models, let alone ones you have to pay for, and trying to 'convert' plastic modelers to paper or even persuading them to try one, even a free one, is like pulling teeth.

I don't mean to be a harbinger of doom. It's a nice idea. Just don't make the same mistakes as I did and assume that if you provide, they will come. Especially in today's economic climate.

[shawndymond]

Chris I must echo what Nemesis has said.

My one big concern would be that to make it anywhere near cost effective you would have to print a certain amount of EACH model - printing them isn't the issue, its ensuring you can sell them afterwards. Regardless of what printing method you choose (litho,laser,digital) you still have the same level of set-up costs whether you print one or one hundred.

That being said, I often buy books from the Naval & Military press who specialise in reprints of out-of-print regimental histories etc. They only print copies after they have recieved an order (some of the titles are pretty obscure and they possibly only print one or two copies every year). Perhaps that would be an avenue worth looking at - running the business still through the internet but as a mail-order affair. Printing models as and when required. I think you're right, there are many models now available on ECardmodels that deserve to be professionally printed and offered for sale to a wider audience. But, if you're a paper modeler with access to the net (which has got to be almost everyone now) then sooner or later you will come across ECardmodels whilst searching for models to make. Why not think about using the portal you already have - which is already well known by many modelers - forum and non forum members.

If you look at putting the models into retail outlets to reach a larger buying base you then have to consider how much LESS you will make by selling them to stores, who will then put their markup on top. It's chicken and egg really - the more you print the cheaper they would cost to produce but the more you have to try and sell.

Apologies if I've just stated the obvious facts, but I'm thinking out loud...

The concept itself is brilliant and I'm sure all of us here initially think 'yay! go for it!' BUT, after a little thought about the viability of the project - particularly when you start thinking of how much financial backing would be needed, with no guarantee of a return, perhaps we all start to see the negative side.

Kindest regards