Last year I posted about a new mail promo that I made. If you missed it you can see it here. That promo piece even got a “Special Mention” over at A Photo Editor! It was perfect for mailing out to potential clients, but this year I needed something different.
2016 is shaping up to consist of more face to face meetings, I needed something new to take with me. When it comes to showing work, I’ve done it lots of different ways. Loose prints, iPad, small run books (like from Blurb) and just a computer screen. Each method has it’s pluses and minuses, it’s mostly about picking the right medium for your needs.
When I set out to make something this year I had a few requirements of myself.
1. It should be handcrafted
2. It should be rugged yet professional
3. AWESOME PRINTS!
4. Sturdy enough to be mailed
Let’s start with the finished product.
The exterior is leather and roughly 12×14 in size, my logo on the cover is laser engraved. The prints are printed by Bay Photo they are 10×13 Moab Entrada Bright Rag. The 28 prints from Bay Photo far surpassed my expectations; they are simply fantastic! The Moab Entrada Bright Rag is one of their Fine Art Papers and it comes with a premium cost but as far as I can tell it is well worth it.
How it was assembled? I used 2 inch self adhesive book tape on the left edge of each print. Carefully placing a piece on each side of the print. This was by far the most time consuming part of the whole process. Doing the pages individually like this will allow me to swap pages out for different ones down the road.
Next was staining the wood dowels that help keep the pages together.
And laser engraving the cover.
The most stressful part was clamping everything together and drilling the wholes. But it went off nearly perfectly.
I will be taking this with me to meeting this month with creative directors and photo editors. After which I will construct a box that will keep the book safe and sound for a few trips through the mail.
Why go through all this trouble when there are dozens of other ways that cost less and are much less labor intensive? Easy, because I think this book conveys not only my work to the client but also my personality. The book and the work in it are an extension of me.
I would say I probably have about five hours in the making of the book. If you don’t count the prints the book making is not all that expensive. I have less than $125 in materials. The prints regular price were $27 a piece, fortunately I had a promo code and was able to get them for less. As far as I’m concerned they are a steal at full price since I didn’t have to mess with printing them myself.
I’m very excited to hit the streets with this book in the coming weeks. Let me know what you think.