Behind the Scenes Part 2: Harebells
come do production with me!
Remember how I forgot to document the part of my First Year Final Project where I actually printed and assembled my mini-comic? Well, I just did a second print run, and this time I made you a little video of the process! (Click the picture below to watch on instagram.)
Not pictured in this 90 second reel is the 3 hours of file prep and test prints I did before we got to the Actual Printing. Covers and interior pages are printed separately on different types of paper, then folded and combined. The tool that I use for flattening the folds is called a bone folder (yes it is made of bone), and it’s my favorite book-making tool in my collection. I usually have one in my backpack in case any spontaneous folding needs arise??? (This has actually happened. Because we’re at comic book school.)
After the interior pages are inserted and aligned, the books are saddle stitched together with my buddy the long-arm stapler. (Despite the terminology, it does not actually use needle and thread.)
The last step is the scariest and also the most satisfying: the industrial paper cutter! Because I design my comics to be printed at full bleed (meaning the art goes right to the edge of the page) and the printer physically can’t print to the edge of the paper, I have to use oversize paper and trim the printed pages down to size, cutting off the white borders and a little bit of “overflow” art (aka the bleed). Through the magic of hydraulics, the industrial paper cutter can slice through huge stacks of paper, so while it’s very safe to use (you literally can’t operate it unless the guard shield is in place and both your hands are on two buttons on opposite sides of the control panel) it’s always a bit harrowing if you’re cutting more than one book at a time. Because if you mismeasured or you got your pages in a little crooked, well, you might ruin a whole bunch of books all at once at the very last step. It’s a little math, a little eyeballing, and a little luck.
And then hey: a little book you can hold in your hands! So cool.
I’ll be setting up an online store sometime in the next year, but if you’d like to buy your very own copy from this limited run of Harebells sooner than that, hit “reply” to this email and we’ll make it happen. :)