Comixpress... Anyone use them to print anything yet?

troybuddha · Post by **troybuddha** » Wed Mar 30, 2005 6:06 am

I've sent an order to Comixpress to get some comics printed on Friday they've yet to respond to that order or the two e-mails I sent Monday and Tuesday to ask for a confirmation of the order. Perhaps I'm just not being patient enough....

Keith

Post by **Greg Stephens** » Wed Mar 30, 2005 2:04 pm

I have no experience with Comixpress. I would say that when doing business via the web, an instant receipt via email confirming that an order was received is a good thing and I generally expect something like that. I don't think you're being too impatient in expecting a simple reply. As I said, though, I have no experience with Comixpress and don't know how efficiently they operate.

It would be cool if you were to update this topic when you do get a reply, just so people reading may know what your experience turns out to be.

Kris Lachowski · Post by **Kris Lachowski** » Wed Mar 30, 2005 5:09 pm

Greg Stephens wrote: It would be cool if you were to update this topic when you do get a reply, just so people reading may know what your experience turns out to be.

Definately, I'm very interested.

troybuddha · Post by **troybuddha** » Thu Mar 31, 2005 6:30 am

They did reply yesterday and apolized for the wait and that I should have recieved a confirmation e-mail when I placed the order. They said they would get to work on my comic as soon as they could slip it in. I only ordered 3 copies to test the quality of the product before commiting to a bunch of them. I'm also trying to hammer out the details of who pays for what with the folks I'm creating the comic for. This is the part that I'm not very good at. Any input here would great.

troybuddha · Post by **troybuddha** » Mon Apr 18, 2005 5:40 pm

Well it's been awhile and I still haven't heard anything from Comixpress about my order other than they'll get to it and let me know when it's done. That was almost three weeks ago. In the meantime I've got another price from FirstWave Printing which is a really good price. Anyone out there done any business with them?

Kris Lachowski · Post by **Kris Lachowski** » Mon Apr 18, 2005 6:33 pm

"Firstwave" what is this first wave you speak of?

troybuddha · Post by **troybuddha** » Tue Apr 19, 2005 5:14 am

http://www.firstwaveprinting.com/ That's their website, not the greatest looking site but Brad (the owner) got right back to me when I sent an e-mail for info and quoted me an excellent price. I'm trying to get as much info together about various printers so when I talk to the folks who've expressed interesting in selling my comic I can at least give them some idea of how much it would be.

On a side note:

Suddenly I find myself being the favorite comic artist of the New England Rennie's. It's rather odd having so much positive feedback on my work.

troybuddha · Post by **troybuddha** » Thu Apr 21, 2005 5:36 am

It's been 5 days short of a month since I placed the initial order with Comixpress, and still no comics. I received one real e-mail from them apoligizing for not repling sooner. Two other e-mails only generated automated replys saying someone would contact my in 2 business days. But no one ever did. Anyway that's the latest in my comics printing story.

finalplanet · Post by **finalplanet** » Thu May 26, 2005 9:20 pm

We had a terrible experience dealing with Firstwave Printing.

This posting originally contained the details of our dealings with the company, but they threatened legal action against us and other parties that had nothing to do with the situation if we didn't take it down.

I don't believe they have any case at all. I'm taking down the post because it is not fair for us to make undeserved problems for the other people Firstwave began threatening with lawsuits as a means to get to us.

Brad got to keep our money, send us an unsellable product and silence us regarding the whole situation with threats of legal actions.

You have been warned.

Eric F Myers · Post by **Eric F Myers** » Fri May 27, 2005 5:21 am

finalplanet wrote:After posting to several message boards, Brad at Firstwave decided to ship out my books. I am waiting for their arrival and will update with the status of the books once they arrive.

Rock on!

Take this message to my brother.
You will find him everywhere.
Wherever people live together,
tied in poverty's despair.

Oh, you, telling me the things you're gonna do for me.
I ain't blind and I don't like what I think I see.
Takin' it to the streets, takin' it to the streets,
no more need for runnin', takin' it to the streets.
Takin' it to the streets, takin' it to the streets,
no more need for hidin', takin' it to the streets.
Takin' it to the streets, takin' it to the streets,
takin' it to the...

*Lyrics by the Doobie Brothers

finalplanet · Post by **finalplanet** » Fri May 27, 2005 11:29 am

See above.

troybuddha · Post by **troybuddha** » Fri May 27, 2005 7:23 pm

Well I'm glad I didn't go with that Company!
I received my comics today from Comixpress, wow they turned out great! I think what they really need to do is tell people it will take about 4 to 6 weeks to get their books when they place their order also they need to send an automated confirmation of the persons order. Jodi was very helpful and when the comics were finished she sent them out next day air from UPS. I'm very happy with the quality of the print job the colors came out fantastic!

troybuddha · Post by **troybuddha** » Sat May 28, 2005 5:46 pm

Now comes the hard part, I've got to figure out how much to sell the comic for. It's a 24 page full color mini comic. There's a demand for it where I'm planning on selling it but it will be a limited edition signed and numbered book. Any one out there have any input on this?! Any help here would be appreciated, Thanks.

finalplanet · Post by **finalplanet** » Wed Jun 01, 2005 11:59 am

See above.

Comicguy1976 · Post by **Comicguy1976** » Tue Jun 07, 2005 2:50 am

Hey Final, if you got the books, what's the problem? That sounds to me like this Brad guy isn't a crook at all, just like every other printer in this industry, SLOW! If you got the product, he isn't a crook, he's paid...

Got a question for ya... Are you that guy from Terminal Press that has that revenge " I'm out to ruin Firstwave " article on there? Please tell me that's not you. You've been following this guy across the postings like some kind of stalker, making rude comments everywhere. I found that out when I was conducting a search on printers and Firstwave. Not good on your part, dude.

You know, I read about the new laws this week and there is one out there now called " restraint of trade ", that says something about if you cause harm to someone's business, you can be held responsible for that in a court of law. I wouldn't do anymore postings if I was you and maybe even remove the more graphic ones because if this guy takes screen shots of them, he does have the evidence against you for a law suit and could probably win.

As for the printing side of this, I don't use either of them at this point in time, as I am only searching but, I have been hearing far more traffic going through Firstwave, as I have only heard about the lack of response with Comixpress. I may give them both a try and see what happens.

troybuddha · Post by **troybuddha** » Tue Jun 07, 2005 5:06 am

Well if he was the only one that had problems I would suspect he had some kind of vendetta against them but it seems like other have had problems. And I'm not sure how telling people about your experience with a company would qualify as

restraint of trade

especially in this post which is asking for opinions on printing companies.

Comicguy1976 · Post by **Comicguy1976** » Tue Jun 07, 2005 10:02 am

Commenting on it isn't the problem, it's stalking this guy's postings everywhere. Final seems to have followed this guy into his personal email listing and such that are outside of the area of involvement with his printing business, which is in my opinion making it personal and over the line into the possible act of trade restraint. He's not just telling people about his experience, which is cool but, bashing Firstwave across the board, which isn't and can get him in a lot of trouble if he doesn't watch it. That's what I'm saying here. It was a warning to prevent him from getting into trouble, not a bashing by any means.

Sure, say your piece but, don't go out to ruin someone's business because you didn't like their work or whatever it is that is your bug, see what I mean? We've all had our horror stories of Brenner and printers of the like but we don't go ripping them in public like this, we simply handle it in a more professional manner of telling our friends that we've had a bad time with them, go to someone else and let it go.

Final is taking it to the point of harrassing the guy. That's not cool and I disagree with the actions he is taking. It doesn't look like he's protecting us from anything, it's more like he is upset because he didn't get his way and needs to move on. I don't know the whole deal but in bashing this guy in this manner is only going to bring him more press and either backfire and get a law suit against Final or bring Firstwave more business to this guy and make Final end up looking like another flamer that after a while of playing post tag will simply have respect lost for him as a person and creator, just like many of the other people of the past that have handled themselves in a less than professional manner on Digitalwebbing and all of these other places.

Why stoop to either level is what my point is. If you don't like the guy or he did you wrong, fine, don't give him anymore of your money but, why be childish about it, crying like a baby to all of these posts. Why not do the mature thing and stay away from that service, fuel his competitors with support of their banners and in using their services, or just file a suit but, don't waste your creative energy and time from your life gritching about it forever.

You say that you got your books, cool, it should be done there, don't ya think? As for me, I will be using Firstwave, just as many others I know will be to try them out for ourselves. I'll let you know what I think of the production once I've gotten something put together. Getting the books is more than I can say for Comixpress at this point. I've gotten no response from them in two days now. The lack of communication with them still isn't up to professional standards in my opinion.

Anyway, enough banter. There's a world of comics to be created. Leave the drama to the villian dialog...lol.

Eric F Myers · Post by **Eric F Myers** » Tue Jun 07, 2005 11:34 am

Comicguy1976 wrote:You know, I read about the new laws this week and there is one out there now called " restraint of trade ", that says something about if you cause harm to someone's business, you can be held responsible for that in a court of law. I wouldn't do anymore postings if I was you and maybe even remove the more graphic ones because if this guy takes screen shots of them, he does have the evidence against you for a law suit and could probably win.

I don't think that they would have much of a case. Firstwave would have to prove in a court how much damage he actually has done to the business. Were they advertising on the site where these post where made? Did they own or affiliated with any of the boards? Are message boards a prime source of income for the company? This guy is just pissed off and is using his first amendment right to speak his claims in a public forum. Which looked to me to based on facts that Finalplanet could easily prove. Emails, bank receipts, invoices and shipping recepts can and will hold up better in court than a screen capture of a message board. A representative of Firstwave is more than welcome to state their side here or at any of the other forums across the net. But with them threatening lawsuits it makes them look even more shady and will probably loose them more sales than the someones opinion on a message board in the first place.

Comicguy1976 · Post by **Comicguy1976** » Tue Jun 07, 2005 12:10 pm

Yeah, they have to prove it but, on the same token, who is Final, he could be some pissed off kid that is looking to cause grief for Firstwave.
If there was a suit, those screen shots would stand up as html documents that can't be tampered with which I checked with the U.S. attorney general's office for confirmation, as they have informed me that emails on the other hand, can be tampered, texted, altered and pasted and for that fact alone, are completely insubmissible in a court of law. Not to mention that in this guy's phone message, true or not, he called and gave a reason for the delayed production. Can we prove that isn't what happened on their end? As far as we know, Final could be the problem, ya know?

I'm just saying that there is a better way to represent yourself in these matters other than school yard banter.

As for the guys at Firstwave looking shady or unprofessional, they took legal action, which is the proper response to such hostile actions in my view. Besides, it's not like they would have any interest in walking into a board of people already filled with false opinions that are based from one person's rant that they followed. Not that I can speak for the people over at Firstwave but, clearly, they don't think there is anything to defend against Final's remarks outside of the courtroom. I personally would only recommend legal action as a last resort but, some business practices have proven better run with immediate action, as grounds for claims are present. There were obviously enough grounds that it made Final pull his original posting in response to it.

My suggestion is only that Final watch himself to stay out of trouble and that everyone make their own opinion with testing these companies. Everyone has good and bad experiences with all sorts of companies and it's just childish and sad to see someone crying like a baby rather than taking the higher road...and even more so, all of those that would follow in forming an opinion from someone's vendictive ramblings without knowing for themselves.

Good luck in your personal choices to find a printer.

Post by **Greg Stephens** » Tue Jun 07, 2005 12:11 pm

This topic is for discussion of experiences with Comixpress and similar printing services. This topic is NOT for discussion of how people comport themselves on the internet.

It may have been that Finalplanet's original May 26th posting was overly harsh and inflammatory, but by the time of Comicguy1976's first posting on June 7th, it should be a non-issue since on June 1 Finalplanet edited his own May 26 and 27 postings to be much less so. What remains is a brief account of Finalplanet's experience including mention that he has been threatened with legal action. I think this is germane to the topic of the experiences people have had with various printing services.

What is not germane to the topic is a discussion of Finalplanet's posting habits on other message boards, any disagreements that anybody may have with those habits and what those postings may mean to Firstwave Printing. Take these conversations elsewhere.

I usually foster free discussion at this forum, but I do discourage personal attacks. As the conversation currently stands, I would ordinarily let it run its course- it seems civil on the face of it- but I believe that you, Comicguy1976, may not be the uninvolved third party that your posts suggest you are. I believe that Comicguy1976 may be Brad Linder of Firstwave Printing. If so, then this topic has taken a turn I do not wish to foster. This forum is NOT intended for two people to argue with each other over private business matters. Take these conversations elsewhere.

The genesis of my belief that Comicguy1976 may be Brad Linder is that the email address with which Comicguy1976 registered at this forum matches the email address in the "reply to" of an email I recieved this morning. That email was signed "Brad Linder" and the content of the email was very similar to the email Finalplanet claims to have received from Mr. Linder in this (offsite) message board posting.

If this belief is correct, then I do not want Comicguy1976 and Finalplanet arguing about their personal business matters in this forum. If I am incorrect, then this is an even murkier and more deceptive issue than it appears, but the upshot is the same- Take these conversations elsewhere.

Finalplanet's last word on this subject was on June 1 and is sufficiently civil to remain as is. Comicguy1976's posting as of 8:02 this morning is also sufficiently civil to remain as is. I will not be deleting anybody's postings.

If there is any further off-topic conversation here, I will lock the threads.

troybuddha · Post by **troybuddha** » Tue Jun 07, 2005 5:16 pm

Well Thanks everyone for your input on this matter. I must say that Comixpress comics look really great. As for this whole Firstwave thing I think everything has been said about it that needs to be said.

Wish me luck the folks at the Ct Faire are having a meeting about what to do with my comic this weekend :: fingers crossed ::

Tim Mallos · Post by **Tim Mallos** » Wed Jun 08, 2005 2:47 pm

For what it's worth, I've seen some pieces printed by Comixpress and I thought they did a quality job.

I have not had any dealing directly with Comixpress.

Tim

Eric F Myers · Post by **Eric F Myers** » Wed Jun 08, 2005 7:39 pm

Tim Mallos wrote:For what it's worth, I've seen some pieces printed by Comixpress and I thought they did a quality job.

I have not had any dealing directly with Comixpress.

Tim

Yeah, I've ordered other people's comics and they've done a fantastic job on those. If their comics were on the shelf in a shop you wouldn't be able to tell them apart from the other mass produced comics. You might find them to be better products than some of the mass markets. Quality wise I mean.

William G · Post by **William G** » Thu Jun 09, 2005 12:08 pm

If I recall correctly, Amy Kim Ganter has had nothing but nice things to say about Comixpress.

And now she's working for Tokyopop. Not saying the two are related... OR AM I??!!?!!?

Zwol.org

Comixpress... Anyone use them to print anything yet?

Have you had Comixpress print any comics for you?

Comixpress... Anyone use them to print anything yet?

Firstwave Printing & Brad Linder

Re: Firstwave Printing & Brad Linder