A4 Portfolio Printing

Danbo!

Hi all,

Looking to get my portfolio printed and bound. It consists of 3d work, photography and graphic design. I'm almost finished the layout artwork and subject to a final edit, I should have approx 30-40 pages total.

Just looking for recommendations for a decent format and finish, type of bind and printer. I had considered wire binding but I think it's a little cheap looking, maybe go for thermal or strip binding, but these can be difficult to lay flat on a desk when open. As for print finish I'll be looking at a matt borderless finish.

Has anyone had a portfolio printed recently? Anyone know of a print house I can visit and take a look at samples? I'm only looking for 1 copy so I understand it will be pricey, but as it will be reused I need decent quality and strength.

Bears and Vodka

Applying for a college course I presume? +1, I need to make a portfolio as well, would love to know what people actually do.

flanree

There are basically 2 types of printing: press or digital. For one off stuff it would be digital. Press is better quality but for 30 to 40 pages you are talking well into hundreds minimum cost. I would recommend getting the printing done by a good digital printer and the binding by a good binder separately. Places that do both tend to skimp on one of the processes. For the printing get prices for photographic digital prints which can be on matt photo paper if you prefer. This is going to give the best reproduction of your design/colours, especially if it includes photgraphy work. If you're in Dublin, there's a place near The O2 which do good photographic prints up to huge sizes - www.thepostercompany.ie
For the binding, try www.thesiscentre.ie on Camden St.

I would stress to remember the big picture, clear reproduction of the designs, if you achieve this the presentation, binding etc won't matter. The binding shouldn't cross their mind at all, they should only 'see' the work.

Danbo!

Subz3r0 it's for job interviews but same thing pretty much. The layout is a cover page followed by 3 sections, each section having 10-15 prints. It will be a little on the heavy side content wise, but there's a quite a range of work.

flanree wrote: »

There are basically 2 types of printing: press or digital. For one off stuff it would be digital. Press is better quality but for 30 to 40 pages you are talking well into hundreds minimum cost. I would recommend getting the printing done by a good digital printer and the binding by a good binder separately. Places that do both tend to skimp on one of the processes. For the printing get prices for photographic digital prints which can be on matt photo paper if you prefer. This is going to give the best reproduction of your design/colours, especially if it includes photgraphy work. If you're in Dublin, there's a place near The O2 which do good photographic prints up to huge sizes - www.thepostercompany.ie
For the binding, try www.thesiscentre.ie on Camden St.

I would stress to remember the big picture, clear reproduction of the designs, if you achieve this the presentation, binding etc won't matter. The binding shouldn't cross their mind at all, they should only 'see' the work.

Great advice flanree, thanks. The prep work is almost done and I'm quite happy with the presentation. I know the bind is a small detail but the idea is that the bind work well and be unnoticeable, rather than some of the tight binds where you have to put in effort to hold the document open. Yes I'm probably thinking too much about this, but I think the portfolio needs to be perfect.

I'll call the two companies and get some prices, appreciate the advice.