Why do/did publishers have multiple print runs?

[KPR Comics]

If demand justifies more, why not just print more and not distinguish between first and second (or third, fourth, etc.) printings?

[Mr 9.8]

If demand justifies more, why not just print more and not distinguish between first and second (or third, fourth, etc.) printings?

Sweet, sweet Variant cover ca$h!

[Columbia Comics]

If demand justifies more, why not just print more and not distinguish between first and second (or third, fourth, etc.) printings?

Sweet, sweet Variant cover ca$h!

 

I don't think that's what Dave is asking...

 

Look at Dark Knight Returns #1. There are at least 3 printings, all the same as far as I can tell but the only difference is the notation of first, second or third printing.

 

Nothing variant about the cover.

[Mr 9.8]

If demand justifies more, why not just print more and not distinguish between first and second (or third, fourth, etc.) printings?

Sweet, sweet Variant cover ca$h!

 

I don't think that's what Dave is asking...

 

Look at Dark Knight Returns #1. There are at least 3 printings, all the same as far as I can tell but the only difference is the notation of first, second or third printing.

 

Nothing variant about the cover.

Oh, okay. My mistake.

[jaybuck43]

Publishers can't adequately anticipate demand for an issue ahead of time. Diamond solicitations go out extremely early for issues. For instance, right now Diamond is soliciting for January 2016. The cut off date is earlier then release date. Publishers then base their print run based off their Diamond orders (plus a set percentage over) So lets take a popular book. Batman. The Diamond solicitation is "Mr. Bloom's seeds have grown into an army that may turn all of Gotham City against its new Batman. Meanwhile, Bruce Wayne meets a mysterious stranger who could start a chain of events no one can stop." Well we have no idea who the mysterious stranger is. Who is it? Well shops will order the book based off their previous sales of batman + anticipation for this particular issue. Doesn't seem like a monster seller so they order the usual. Book gets printed. Now a week before, it comes out that the mysterious stranger is actually Bruce's father. For the first time ever, they are introducing Thomas Wayne as a real character. Boom the book explodes because of speculators. Every store sells out, and the retailers reach out to Diamond for more. Diamond goes back to DC and DC decides to run a second print (rinse and repeat). It doesn't happen too often.

[valiantman]

1) It can be argued that rabid fans don't need a second printing. They've already got their books on a pull list at their LCS.

 

2) It can be argued that casual fans don't need a second printing. They'll wait for the trade.

 

3) So, second printings are for the new fan, or the variant collector, or the take-advantage-of-demand profiteer.

 

There's no way for publishers to predict the behavior of the third group months in advance, but it is possible to predict that the third group wants new cover art.

[KPR Comics]

Correct, CC. Putting alternate/variant covers aside, I'm just wondering why when an identical print run is made (albeit at a different time), what's the real difference - hence why call it a second printing. DKR is a great example. Thanos Quest, same thing.

[manetteska]

Same thing with book publishers, right? Keep churning out the same book, just change the copyright page and remove one of those numbers.

[KPR Comics]

Yeah, I guess so. Perhaps there's a reg, rule or law?

[jaeldubyoo]

Accounting and records?

 

[IntoAnother]

Yeah, I guess so. Perhaps there's a reg, rule or law?

 

Perhaps, but it would take away the collectibility aspect with the vast majority wouldn't it? Which in turn may effect sales by collectors not caring as much when they get a copy. As well as removing an enormous amount of buzz that often comes with first prints.

[KPR Comics]

That's actually the argument for variants - collect em all.

 

[MatterEaterLad]

The industry is in flux right now.

 

I'm an author with Random House and I've seen the same trend in book publishing over the last 10 years.

 

Publishers are hesitant to print mega-runs (or even moderate runs) because they never know if/when digital formats will outsell traditional print runs, leaving them with massive amounts of overstock or returns.

 

Plus the printing industry is much more nimble than it used to be, so they can turn around and print again in a decent amount of time.

[the blob]

the contract with the writers/artists/creators, etc. may not pay as much for a second print as a first?

 

i am trying to figure out if there is a requirement under copyright law, but i haven't found one.

 

i think publishers do consider there are collectors out there and they don't want to diminish the desire to run out and buy a book before the 1st print is sold out, but i doubt the impact is so much

[jaeldubyoo]

Publishers are sadists and completists are masochists.

[Thawk]

It has a much longer history in the publishing world - there are a bunch of distinctions between "printings" and "editions" which have carried on since around WWII and are somewhat arbitrary now because of the way printing has changed since then. The short answer, I think, has more to do with the tradition of print than it does with any comic book specific choice.

 

That said, publishers make separate orders for a 2nd, 3rd, 4th printing etc. and including a different "Edition or print" number makes it easy for everyone to distinguish in the case that later printings had any changes - either in quality, or in materials used, or in error correction of the actual book, or even in the case of stuff like different advertisements being included if there is any significant date gap between printings. In the case of error correction or ad changes, I believe it would then also require a different UPC.

 

As to why small art changes get made to the cover between printings, that's probably more for collectors than anything, though it also makes it easy to distinguish "at first glance" for those who want to be familiar with any differences from printing to printing.

[the blob]

Do second prints, particularly ones done a month or two later, have the same ads? I can see how some ads with deadlines or for conventions or whatever would be dated/useless.