Small Press Expo and the persistence of print
Nick Marino was having a difficult time selling digital copies of his webcomic, Time Log, even though the digital versions were easier to read and sharper than his print comics.
At the Small Press Expo (SPX), a comics convention in Maryland, the 30-year-old Pittsburgh artist decided to laminate a preview of each comic and hand it out with each ebook purchase. They sold much better after that.
“I talk to people from age 20 to 70 who say they still don’t understand digital comics yet,” he said. “When people buy something, they like to have a memento of that purchase.”
Marino is just one many illustrators discovering that, even as the world increasingly goes online, there’s still high demand for print products.
Founded in 1994, SPX continues to grow. This year, the the paper-based institution invited about 450 exhibitors to its sardine-packed halls. Nearly all were webcomics or artists with powerful online presences, and all had at least one printed product to sell.
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