Printing comics can be expensive for small runs an indie creators. Some band together to help lower costs but still, for many, print is out of reach.

Alterna Comics is a small press publisher who has found success going a bit retro, printing comics on classic newsprint helping bring the cost of the comics down.

The publisher has opened up a printing partnership program lowering the barrier for creators to get print copies of their comics. Minimum runs start at 500 issues for a 32 page full-color comic which is 50 cents per issue, plus shipping, plus a flat prepress charge of $50. With an estimated of shipping at $20 per box via UPS in the United States, that’d come out to be about $0.80 an issue for a 32 page full-color comic. The higher the print run, the cheaper the per unit cost. 1,500 full-color 32 page comics would run about $0.59 per issue.

The industry is wide open for a disruption to the printing process and it looks like Alterna sees the opportunity. Could this be an alternative for indie creators? Will Amazon’s print on demand fill the gap?

Alterna’s program is set to launch at the end of August and you can find more information at their website.