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1. •  
     CommentAuthorLucifal
   • CommentTimeOct 7th 2009 edited

    (2624.21)

   warrenellis What's the issue with their licensing?

   I logged in to MagCloud today to be informed the terms had changed. However, the bit that bothered me was under the Publication Terms:

   you grant to HP a transferable, non-exclusive, fully-paid, worldwide, license (sublicensable through multiple tiers) to use (and permit others to use), distribute, reproduce, modify, adapt, publish, translate, publicly perform, publicly display, and otherwise exploit, your User Publication (including any text, graphics, photographs, or other content contained in your User Publication), in whole or in part, in any format or medium now known or later developed,

2. •  
     CommentAuthoroddbill
   • CommentTimeOct 7th 2009 edited

    (2624.22)
   Not sure if the bit you've quoted has changed, but as it currently stands you've pulled it a little out of context. The full paragraph is:
   
   By submitting a User Publication to HP through the Service, and as a condition of HP making the User Publication available through the Service,
   you grant to HP a transferable, non-exclusive, fully-paid, worldwide, license (sublicensable through multiple tiers) to use (and permit others to use), distribute, reproduce, modify, adapt, publish, translate, publicly perform, publicly display, and otherwise exploit, your User Publication (including any text, graphics, photographs, or other content contained in your User Publication), in whole or in part, in any format or medium now known or later developed,
   solely for the purposes of providing and promoting the Service and other aspects of the MagCloud Network. HP reserves the right to display advertisements in connection with User Publications and to use portions of User Publications (other than those you have restricted third parties from viewing) for advertising and promotional purposes. The licenses granted herein with respect to any of your User Publications shall be perpetual and shall continue unless and until that User Publication is properly removed from the Service in accordance with these Publication Terms, at which time the licenses granted herein shall continue only to the extent necessary for HP to fulfill any existing obligations to MagCloud users and other third parties. Notwithstanding the foregoing, you retain ownership of any intellectual property rights you may have in your User Publications.
   
   (Italicised and bolded bits are mine)
   
   The italicised bit is the bit you've pulled out - the bolded bits are important. Since this is a worldwide POD service, you have to grant many of these rights in order for them to legally print your magazine on demand. The rest of it is aimed at giving MagCloud maximum leeway to use the content of available magazines offered through their service in advertisements. This covers them for simple things like posting thumbnails of the covers on the website, or images of the interiors on TV commercials, etc, anywhere globally. And that is further limited by being revoked if you remove your magazine offering from their service.
   
   All in all, it doesn't seem onerous to me.
3. • CommentAuthorTwist
   • CommentTimeOct 7th 2009

    (2624.23)
   Oh bollocks... the bastards don't ship to Australia as yet. Well there's one option for print down the fraking drain.
   
   *Sigh* And Constellations looked like it was worth picking up too :(
4. •  
     CommentAuthorLucifal
   • CommentTimeOct 8th 2009 edited

    (2624.24)
   oddbill, guess I'm just a suspicious old git. I think the idea is excellent for the small comic creators. I'm not so sure it works for the likes of Murky Depths although as Issue #6 is already available as a free CBR I'm tempted to try it to see what the quality is like. I've just had some test pages back from a digital printer and the illustration quality is as good if not better than the litho version. However, the text (on the prose stories) begins to break up.
5. • CommentAuthorJames Puckett
   • CommentTimeOct 8th 2009

    (2624.25)
   All in all, it doesn't seem onerous to me.
   
   It’s really not much different from standard printer/designer contracts that allow printing of a hundred extra copies to retain as samples for future customers.
6. •  
     CommentAuthormaljones
   • CommentTimeOct 16th 2009 edited

    (2624.26)

   All in all, it doesn't seem onerous to me.

   
   It isn't nefarious at all. Like it's been mentioned a bit already, it's just for promotional needs. I wouldn't have done Potboiler through them if anything wacky was going on.
   

   I'm tempted to try it to see what the quality is like.

   
   The quality is really fucking ridiculous. Vibrant clear colors, with everything looking nearly exactly as I hoped (blues are bit darker then I thought they would be, but that's it). It's so easy to use, that it's a bummer to see more people NOT making some nice 8 1/2 x 11 sized comics on it.
   
   An easy way to test would be to just order up a few, rather different, magazines and see how they look and compare.
   
   I'll be a shill for MagCloud for a long while if they keep in the direction they're going. They've been nothing but supportive and accommodating.
7. •  
     CommentAuthorlampcommander
   • CommentTimeOct 20th 2009

    (2624.27)
   In response to Warren's lengthy post about Magcloud and the capability of new and exciting territory, I give these articles as food for thought:
   An article about the progress of reading and writing through the ages - mainly about how advances in internet writing are stagnant/nonexistent, and and earlier article from the same series with some good anecdotes. Courtesy my wife who is in a Lit Phd program and gets too-fascinating articles all the damn time.
8. •  
     CommentAuthoroldhat
   • CommentTimeOct 20th 2009 edited

    (2624.28)
   I love where MagCloud is going and for the past week or so, have been looking at both issues of Humanity + with hungry eyes. Hopefully by next week or so I'll be able to afford a couple of issues.
   
   I'd love to see something come from both Warren and Avatar Press in MagCloud. I know Mark was talking about having a channel devoted to comics, maybe a monthly magazine featuring interviews, emerging artists and just what the hell goes on in the business about is a nice first step?
9. •  
     CommentAuthorkperkins
   • CommentTimeOct 21st 2009

    (2624.29)
   Well I don't see publishers, like Avatar, using this, since they'd have better profit margins on publishing it themselves, and they could publish for cheaper.
   Seriously. $.20 + a page is high, and may be OK for individuals, or some special things, or, even, convenience (especially for the artist/niche publisher) but as a buyer with limited income, I need to think about buying something this expensive, and whether or not the experience is worth it.
10. •  
      CommentAuthorwarrenellis
    • CommentTimeOct 21st 2009

     (2624.30)
    It's nothing a "real" publisher would use too often, I think.
    
    And, yes, if your income is limited enough that you have to weigh five or six dollars carefully, then obviously buying MagCloud magazines isn't for you...
11. •  
      CommentAuthorwarrenellis
    • CommentTimeOct 25th 2009

     (2624.31)
    Well, I just got a bunch of MagCloud mags in the post. Cover stock isn't incredibly forgiving if your cover's all white but you have some dense darks on the inside front... but, you know, these all look fine to me.
    
    (And before someone gives me shit about that, let me remind you that I've been involved in the printing of things, in one way or another, for twenty five years now, and the chances are better than even that I know more about it than you do.)
    
    Also, they smell a bit like new carpets.
12. •  
      CommentAuthormaljones
    • CommentTimeOct 26th 2009

     (2624.32)
    Yeah, the cover stock is only thing that I wasn't too keen on but I threw every type of art I could think of there in order to test out the printing, so adjusting for that next time is going to be a breeze.
    
    Now to actually start working on issue two.
    
    What all did you pick up?
13. •  
      CommentAuthorwarrenellis
    • CommentTimeOct 26th 2009

     (2624.33)
    POTBOILER, the ATLANTIC special, an issue of AUXILIARY and issue 1 of GHOST. Honestly, the biggest flaw I saw was that GHOST's all-white cover was slightly compromised by a small, very saturated image printed on the inside front.
14. •  
      CommentAuthorEndjinn
    • CommentTimeNov 19th 2009

     (2624.34)
    Newspaper club looks awsome. Love it.
    have to see what the charges are, but otherwise im absolutely getting involved in that.
    
    its funny how credible and proffesional something looks when its printed large on the cheapest paper and cheapest ink.
    looks fantastic.
    
    Does anywhere else do this already?
15. •  
      CommentAuthorlampcommander
    • CommentTimeNov 19th 2009

     (2624.35)
    I just uploaded my pdf and ordered my proof. I'm a n00b and embedded fonts were a bitch to find/remove. But I'll throw the title up here for anyone interested once my proof comes back okay.
    
    BTW for anyone wondering, proofs are free with 1.40 shipping!
16. •  
      CommentAuthordispophoto
    • CommentTimeNov 19th 2009

     (2624.36)
    used magcloud to make a memory book of photos from the performance of the vagina monologues last spring, and the producer said they came out amazingly well, but has still let to stop by my place to drop one off for me. i'll post pics when it finally gets here.
17. •  
      CommentAuthordispophoto
    • CommentTimeNov 19th 2009

     (2624.37)
    spoke too soon! she dropped it off earlier today. Warren mentioned the white cover being compromised by a saturated image on the inside, i can see the pics on the internal cover peeking thru the cover (it's red white & black, and you can see it thru the red too)
    
    
    
18. •  
      CommentAuthorlampcommander
    • CommentTimeNov 28th 2009

     (2624.38)
    Hey there hi there ho there!
    
    My Magcloud creation is now available for anyone willing to investigate. Only three bucks.
    
    And dispop, that mag looks sweet. The pics are clear, I've been pretty impressed overall with the print quality. Post a link?
19. •  
      CommentAuthorspinnerin
    • CommentTimeDec 15th 2009

     (2624.39)
    I just got the proof copy of my first MagCloud experiment, a retrospective of essays, photos, and other things I created in 2009.
    
    I'm really impressed with the print quality. The photos and text both look great.
20. • CommentAuthortcatsninfan
    • CommentTimeMar 3rd 2010

     (2624.40)
    FYI, there's a spring sale going on at MagCloud and all "full priced" magazines are 25% off until March 21st.