Comic Distribution Calculator

Compare revenue and profit across direct market, bookstore, convention, and direct-to-consumer distribution channels.

Retail Cover Price

Print Cost Per Copy

Total Print Run

Direct Market %

Bookstore %

Convention %

Direct-to-Consumer %

Use Distributor?

Bulk Shipping / Copy

Tab to move between fields

Total Revenue

$3,045.90

≈ 3 smartphones

Total Profit

$10.90

≈ 2 cups of coffee

Blended Margin0.4%

Direct Market Profit/Copy-$1.00

Bookstore Profit/Copy-$1.15

Convention Profit/Copy$2.49

DTC Profit/Copy$1.24

Total Printing Cost$2,500.00

Best Channel (Index)2

How to Use This Calculator

Enter retail cover price, print cost per copy, and total print run.
Set percentage allocation for direct market, bookstores, conventions, and direct-to-consumer.
Enter distributor usage, bulk shipping cost per copy.
Review Total Revenue, Revenue by Channel, Net Profit, and margin per distribution method.

How the result changes with Retail Cover Price

Retail Cover Price: Cover price for the comic. Standard floppy: $3.99-$5.99.
Print Cost Per Copy: Your per-copy printing cost.
Total Print Run: Total copies printed across all channels.
Direct Market %: Percentage allocated to comic shops (Diamond/Lunar).
Bookstore %: Percentage allocated to bookstores (Ingram). Subject to ~15% returns.
Convention %: Percentage sold at conventions (full retail).
Direct-to-Consumer %: Percentage sold via web store or Kickstarter.
Use Distributor?: 0 = Self-distribute to shops, 1 = Use Diamond/Lunar (they take a cut).
Bulk Shipping / Copy: Shipping cost per copy for bulk/freight. DTC shipping is 2x this.

Total Revenue: Combined revenue from all distribution channels.
Total Profit: Combined profit after printing and distribution costs.
Blended Margin: Overall profit margin across all channels.
Direct Market Profit/Copy: Profit per copy through comic shop distribution.
Bookstore Profit/Copy: Profit per copy through bookstore distribution (after returns).
Convention Profit/Copy: Profit per copy sold at conventions.
DTC Profit/Copy: Profit per copy from direct-to-consumer sales.
Total Printing Cost: Total cost to print the entire run.
Best Channel (Index): Most profitable channel: 0=Direct Market, 1=Bookstore, 2=Convention, 3=DTC.

Identify Input Parameters
4 parameters
Retail Cover Price = 4.99, Print Cost Per Copy = 2.5, Total Print Run = 1000, Direct Market % = 40 = 9 input(s) provided
Calculate Total Revenue
Total Revenue = dmTotalRevenue + bsTotalRevenue + conTotalRevenue + dtcTotalRevenue
3045.9 = $3,045.9
Calculate Total Profit
Total Profit = dmTotalProfit + bsTotalProfit + conTotalProfit + dtcTotalProfit
10.9 = $10.9
Calculate Blended Margin
0.4 = 0.4
Calculate Direct Market Profit/Copy
Direct Market Profit/Copy = dmRevenuePerCopy - printCostPerCopy - shippingPerCopy
-1 = $-1