If you want to see a masterpiece, you go to the Tate. If you want to see a great goal, you go to Wembley. If you want to print a high quality Final Major Project, you go to Ex Why Zed.
Here we are then, your Final Major Project…it’s the big one! By now you’ll know which end of the camera takes the photos, that Adobe Illustrator is a wonderful world of vectors and that Comic Sans really doesn’t cut the mustard as typographic excellence! (You don’t cut mustard do you? You spread it!).
With your final mark on the line, let’s make sure of two things: the book looks the best it possibly can AND that it arrives before your deadline. At Ex Why Zed we are FMP and Dissertation printing specialists. Rest assured your work will be printed using the highest quality digital presses to ensure the print quality does maximum justice to your excellent work. We just need you, to give us enough time to produce it!
Don’t forget, we also print Degree Show Catalogues too. Here is a selection of our favourites from the past 17 years.
We have left no stone unturned to provide you with detailed information about every aspect of the project. Browse binding types, sizes, paper choices. Refine your print specification then find a range of instant prices. Work through our file set-up guides and preparing print ready artwork. Enjoy our pro tips, hacks and helpful notes as you progress along the print journey with Ex Why Zed.
We understand you are on a tight budget and regularly get told our prices are “better than Blurb”.
Here are our top tips for keeping the price down whilst still achieving an eye-catching publication:
• Staple binding or wire stitching (up to 40 pages) is cheaper than perfect binding (best for over 40 pages).
• The more copies you print, the lower the price per book will be. Maybe you could sell some at your final show or on your website?
We will deliver wire stitched FMPs in 4 working days, perfect bound in 5 and hardback in 7. However, as this might be the first time you have prepared artwork for print, it will be rare that files are supplied completely ready for print at the first attempt. We appreciate this and they usually need the odd tweak or two so allow an extra day for us to come back and for you to make the changes. We are more than happy to help and advise on preparing artwork but, like we say, this can take an extra day or two and this should be allowed for in addition to the printing time.
We have been printing final major projects for 15 years now so this isn’t our first rodeo. If you send us the files with just 5 days left until your most important deadline then it takes 3 days to get the artwork right, your deadline will be missed. Neither of us want this to happen.
Can I pay extra for faster service?
This isn’t something we really do. We know there are flash points during the year where deadlines become non-moveable – University hand ins are one of them. So, at this time we print the orders in the sequence they come in. This is the only fair way to do it. We recommend if there is an important deadline looking that you allow more time to avoid the printing being rushed.
Not sure about which paper will work best for your project?
Check out video guide here and we’ll talk you through the options with examples printed on each of the finishes. Still uncertain? Jump on our sample pack form and we’ll get some paper choices in the post asap.
We know you have spent an awful lot of time on concepts, design and layout of your FMP. You’re almost there now, but our experience has told us that nearly everyone could do with some last minute advice when putting their artwork into a print ready format.
Structured into a general file preparation overview with additional extensive sections to help you set up a file for both wire stitching and perfect binding projects the guide will serve as a valuable and time saving resource.
The step by step artwork guides delve deeper into best practice:
How far from the spine should my images be?
What came first: the chicken or the egg?
We will teach you the things your tutor forgot to! 
In the last few years we are proud to have regularly printed Photography, Fine Art, Graphic Design, Fashion, Architecture, Illustration, Graphic Arts, Visual Communication, Documentary Photography and Product Design Final Major Projects to showcase the talent of students from AUB, BCU, Camberwell College of Arts, Central St Martins, Chelsea College, Coventry University, Falmouth University, Glasgow School of Architecture, Glyndwr University, Goldsmiths, Kingston University, Lancaster University, London Metropolitan University, Leeds College of Art and Manchester of School of Art.
Delivery is FREE to one UK address and all our work is sent by courier so you will receive the printing the day after your FMP leaves us.
We also ship globally too and just charge this at our cost price from the cheapest courier on the day. Usually around £20-30 to Europe or the States.
Enjoy looking through our showcase of recent Final Major Project printing
If you were “just wondering” about one last thing, well “just wonder” no more… here are the answers!
Print Journey