Reprints

A reprint is usually the best deal in publishing. The expensive one-time work is done: the art exists, the files are final, the tooling and setup at the factory are proven, and, most importantly, demand is demonstrated rather than hoped for. Reprint unit costs often come in lower than the first run for the same quantity, and the risk profile is completely different, because you are printing a game people have already shown they will buy.

The hard part is timing. Between placing a reprint order and having sellable stock in your warehouse sits the factory queue, production time, and an ocean crossing, which together commonly total four to six months. That means the decision point is not when you run out, it is when your remaining stock divided by your monthly sell-through rate approaches your reprint lead time. Publishers who wait until the warehouse is empty routinely spend half a year out of stock, and momentum, review traffic, and retail shelf space all decay while they wait.

A reprint is also your one cheap chance to fix things. Collect errata, rules ambiguities that confused blind playtesters and customers, component quality complaints, and small graphic fixes throughout the first run's life, and roll them into the reprint files. Keep the changes modest and document them, because second printings that meaningfully change gameplay create headaches for retailers and grumbling from first-printing owners. Fix mistakes, resist the urge to redesign.

Financing a reprint can be surprisingly awkward, since the cash from the first run may already be spent. Options publishers actually use include earmarked reprint reserves, preorders on their own store, a short reprint-focused crowdfunding campaign (often bundled with an expansion to give existing fans a reason to participate), and in some cases distributor commitments that justify the run. Whichever route you take, the discipline from the cash flow article applies: proven sellers get funded first.