What is the difference between black and white & color playbills?

[rich101]

Posted: 11/4/05 at 12:11am

What is the difference between black and white & color playbills? I just started getting serious about collecting playbills and I am not sure if there is some significance between the different covers. Can some people share their knowledge on this subject matter? Thanks

Rich

[TheatreDiva90016]

Posted: 11/4/05 at 12:11am

Cost?

[The Distinctive Baritone]

Posted: 11/4/05 at 12:15am

When the show first opens they're in color, but after a little while they usually go to black in white to save money.

[JerseyGirl2]

Posted: 11/4/05 at 12:18am

About a buck per playbill, I would say.

[orangeskittles]

Posted: 11/4/05 at 12:19am

Why do some shows have different designs for their playbills? Like Chitty has one that's just a white background, then another that has clouds.

[The Distinctive Baritone]

Posted: 11/4/05 at 12:19am

Yeah--color printing is REALLY expensive.

[cathywellerstein]

Posted: 11/4/05 at 12:33am

if a show starts to lose moeny, the color of the playbill is sometimes the first to go. black and white is cheaper.

[munkustrap178]

Posted: 11/4/05 at 12:42am

And some shows are NEVER in color.

[cathywellerstein]

Posted: 11/4/05 at 12:46am

the phantom of the opera...haha.

[munkustrap178]

Posted: 11/4/05 at 12:50am

I thought that it was, in the very beginning. I could have sworn the OBC had a red rose in addition to the mask...

[Conor]

Posted: 11/4/05 at 1:11am

i think you're right, I have feel like I have seen some with the rose or maybe it was just the poster?

[Thesbijean]

Posted: 11/4/05 at 9:50am

I know WICKED and AVE Q are still color.

[Fosse76]

Posted: 11/4/05 at 9:54am

I never understood why it went to black & white though. I mean, only the show's logo is in black & white while the rest of the magazine is still in color. I can't imagine it would cost that much more. I used to think it was an artistic decision because the show was on Broadway, to distinguish it. I know it's cost-related, I just can't imagine that it would cost so much more.

[nydirector2]

Posted: 11/4/05 at 10:21am

That's because the cover is by the show and the inside is the actual magazine. Color covers are really expensive and usually a show has color when it opens and after 6 months to a year will switch to b&w to save costs. The exceptions are event shows or shows with smaller houses. Think how disappointing it would be, for example, to get a Wicked PLaybill WITHOUT the green on it? Q's color scheme is really kind of the same. It's such a colorful show...and also it's running costs are low enough that the producers can shill out the few bucks. So why not?

[myManCape]

Posted: 11/4/05 at 6:46pm

I know someone in printing and they said when the rest of the magazine is in color, a color cover isn’t THAT much more expensive when their ordered in as large quantity as playbill prints. They said it would be about 15-30 cents more depending on the number of colors in the logo. Shows like Q with only 1 color are cheaper than Chitty or Scoundrles which have many colors.

[NSMTpublicity]

Posted: 11/4/05 at 7:03pm

I dont think it is a cost issue. As they print the yellow Playbill screen even when they are black and white. Some shows go back to color later in a run.. it may come with major cast changes... I am really unsure of this.


Unles a show's one color logo is Cyan, Magenta, Yellow or black... it will cost the same as full color to mix the custom pantone color match.

Updated On: 11/4/05 at 07:03 PM

[myManCape]

Posted: 11/4/05 at 7:05pm

or when they decide their current logo sucks.
Like the original Lennon one.

[munkustrap178]

Posted: 11/4/05 at 7:06pm

"I dont think it is a cost issue. "


Yes, it absolutely IS.

[NSMTpublicity]

Posted: 11/4/05 at 7:08pm

Really because my contract with Playbill has no verbage about color relating to the cost. Maybe yours is different.

[WiCkEDrOcKS]

Posted: 11/4/05 at 7:23pm

When I went to Wicked last Sunday, the Playbill was still in color.

[jonartdesigns]

Posted: 11/4/05 at 11:59pm

well theoretically shows like wicked and q could actually use special screening (god knows wicked can afford it) so that its still 3 color passes (pink, green, and black) as opposed to the standard 4 (cyan, magenta, yellow, black) which would cut down on costs.
as opposed to say... chitty which would require the 4 color process to pull off the look

[BroadwayRandy0711]

Posted: 11/5/05 at 1:25am

I have not seen a NYC Off-Broadway production before and was wandering for shows like SWIWS if you get a playbill or not? And if so is it in color or black and white?

[MackieManiac]

Posted: 11/5/05 at 1:07pm

Pink Green and Black would not allow the yellow for the Playbill Logo.

[WickedGeek28]

Posted: 11/5/05 at 1:16pm

Well, I guess if the show is making a large profit it jsut stays in color. Hairspray, Lion King, Wicked, Piazza, Spelling Bee.

Some have a lot of color, others don't.

Did I see an ASU in b/w. I thought I did, I have the color one and saw it a month or so before it closed.

[jonartdesigns]

Posted: 11/5/05 at 4:06pm

MackieManiac- oh duh i forgot that, for some reason in the back of my head i thought that "playbill" part was preprinted