undefined | Better HN

0 pointsmnky9800n1y ago0 comments

I wonder if one could organize an arXiv print service that binds and prints and ships with a unique cover and such.

Also it should use LLMs and the blockchain.

But this would be nice there are a number of papers and such that if you could submit an arXiv link to a print service I would probably buy a copy. I wonder why no one does it.

0 comments

woolion1y ago

Aren't you describing Lulu but for the very niche case of arxiv publications that are small books but not published as books? I think you could do it in a weekend with their API.

ivansavz1y ago

If anyone is interested in trying this, here is some Python starter code you might find useful: https://github.com/minireference/lulu-api-client?tab=readme-...

This worked four years ago when the API was still launched, but there might have been changes since, so no guarantees.

Most ArXiv PDFs are probably lulu-printable out of the box, but to make a general solution, one would probably need to do some pre-processing with ghostscript (gs), e.g. embed all fonts and flatten images (no transparency).

mnky9800nOP1y ago

also, they require that you have both the interior contents as a pdf and a pdf of the cover, so it will need to either auto-generate or offer the option to have a custom cover art.

mnky9800nOP1y ago

yes thats what i thought after the post. haha.

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse

0 pointsmnky9800n1y ago0 comments

I wonder if one could organize an arXiv print service that binds and prints and ships with a unique cover and such.

Also it should use LLMs and the blockchain.

But this would be nice there are a number of papers and such that if you could submit an arXiv link to a print service I would probably buy a copy. I wonder why no one does it.

0 comments

woolion1y ago

Aren't you describing Lulu but for the very niche case of arxiv publications that are small books but not published as books? I think you could do it in a weekend with their API.

ivansavz1y ago

If anyone is interested in trying this, here is some Python starter code you might find useful: https://github.com/minireference/lulu-api-client?tab=readme-...

This worked four years ago when the API was still launched, but there might have been changes since, so no guarantees.

mnky9800nOP1y ago

also, they require that you have both the interior contents as a pdf and a pdf of the cover, so it will need to either auto-generate or offer the option to have a custom cover art.

mnky9800nOP1y ago

yes thats what i thought after the post. haha.

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse