title: Faster alternative to Python's zipfile module?
body: <p>Is there a noticeably faster alternative to Python 2.7.4 zipfile module (with ZIP_DEFLATED) for zipping a large number of files into a single zip file? I had a look at czipfile <a href="https://pypi.python.org/pypi/czipfile/1.0.0">https://pypi.python.org/pypi/czipfile/1.0.0</a>, but that appears to be focused on faster decrypting (not compressing).</p>
  
  <p>I am routinely having to process a large number of image files (~12,000 files of a combination of .exr and .tiff files) with each file between ~1MB - 6MB in size (and ~9 GB for all the files) into a single zip file for shipment. This zipping takes ~90 minutes to process (running on Windows 7 64bit).</p>
  
  <p>If anyone can recommend a different python module (or alternatively a C/C++ library or even a standalone tool) that would be able to compress a large number of files into a single .zip file in less time than the zipfile module, that would be greatly appreciated (anything close to ~5-10% faster (or more) would be very helpful).</p>