Harness The Power Of Print On Demand Publishing
What is print on demand publishing? Print on demand publishing is primarily about technology -- and in particular the kinds of technological advancements that have greatly reduced the time required to print and bind a book. In the past, publishers would need large amounts of time to set up printing presses and to print a very large amounts of books (commonly called a "press run"). Thanks to the advent of digital technology and computers, it is now possible for publishers to actually delay the printing of a book until it has been paid for. Why would a company -- or a self-published author for that matter -- rely on print on demand publishing technology? There are several possible reasons. Print on demand publishing can be a viable option for books that have been printed via a printing press in the traditional manner, when the current stock or supply of those books has been exhausted and another press run will not be done for some time yet. In addition, print on demand publishing is a great option for keeping older books in print -- books which have a steady, but not high, demand. Using print on demand publishing, a publisher need only print the books as their customers order them. Another reason for relying on print on demand publishing technology would be to eliminate the problems associated with maintaining an excessive inventory of a book. For example, a new book about the life of a popular sports legend may have initial sales which are quite high -- but sales might drop dramatically in a very short period of time, as interest wanes. A publisher relying on traditional methods would have to produce a large number of copies and try to sell them all, whereas a publisher using a print on demand strategy could simply have books printed as needed. Print on demand publishing has found widespread use for publishing books that appeal to niche markets. These types of books cannot usually be sold in huge quantities, making traditional (large) press runs uneconomical. A good example of these types of books would be books that deal with specialized hobbies (such as insect collecting) or books of a scholarly or technical nature. Another reason why some companies might choose print books using on demand publishing technology would be to print small numbers of books in advance of the main press run -- perhaps to supply to reviewers -- or to "test market" a book (print on demand technology allows publishers to gauge how much demand there might be for a title, without the expense and risk of financial exposure associated with a large press run.) A final application of print on demand publishing technology would be to serve as a resource for published authors with limited finances, who want to bring one of their now out-of-print books back into print. This technology will allow them to publicize their book, take orders and receive payments for it -- the books will then be printed as the orders are received, and all of this can happen much more quickly and at lower expense (for the author at least) than having a new edition typeset and printed from scratch. |
