Printing on Demand

Not so long ago, an author who wanted his book published had two choices: sell the work to a publishing company or print it himself. Selling a book to a publisher is never an easy task and traditional printing, even through a "vanity" press, requires printing hundreds or even thousands of books. In addition to being cost-prohibitive, traditional printing requires the aspiring self-published author find somewhere to store all those books until they're sold. Today, on-demand printers can help the self-publisher produce books in manageable quantities with a minimum outlay of cash.

Rather than a traditional printing-press, on-demand printers use what is basically a high-speed laser printer to print a book, which is usually bound by hand. The technology has been around for a while, but in the early days the quality of on-demand books left a lot to be desired. Low printer resolution could result in pixelated interior artwork and the limitations of ink delivery systems often caused text and artwork to be too dark or light and could result in blotches, runs, and other imperfections.

Today some on-demand companies can print at a resolution of up to 2400 dpi, and without the ink problems present in on-demand books of the past. The result is a book that is almost indistinguishable from one printed by a traditional offset printer. While some on-demand printers have a minimum print run, many will print in any quantity the publisher desires. Some are even willing to print a single book.

The price of on-demand printing is only slightly higher than traditional offset printing, but there is much less economy of scale. In most cases, the price per unit stays about the same regardless of the number printed. While on-demand printing is not the best option for large print runs, it can still be a useful tool for traditional publishers in some cases. If there is some demand for an out-of-print product, but not enough to justify a traditional print run, on-demand printing allows a publisher to produce just enough books to meet the demand. Since on-demand printing can usually be done very quickly, it can also be used to prevent lost sales when printing delays mean that a book won't be ready in time for an important trade show, convention, or other sales opportunity.

In addition to printing, many on-demand printers now act as fulfillment houses, offering books to wholesalers, chains, and online stores like Amazon. Books are printed as orders are received and the author or publisher is paid a commission for each book sold. This alleviates the author from having to spend precious time worrying about shipping, collections, and all the other hassles of book distribution.

Thanks to on-demand printing, anyone can become a self-publisher without risking a lot of money on a traditional print run. While e-book or PDF publishing offers the same advantage with even lower cost, most readers are still not quite ready to curl up in front of the fireplace with their computer. Even if they were, a real, physical book gives an author a sense of satisfaction and accomplishment that no file can duplicate.