Digital Printing

An energized Publishing Business Conference and Expo, Book Business and Publishing Executive magazines’ annual event at the Times Square Marriott Marquis, March 19-21, was grounded in optimism and realism, and primed for a promising future in the digital age for book manufacturing and print-based book production.

Addressing the overflow audience at the Marriott's Astor Ballroom, our very own Joan of Arc at the ramparts, Editorial Director Noelle Skodzinski—fully armed with the arguments of comon sense and history to support her—sounded a much-needed balancing and defiant keynote to prevailing “stiff upper lip” scenarios about the decline of the publishing industry. She reminded us, paraphrasing from both Monty Python and the Holy Grail and the Encyclopedia Britannica blog’s notice that it had discontinued its venerable print edition, that publishing is not dead, change is okay, and that the future is alive with new opportunities in our pursuit of continued success and excellence in the publishing business.

HP announced new digital press solutions that offer greater flexibility and higher productivity to help print service providers (PSPs) and publishers meet growing market demand for customized, shorter-run and personalized publications. The solutions, which HP will showcase May 3-16 at the drupa tradeshow, Düsseldorf, Germany, include:

—  HP T360 and T410 Color Inkjet Web Presses, offering faster monochrome speeds (244 meters/800 feet per minute),(1) and an HP T230 Color Inkjet Web Press offering faster color speeds (122 meters/400 feet per minute),(2) for higher-volume book manufacturing.

—  The HP Indigo W7250 Digital Press, a high-volume, roll-fed device offering 33 percent faster throughput(3) for one-off and short- to medium-run production of high-end color textbooks, journals, manuals and trade books.

—  The HP Indigo 10000 Digital Press – the first offset-quality digital press in a B2 size format (750 x 530 millimeters [mm] / 29.5 x 20.9 inches) suitable for printing a very broad range of publishing applications, including book signatures. Available next year, it offers HP Indigo’s unparalleled print quality and extensive media flexibility.

—  The HP Indigo 7600 Digital Press, a sheet-fed press offering greater versatility and productivity, improved automation(4) and exclusive special effects for book cover printing.

The Society for the Preservation for Hebrew Books / HebrewBooks.org, in conjunction with their integration partner Shaftek Enterprises LLC, and On Demand Books, the company behind the Espresso Book Machine® (EBM), a Xerox solution, have entered into an agreement to make their archive of over 50,000 Hebrew language books (seforim) available from EBM’s “digital-to-print at retail” (DPR) sales channel. This agreement will enable readers to gain access to print editions of a vast library of Torah study materials that were previously available only in digital form.

To survive and thrive as the book industry's digital revolution pushes forward, and as better inventory management drives the shift toward smaller print runs, the smarter printers are doing everything they can to ensure they'll be a part of that ongoing transformation. This includes incorporating newer technologies with an ever sharper focus on customer support and service. Book Business spoke with executives from Quad/Graphics, BookMasters, Sheridan Books, Walsworth and Thomson-Shore, and asked about their outlooks for their businesses. The general consensus: They're ready for what the next year (and the years to come) have in store for them.

While the glitter and flash of ebooks, e-readers and tablets get all the mainstream media attention—and pundits predict the end of printed books—traditional printed volumes still represent enormous opportunity for print providers. According to Caslon & Company, monochrome books will account for up to 85 billion pages through 2016 and color books are expected to make up some 15 billion pages in the same period. Little wonder that savvy print providers are adding capabilities, technology and workflows to carve out a presence in this burgeoning market.

R.J. Julia, widely considered to be one of the most vibrant and successful small independent bookstores in the country, is installing an Espresso Book Machine (EBM)  on March 1. The EBM brings a revolutionary book-publishing technology to one of the most respected independent booksellers in the world.

The EBM is the only digital-to-print at retail solution on the market. Within minutes, the EBM can produce a bookstore quality paperback with color cover, in any standard trim size, at point of sale.

Book Business' own Eugene G. Schwartz was on the scene at the third annual Digital Book World Conference. He filed this comprehensive report from the proceedings.

Attendees at the third annual Digital Book World Conference heard reports that while publishers are in fact healthy and thriving in the new digital age, a lot more work is needed to let go of the habits of the past and live in the new interactive, multi-platform and vertically patterned business world of the future.

The cohort of newly minted consultants in attendance—emerging out of downsizing and transformation—are witness to their price as well as their opportunities.

Stop selling your books and make more money.

This may sound like an odd notion to a publisher, but you can achieve the most success by not selling your book, but by selling the benefits potential customers will get from your book’s content. In other words, the form in which your content is sold is less important than the content itself—particularly to non-retail buyers (in corporations, associations, etc).
   
Frank Fochetta, the Vice President and Director of Special Sales and Custom Publishing at Simon and Schuster, agrees.

EFI (Nasdaq: EFII), a world leader in customer-focused digital printing innovation, today announced it has acquired privately-held Cretaprint S.L. based in Castellón, Spain, a leading developer of inkjet printers for ceramic tile printing.

/The Old Farmer’s Almanac/ now has a new way for readers to enjoy North America’s oldest continuously published periodical: as a Kindle e-book!