Digital Printing

Last week Book Business hosted the Digital Book Printing Conference with its sister publication Printing Impressions. The goal of the event, which brought together over 150 book publishers, manufacturers, and equipment suppliers, was to explore how publishers can take advantage of digital printing to reduce inventory and distribution costs and quickly deliver books to consumers.…

While there have been major advancements in digital printing and inkjet technology, there are still some barriers to widespread adoption among publishers. The most notable is perhaps book publishers’ fear of using the zero-inventory model that complements a short-run, digital printing strategy. Publishers don’t want to lose control over distribution and fear lost revenue from…

There’s no denying that digital book printing has left its mark on the book publishing industry. The inexpensive, short-run printing process has allowed publishers to revive backlist and out-of-print book sales. It’s created a viable way for small and independent publishers to publish print books. And it’s made a huge impact on warehousing costs, reducing…

The book industry is being pushed in two different directions, said Marco Boer in a keynote discussing the future of print books. On the one hand, consumers are calling for greater title selection and higher quality books from publishers, he explained. But on the other hand, overall print volume continues to drop, pressuring publishers and…

PALO ALTO, Calif.—A rose by any other name may still smell as sweet. But with all due respect to William Shakespeare, a rebranding in some cases can signify a turning point when it comes to product and market possibilities. Enter HP and its newly-rebranded HP PageWide Web Press high-speed inkjet portfolio. The company’s departure from…

Though ebook consumption and self-publishing have eaten into traditional book sales, publishers still rely heavily on profits from printed volumes. And new technology is enabling publishers to bring these books to market more efficiently and more profitably. In fact, the publishing industry's sustainability just might hinge on such nimble approaches to business...

I had the pleasure of attending a fantastic webinar last week on the subject of choosing a vendor for digital book printing. Titled “Best Practices in Choosing Your Digital Book Printing Partner,” the webinar featured Jeremy Hess, director of sales and marketing at Gasch Printing, and Manrico Caglioni, president of Book Automation, in conversation with…

“The Digital Book Printing Conference is really the only event of its kind in the industry and the only location where the book market’s leading publishers, manufacturers and suppliers will convene to take on the challenges and opportunities presented with today’s digital book printing technology.” – Mark Michelson, Editor-in-Chief, Printing Impressions magazine The Digital Book…

Book Business is in the ideas game. Everyday we scour the internet and our inboxes, comb through conference notes, and transcribe interviews with leaders in the book industry. We take all this information and try to extract the most important ideas, distributing them in articles, webinars, events, and videos. The Book Business “Big Ideas Issue”…

A Book Is a Terrible Thing to Waste It’s no secret the cost of printing books is driven up by inaccurate forecasting and inefficient manufacturing processes—often leading to stockpiles of books in warehouses and landfills. According to the Book Industry Environmental Council (BIEC), in a 2006 benchmark, nearly 25% of all books were being returned.…