Kelly Hartman

There's a reason one of the world's most popular maxims is, "never judge a book by its cover." That's because everybody judges a book by its cover. Traditional or fancy, plain or electric, simple or three-dimensional, a cover says a lot about the text inside, and the imprint (and printers) behind it. Last issue's cover story on how publishers are using eye-catching covers to boost sales and improve positioning on retailer's shelves was an instant hit with readers, because publishers know that great covers sell great books. That's why they design them to stand out and be judged. The high level of enthusiasm for

The numbers tell the story. There are 145,000 book titles vying for attention on bookseller's shelves. That's up a mere 3% over last year, according to market researcher R. R. Bowker, with little prospect for growth in this stalled economy. Book publishers have limited options to capture the attention of buyers. One tactic is increasingly popular: a striking cover. Vivid colors, metallic foil and inks, ultraviolet-cured compounds, 3D holograms, lenticular motion graphics—all are techniques finding favor with book designers and marketers. Intended to grab the eye or titillate the touch, these design techniques stand out, attracting readers to the detriment of lesser-styled competing

For Banta's Dave Schanke, customization is key to outputting end-products that suit each publisher's bottom line. It's part of a quest to marry production efficiency with high technology. At Banta (www.banta.com), this market vice president of general publishing has a client that needs to customize covers for special projects. The publisher often prints a million books each press run with versioned imprints that may total a few hundred. Schanke says, "We have the ability to do a lot of cover changes in the course of a run. In a run of 800,000, 1,100 different changes are possible." At Commercial Printing Company (www.commercialprinting.com), President

Print-on-demand (POD), like so many new technologies that have threatened to shake up the status quo of the publishing industry, has garnered its fair share of attention from both enthusiasts and naysayers. But philosophical debates and questions about its potential aside, there appears to be little doubt about the benefits of POD. Continuing, technological advances will most likely erase any nagging doubts about quality and profitability. One thing is clear, the market for POD is growing. In 2000, U.S. companies spent $3.1 billion for black-and-white POD systems and related services and supplies, according to CAP Ventures (www.capv.com). The research firm projects the market

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