American Booksellers Association and On Demand Books Form Partnership
(PRESS RELEASE) May 12, 2011 (NEW YORK, NY, and TARRYTOWN, NY) - The American Booksellers Association (ABA) and On Demand Books (ODB), the maker of the Espresso Book Machine(r) (EBM), have entered into a joint marketing agreement whereby the ABA will market the EBM to member bookstores and help permission publisher titles to the EBM sales channel.
Essentially an ATM for books, the patented EBM and its EspressNet(r) software system links to a vast network of content, enabling the instant distribution of books, on demand, at point of sale. With the push of a button, the technology prints, binds, and trims a bookstore-quality, perfect-bound paperback book, in any language, with a full-color cover,in minutes. It is an environmentally friendly technology since iteliminates shipping, returns, and the pulping of unwanted books.
"The Espresso Book Machine provides a unique opportunity to help our members differentiate themselves from their competitors," says ABA Chief Operating Officer Len Vlahos. "By offering retail-level on-demand printing, indie bookstores can explore new custom publishing business
models, and more quickly and efficiently meet consumer demand for books. This new relationship between ABA and ODB helps lower the barrier to entry for our members to participate."
"We are delighted to partner with the ABA and support independent booksellers, who have been among our earliest and most successful customers," says Dane Neller, Chief Executive Officer of ODB. "Our technology helps bookstores position themselves as community-based self-publishing centers for local authors, driving customer traffic and higher sales with no extra inventory. In addition, the ABA will help us market the channel to more trade and independent publishers. The EBM network represents a powerful sales channel to publishers, especially given the nearly 2,000 ABA member store locations. Through our partnership with Xerox-whose full force is now selling, leasing, and servicing the EBM worldwide-we plan to have over 150 EBM installations
by the end of 2011."
