Digital Full Color Opens New Book Markets
First, the headline is that it is now possible to deliver a one-off finished book at a manufacturing cost of 25 percent to 50 percent of an acceptable list price. My guess is that as the page count rises beyond 200 pages this will be less likely for all but the most top-of-the-line pictorials. However, even if the margin is not enough to support a conventional wholesale/retail discount scale, the opportunity to do sampling up front and direct sales of low quantities at the tail end opens the door to new opportunities.
- Companies:
- Amazon.com
- Author House
- Book Expo America
- BookSurge
- Consortium
- Cyber-Read
- Deharts
- Digital Pulp Publishing
- Edwards Brothers
- Fiction-Wise
- Fidlar Doubleday Inc.
- IBM Corporation
- Ingram Industries Inc.
- Integrated Book Technology
- IUniverse
- Lightning Source Inc.
- Lulu.com
- NetLibrary
- Overdrive Inc.
- PMA
- RR Donnelley
- Xerox Corp.
- XLibris
Eugene G. Schwartz is editor at large for ForeWord Reviews, an industry observer and an occasional columnist for Book Business magazine. In an earlier career, he was in the printing business and held production management positions at Random House, Prentice-Hall/Goodyear and CRM Books/Psychology Today. A former PMA (IBPA) board member, he has headed his own publishing consultancy, Consortium House. He is also Co-Founder of Worthy Shorts Inc., a development stage online private press and publication service for professionals as well as an online back office publication service for publishers and associations. He is on the Publishing Business Conference and Expo Advisory Board.