Special Report: Printers' Outlook: Not Your Father's (or Mother's) Book Manufacturers
Beisser: Do you offer e‑book conversion, have you partnered with a conversion service, or do you plan to in the near future?
Wurster: We do provide conversion services and, in fact, have partnered with a couple of overseas providers over the years. However, what we see changing is the conversion service offering on the less-complex content. We’re seeing more automated conversion solutions that are becoming a more viable option than what is still required on the more-complex content.
Converting content to e‑books has been commoditized, and there is not a lot of value-add in this area moving forward as manipulating front-list files during the composition stage is quite simple. As publishers work through their backlists, the value in conversion certainly decreases. I see BookMasters’ value in the “what next” approach. Our ability to sell this content and distribute it to the global marketplace is how we differentiate ourselves.