Digital Printing

At the Digital Book Printing Conference held at the Marriott Marquis in New York City in November, a rich agenda of content provided the contrasting views of publishers, book manufacturers, and retailers on the future outlook of the industry and ways to positively impact this dynamic and culturally important industry. While there was no lack of opinions and nuances in views of the industry, 10 big takeaways stood out:

As is the case when any emerging technology is shaking up a market, there are facts and misconceptions that surround that technology. When book publishers think about digital printing, several associations-negative and positive-may come to mind: cost-savings, short-runs, low quality, flexible, amateur...

Book publishers are not alone in their attempts to adapt and thrive in a new digital era. Since the introduction of the ebook, printers have faced a radically different industry, one in which print demand has slowed and publishers seek the efficiencies of digital production and distribution. Printers have been forced, much like publishers, to reassess their value in the industry, be more nimble, and find new ways to cut costs and improve efficiencies.

Last week Book Business and sister publication Printing Impressions held the Digital Book Printing Conference at New York City's Marriott Marquis. The first conference of its kind, the conference (AKA, DigiBook) brought together more than 150 book publishers, book manufacturers, and printing suppliers for a day of networking and education around digital printing. The event provided a platform for attendees to connect with different players in the book publishing supply chain and learn about the opportunities digital printing presents for the industry.

We spoke to Kirby Best, President and CEO of Performance Scrubs and former book printer, about the opportunities digital printing provides for publishers, and how on-demand printing can help publishers reach new markets. Kirby will present his insights on new publishing opportunities in "Confessions of a Former Book Manufacturer" at the Digital Book Printing Conference on Nov. 19.

In the first of our newly-launched Book Business Live! event series, the Digital Book Printing Conference will bring together leading book publishers, manufacturers, and suppliers for a full day of education and networking aimed at harnessing the advantages of digital printing and manufacturing. Industry leadership and attendees will descend on the Marriott Marquis in New York City on November 19^th.  Though there are plenty of reasons for book publishers to be optimistic, the future of the industry remains somewhat uncertain. With ebook sales growth tapering off and printed volumes surprisingly resilient yet declining, publishers still have to focus on cutting costs and increasing efficiencies, says Marco Boer, conference chair and keynote speaker. 

Explore distinct printing models and hear from publishers who have successfully integrated digital printing into their business.

This webinar explores how publishers are adapting to industry changes, and the ways in which they are not.

Memeoirs is an on-demand publishing platform that pulls content from online social interactions. Below, founder Fred Rocha explains how Memeoirs transforms impermanent, yet meaningful online content into permanent, printed works.

In this webinar, you will hear from industry leaders about: Critical market trends, and on-demand and digital technologies.