IUniverse

Ten years ago, digital, ondemand book printing officially burst upon the scene at Book-Expo America. With IBM’s roll-fed and Xerox’s sheet-fed equipment producing books on the show fl oor in Chicago, Ingram (then Lightning Print) and Bertelsmann (through OPM) invited the industry to get on board while the train was at the station. Since then, Lighting Print has transformed into Lightning Source, a subsidiary of Ingram Industries and the nation’s largest 24/7 book-at-a-time printer. Book and journal manufacturer Edwards Brothers, which had also been operating a one-off DocuTech service for some years before 1998, has expanded its reach and now has seven satellite digital

As CEO and president of iUniverse, Susan Driscoll has helped the pay-to-be-published online publisher to become an attractive alternative to the sort of traditional publishing houses at which she once held executive-level positions, including HarperCollins, Henry Holt and Holtzbrinck Publishers. An affordable avenue for aspiring authors seeking to get published, iUniverse has become one of the largest self-publishing companies since its launch in 1999. Driscoll, who co-penned the book “Get Published” last year, not only is the top executive at the company, but also a mentor to iUniverse’s roster of authors. Where do you see book publishing heading in the next five to 10 years?

Or maybe that should be, Available Now at a Bookstore Near You. After all, it was only a few years ago that digitally printed books were thought of as a modern version of vanity press for wannabe authors or only appropriate for titles with narrow audiences. It was acceptable for volumes catering to niche interests, product manuals, and the college course packs but not for “real” books. After all, the machinery was relatively slow, digital printing was low quality, and existing binding equipment couldn’t deliver a marketable product. How things have changed. Now there are digitally printed books at major book stores, at Amazon, and

While digital toner and inkjet based color has been available for years, Lightning Source’s announcement at Book Expo America of its four-color one-off production line exponentially expands the base for untapped publishing business opportunities for mid-range, independent and high-end publishers. It also shines the light on the transformation of manufacturing business models in the past 10 years, providing a price-list-based, sophisticated manufacturing service that simplifies the supply chain process without sacrificing quality controls. Buying color in Asia or Europe in sufficient quantities to bring the unit cost down and allowing for the weeks of turnaround time need no longer be a barrier to the

It was a publisher's dream. Amy Fisher, the center of one of the largest media frenzies of the early '90s, had re-emerged in the media spotlight. After a decade of relative obscurity, the "Long Island Lolita," convicted of attempting to kill the wife of her older lover Joey Buttafuoco in August 1992, had served her seven-year sentence, started a family, become an award-winning journalist, and completed her first book, aptly titled "If I Knew Then …" The autobiography, which Fisher describes as "The truth behind the many sensationalized stories of who I was back then and some insight into who I am today," had

Book publishers are keeping their fingers crossed that 2005 will be the year the industry shakes off the period of stagnation that has coincided with the U.S. economic downturn. The domestic market continued to remain essentially flat in 2004, but industry insiders are hopeful that the market will soon show growth. The shift toward more flexible production schedules, and resurgence in educational and reference titles will likely be the engines that drive any industry upswing. Another trend in 2005 will be publishers aiming to enhance profitability by leveraging the cost benefits of digital printing and international sourcing. Setting the Stage for Growth

"Finding Independents," is a new column that focuses on the issues affecting smaller and independent publishers. In the inaugural article, humorist Laurie Notaro discusses the success she found with iUniverse.com and its print-on-demand (POD) offerings. Rebecca Churilla: How did the idea for the Idiot Girls Adventure Club come to you? Would you have been able to publish the book had it not been for the capabilities offered by POD? Laurie Notaro: I wrote Idiot Girls seven years ago. It's a collection of first-person narratives, all true stories, that I wrote for my weekly humor column at Arizona State University's student newspaper, State Press.