Wolters Kluwer

Short-run digital printing is unquestionably a technology whose time has arrived. Its quality and capabilities are improving steadily, and inline/near-line binding solutions promise to make an already capable technology even more so. Many digital printers' equipment and skills have improved to where we have moved away from the Henry Ford Model A approach to substrates ("any paper you want as long as it is (50) uncoated offset") to manufacturing of case-bound, four-color textbooks printed on (60) gloss coated stock.

Book Business and Publishing Executive magazines, producers of the industry-leading Publishing Business Conference & Expo, have announced the editorial advisory board for their second-annual Publishing Business Virtual Conference, called "Digital Content Day @ Your Desk," on Sept. 16.

Each year, we conduct an annual reader survey to find out what you think of Book Business magazine and whether it's providing valuable information to help you in your publishing career. In that survey, we ask what resources we can provide you with via our Web site, BookBusinessMag.com. I am always surprised to read responses such as "job listings" or "news updates" or "a directory of solutions and software serving the industry"—because these are things we already offer online.

In previous columns, I've explored the strategic reasons to consider outsourcing distribution operations and the request for proposal (RFP) process for outsourced distribution partners. Now, let's assume that you have evaluated all the third-party proposals and selected the finalist among the various bids.

The Book Industry Study Group (BISG) will expand its print and digital product initiatives in the next few years, says the group's new executive director, Scott Lubeck, who presided over his first BISG board of directors meeting Jan. 21.

Lubeck to preside over January 2010 BISG Board of Directors Meeting.

Effective cash management is critical to the health of any business, but the recession and associated credit crunch have made paying close attention to managing cash more important than ever.

Publishing Executive and Book Business magazines, producers of the Publishing Business Conference & Expo, have announced "Mr. Magazine" (Samir Husni) and executives from GIE Media, Greenleaf Book Group and Oxford University Press to co-chair an all-star conference advisory board

The first step in the RFP process is to identify the companies you wish to consider as potential bidders for your distribution business. You have, essentially, two options: specialist firms that provide distribution services to book publishers, and book publishers who handle distribution for other publishers.

Widely regarded as the print industry’s most prestigious event, the 2009 Gold Ink Awards received more than 1,000 entries across 45 competitive categories, including Book Covers, Book Jackets, Books (Fine Editions), Softcover Books, Hardcover Books, Children’s Books, Fine Art Lithography, Cookbooks, to name a few. In all, 132 entries were selected for Gold, Silver or Bronze honors.