shimenawa - Latest comments on Print on Demand and Digitization

In response to: Print on Demand and Digitization

Robert L. Angus [Visitor] — Thu, 22 Nov 2007 03:46:03 +0000

I am really rather excited about the new advent of Print on Demand as a possibility for book distribution. I believe that the possibility of books being printed at a local bookstore in 10 minutes, from ANY publishing house, is the way of the future. No more mail order. No more back orders. No more distributors. Only clean copy from a POD machine like the Espresso by On Demand. I'm both a publisher and a bookstore owner, and from this unique place, I see great changes in the air. Eat your heart out Carl Bertelsmann...the little companies are coming to get you!

In response to: Print on Demand and Digitization

Adam Corson-Finnerty [Visitor] — Tue, 10 Apr 2007 03:41:41 +0000

Print on demand

I think it would be useful to your readers for me to share a bit more about Lightning Source. This information comes from Frank Cost of RIT, who recently visited their operation. If I have the facts right, then there is no reason why any library needs to delay in working with Lightning Source and other sophisticated print on demand publishers.

First of all, you can design the book yourself, including a color cover. You upload the book to their site for a cost of $99. Once you have done that, they can start printing one copy at a time to fill orders.

Lightning Source automatically lists all new books with amazon.com and bn.com. This means the book can be ordered through either sales site. Lightning Source prints the book and ships it to the customer, without you having to do anything. They collect royalties on your behalf and send you a check periodically.

This means that any library, really anybody, can start their own imprint. Content control and quality control are on you. Printing, collecting payments, and shipping are on them.

Lightning Source can print over 30,000 different titles each day, one copy of each title, and still charge as low as $18.00 for a book. I was told their turnaround time from order to shipping out is 24 hours.

Lightning Source already does massive fulfillment for amazon. The books arrive with the amazon mailing material, and the customer has no idea that Lightning Source is the actual printer and shipper.

Booksurge, as you note, is owned by amazon. Last I heard, Lightning Source could only do black and white printing inside the book, but booksurge was able to handle color.

For an example of a very generic Lightning Source book, look on amazon for: History of Freemasonry, Part 5

For a somewhat fancier treatment, but still a modestly priced book, look on amazon for: Answering Terror: Responses to War And Peace After 9/11/01

Peter, if you don't already know Frank Cost, it would be worth your contacting him to talk shop. He is Associate Dean, College of Imaging Arts and Sciences Rochester Institute of Technology, 585-475-5436, cost@mail.rit.edu He was involved in founding LuLu Press, is the author of The New Medium of Print.

In response to: Print on Demand and Digitization

Laurent Boulanger [Visitor] — Thu, 29 Mar 2007 01:24:04 +0000

Big warning on Lightning Source for International publishers. Lighting Source only offers two means of having books shipped: International Economy or International Premium. International Premium makes not financial sense -- the books end up costing so much that the profit margin will be nil. It would be actually cheaper to buy them from Amazon (which includes insurance and half the cost in transport fees that Lighting Source charges, and you get a 'kickback' from Lightning Source because you've purchased from a retailer). The cost per book is above its retail price.

By choosing International Economy, you have no insurance whatsoever. As a small publisher, I have ordered 25 books at a cost of nearly $300. The books never arrived. Lightning Source told me 'bad luck'. Lightning Source offers NO insurance on their International Economy shipment. It uses an unreliable form of delivery and expects small publishers to carry the cost of undelivered goods. For a company that makes millions of dollars in profit, it's somewhat pathetic to not offer international consumers the choice of additional insurance on International Economy for a small fee. The fact that Lightning Source has to include a 'waiver' of making the consumer responsible for loses means this happens to often. Why not offer consumer USP shipment, which is way cheaper, insured and reliable.

Lighting Source states that their deliver worldwide. Don't believe this. I'm out of pocket by $300 and have lost a profit of an additional $700. That's a $1000 in loses because Lightning Source doesn't offer USP and insurance at a level that economically viable.