Did the [Digital] Revolution Start without You?

What Is Short-Run Digital Printing? Order is triggered by reorder point reached in publisher’s inventory or entered as a traditional offset job for new titles with low initial demand Good fit for galleys/advanced reader copies Typical runs from Sometimes referred to as “micro-inventory” requiring less space, cash, etc. Books typically ship to publishers warehouse

What Is Print-On-Demand? Orders are triggered by the end customer’s order to a publisher. Books made to order—to quantity 1. Orders are placed electronically between publisher’s and the manufacturer’s computer systems or can be entered online by publisher. Books/journals sent to end user directly or to a central distribution point (or customer’s warehouse).

Xerox Digital Press

Some Reasons Why Digital Print Makes Sense: In 2006, 950,000 titles out of the 1.2 million tracked by Nielsen BookScan sold fewer than 95 copies. Another 200,000 sold fewer than 1,000 copies. Only 25,000 sold more than 5,000 copies. Average book in America sells about 500 copies. Source: Book Industry Study Group

Key Questions to Consider How do you decide how many to reprint? When you order a reprint, how long it is expected to last? How many titles do you currently have in inventory? How many units does that translate into? How many standing orders do you have that can’t be filled because you don’t have the product? How much revenue is being lost by not filling those orders? What is the value of telling an author that their title will never go out of print? What are you paying per year to inventory your books? How do you quantify the cost of space when putting books back into storage?