P.o.D. Machines

xg4bx · 07-20-2011, 01:10 AM

Sorry if this has been talked about but what are the thoughts on these publishing on demand machines?

Personally I think they'll end up being a must have for any bookstore chain that hopes to survive. I don't want to hear "Can I order it for you?" No, if I wanted it ordered I'd have sat home and gone to Amazon.

That was my biggest personal problem with Borders, they simply never, ever had what I was looking for. It wasn't oddball stuff either, I'm talking new release mass market paperbacks.

I'm sure the design could be sexed up a bit but this is what I'm talking about-

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NXG4YsZWmP8

wyndslash · 07-20-2011, 01:20 AM

sometimes i find that waiting adds to my excitement

but we live in a fast-food world now d;

mr ploppy · 07-20-2011, 07:57 AM

I think if they can get buyers used to the idea and can get all the publishers on board they would be better off putting them in supermarkets and airports. But they would need to speed it up a lot.

What sort of prices to they charge for a book made with that?

elcreative · 07-20-2011, 09:46 AM

xg4bx... you do realise how long ago that video was made... funnily enough I haven't noticed the machines being shoved in every bookshop in the country. In fact Blackwell went very quiet about the viability of the process and I've never forgotten the review the Times did on the first book coming off the machine... and sliding into a pile of separate pages - no glue. Never mind the speed (around 3 mins/book for that particular video), the print quality left something to be desired... and you can't change it to suit yourself... and at 3 mins/book (and I think that's generous as I seem to recall it was really around 10-20 mins depending on content and size) that gives 20/hour or 200 for a 10 hour working day... need to be a very small outlet to survive on that and that's without stoppages for cleaning, refilling consumables (toners, glue etc) and the odd jam. The age of that video and the non-ubiquity of the machines (the manufacturer may have discontinued them or gone out of business) rather gives away the success of that particular setup...

Currently it's a nice idea but the machines, that really work for PoD, are massive and designed for use by professional printing houses and other specialists with the odd warehouse available to house the equipment.

J. Strnad · 07-21-2011, 01:11 AM

I think that particular stage of development got leapfrogged by ereaders.

elcreative · 07-21-2011, 09:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by J. Strnad

I think that particular stage of development got leapfrogged by ereaders.

Not quite... there are small publishing houses, including some genre specialists like Cosmo, that do use PoD but they are using the professional heavy duty gear not the "nice try but no prize" device at Blackwells...

07-20-2011, 01:10 AM	#1
xg4bx Are you gonna eat that? Posts: 1,633 Karma: 23215128 Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: Phillipsburg, NJ Device: Kindle 3, Nook STG	P.o.D. Machines Sorry if this has been talked about but what are the thoughts on these publishing on demand machines? Personally I think they'll end up being a must have for any bookstore chain that hopes to survive. I don't want to hear "Can I order it for you?" No, if I wanted it ordered I'd have sat home and gone to Amazon. That was my biggest personal problem with Borders, they simply never, ever had what I was looking for. It wasn't oddball stuff either, I'm talking new release mass market paperbacks. I'm sure the design could be sexed up a bit but this is what I'm talking about- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NXG4YsZWmP8

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07-20-2011, 01:20 AM	#2
wyndslash Wizard Posts: 2,951 Karma: 3000001 Join Date: Feb 2011 Device: Kindle 3 wifi, Kindle Fire	sometimes i find that waiting adds to my excitement but we live in a fast-food world now d;

07-20-2011, 07:57 AM	#3
mr ploppy Feral Underclass Posts: 3,622 Karma: 26821535 Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Yorkshire, tha noz Device: 2nd hand paperback	I think if they can get buyers used to the idea and can get all the publishers on board they would be better off putting them in supermarkets and airports. But they would need to speed it up a lot. What sort of prices to they charge for a book made with that?

07-20-2011, 09:46 AM	#4
elcreative Wizard Posts: 2,888 Karma: 5875940 Join Date: Dec 2007 Device: PRS505, 600, 350, 650, Nexus 7, Note III, iPad 4 etc	xg4bx... you do realise how long ago that video was made... funnily enough I haven't noticed the machines being shoved in every bookshop in the country. In fact Blackwell went very quiet about the viability of the process and I've never forgotten the review the Times did on the first book coming off the machine... and sliding into a pile of separate pages - no glue. Never mind the speed (around 3 mins/book for that particular video), the print quality left something to be desired... and you can't change it to suit yourself... and at 3 mins/book (and I think that's generous as I seem to recall it was really around 10-20 mins depending on content and size) that gives 20/hour or 200 for a 10 hour working day... need to be a very small outlet to survive on that and that's without stoppages for cleaning, refilling consumables (toners, glue etc) and the odd jam. The age of that video and the non-ubiquity of the machines (the manufacturer may have discontinued them or gone out of business) rather gives away the success of that particular setup... Currently it's a nice idea but the machines, that really work for PoD, are massive and designed for use by professional printing houses and other specialists with the odd warehouse available to house the equipment.

07-21-2011, 01:11 AM	#5
J. Strnad Guru Posts: 915 Karma: 3537194 Join Date: Feb 2009 Device: Kobo, Kindle 3, Paperwhite	I think that particular stage of development got leapfrogged by ereaders.

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