Thanks to rapid advances in the printing industry, the way books are printed has changed.
One such tech-inspired advancement is print on demand. It has made book printing much easier, faster, and affordable than other printing techniques.
But before we talk about the changes it has brought to the printing industry, let’s define the term.
What Is the Meaning of ‘Print on Demand’?
This printing technology allows books to be printed when the demand arises. It not only lets you customize your printed products but saves you time and money. It also avoids the tedious process of inventory management.
Publishers used to print books in bulk to lower their per-unit costs and warehouse them while they awaited sales orders. One drawback of this style of offset book printing was that it did not offer the convenience of printing a standalone copy. That’s where print on demand comes in.
Print-on-demand digital printing technology offers a convenient way to distribute books and is used by successful e-commerce websites like Flipkart and Amazon. Whenever these websites receive purchase orders, the specific printing service receives details of the book and the number of copies required. Unlike traditional printing methods, books don’t get printed and wait for a sale to happen; instead, books get printed when there is a sale.
What Are the Benefits of Print-on-Demand Technology?
Print on demand’s flexible technology allows businesses to order print materials on an as-needed basis. This includes any type of sales collateral such as postcards, mailings, brochures, posters, booklets, flyers, and promotional items. Let’s find out the advantages of print-on-demand technology.
- There Is No Warehouse/Storage Required
Print on demand’s biggest advantage is it eliminates getting stuck with unsold products. Since you are printing only what you need, your reliance on warehousing and storage is reduced or eliminated. So, without any technical, logistical, or production-related stress, you can focus on your next project.
- It’s Easy to Make Revised Editions
Print on demand allows you to easily revise a book, even within days of its publication. This would be a pain in the case of offset printing, with potentially thousands of copies going to waste. Digital print-on-demand technology allows authors to make changes at any stage and any number of times.
- It Allows for Quality & Variety
Print on-demand offers a variety of quality colour options, binding types, beautiful fonts and graphics, covers, and trim sizes. It’s also a good way to test the demand for your book if you are an independent publisher.
- It Is Less Expensive than Other Methods of Printing
Offset printing is affordable when a job is printed in bulk. Print on demand is beneficial for short-run printings of a single book or a hundred. Whenever the demand reoccurs, you can simply print more copies.
This not only reduces your printing expenses but shipping costs and the publisher’s financial risk. In the past, they would have to predict demand. Inaccurate predictions could spell financial disaster. With print of demand, both the risk of predictive ordering and the expense of storage are removed.
- You Never Run Out of Stock
With print-on-demand technology, you never run out of stock as you can monitor demand and decide how many copies to publish. For example, if an independent publisher prints 50 copies of a new book and 40 sells within the first two days, they can simply print more copies. If the sales aren’t there, losses to the publisher are mitigated.
In today’s fast-paced business world, print-on-demand technology can save you both time and money. Indeed, it is considered the future of the printing industry. If you have any questions related to print on demand, book printing, business card printing, et cetera, contact the professionals to make the right printing decision.