"Print on Demand" publishing, as well as the technology making it possible, are products of relatively modern techniques using computers, laser printing, and Internet advertising. Because books are only made as orders for them are filled, there is no inventory or overstock. Nor are there any bulky offset plates and color separations to store, as with traditional offset printing. Files are kept digitally, hence the cost to the publisher entails much less overhead, and that results, ultimately, in a better deal to the author, while still providing a quality book to the buyer.
In the end, the "P.O.D." printing and publishing process is a healthier one for everyone, because more authors can find their voice in print, without needing to wait to find a "traditional" publisher. Less resources are wasted (that means trees, water, and fuel), since the insane but dominant mainstream method of overprinting thousands, even millions of copies of books, only to destroy most of those that go unsold, is eliminated.
The price of "Print on Demand" books is slightly higher but reasonably competitive with mass-production published books, and the product quality isn't discernibly different to anyone but industry professionals who need high quality offset printing (such as full color picture books might demand). Also, with P.O.D. more of the book's profit actually is seen by the author than through traditional publishers.
One somewhat obvious caveat to the P.O.D. method is that since "Print on Demand" publishers are not set up to inventory books, they can't sell to booksellers or consumers on a "return policy" basis. In other words, once you've bought a book through such publishers, you own it. While most people usually don't return books they don't like, but instead either give them away or let them gather dust in some corner, the "return" policy in bookselling has always been a driving factor in whether a vendor will stock a |