On-demand printing

"PrintOnDemand" books have always been publishers' dreams. On the one hand, they can dispense with inventory, and on the other hand there is no minimum print requirement.

But until now, the use of “on-demand printing” for many types of books has not been economically viable. Traditional offset printing can produce a large number of inexpensive pages at a high speed, and low cost has always been an important determinant of general publishers. Therefore, the decision to use “on-demand printing” is often determined by other factors after eliminating the cost of the page: for example, eliminating the need for plate-making and pre-printing procedures, making it possible to easily modify the content of the publication, reducing inventory and shipping costs, and accurately controlling the number of prints to eliminate waste and reduce The need for proofreading documents... The advantages of these “on-demand printing” can offset the unfavorable factors of high page cost, and the greatest economic benefit becomes the determinant of the use of “on-demand printing” or not.

For example, the cost of printing some digital leaflets using digital printing is ten times higher than traditional offset printing. However, digital printing allows print content to be more personalized, more targeted, and can be used for greater promotional effectiveness, and the number of prints can be reduced. To a piece; if it brings about 15 times more sales, then a ten times more printing cost is worth it.

Is it really feasible to use "printing on demand" and "popularizing" books?

The answer to this question depends very much on the type of book. It is difficult to achieve "satisfactory benefits" for "popularized" books that are generally sold at bookstore newsstands. Books sold by other distribution channels are more likely to benefit from "on-demand printing." For example, some black-and-white printed books with relatively high selling prices, such as business management and computers, certain textbooks with few printed copies, textbooks, and product brochures with updated information, etc., have significant advantages in the use of "on-demand printing."

Is the investment in "on-demand printing" expensive?

Basically, the simplest device requires only a personal computer and printing software, a laser printer, and staple equipment. The simplest device will not exceed 10,000 Hong Kong dollars. However, the initial investment in equipment is inversely proportional to the subsequent operating costs. That is, the production cost of the pages of the more expensive high-speed high-speed printers will be relatively low. As a production equipment, we must consider Total Cost of Printing (TCOP).

TCOP=(equipment investment, total number of printable pages during the operation period) + maintenance costs + various consumables costs

For example, a 12ppm desktop printer sells for HK$3500. The maximum monthly print volume is approximately 20,000 A4 pages. The operating life is three years. The cost of consumables for each A4 page is approximately HK$0.065. The maintenance fee for the next two years is as follows: About HK$2500, TCOP=3500÷ (36×20000)+2500÷ (36×20000)+0.065=HK$0.073

However, a set of 4 million Hong Kong dollars worth of IBM's advanced double-sided laser printing system can print 20 million A4 pages per month, operating life of up to eight years, TCOP as low as only $ 0.02 per A4 page.

In addition, we should also consider the management of the equipment, the number of operators required, and the capabilities of the print server support platform.

Currently, a "PrintOnDemand" device includes a print server - responsible for data conversion, page generation, layout and printing tasks, printer driver, etc.; printer - single-sheet or continuous-paper printers can be selected on demand; paper handling equipment - You can choose to pack paper or large rolls for the printer. After printing, you can choose to cut, staple, or roll back into a roll.