On-demand printing in the publishing world

Where is the development of on-demand printing? At present, most people in the industry believe that the publishing industry, especially the book publishing industry, continues to be a potential big market for digital printing and on-demand printing services. Where exactly is the application of on-demand book production?

Whether a publisher can use on-demand publishing technology to create value depends on his publication and his readers. In general, there are the following applications, publishers can consider on-demand publishing and database-related custom publishing.

Typical examples are patent publication, standard publication, reference publication, and so on. The content is stored in the computer system in the form of data. When needed, content is called from the database according to relevant conditions and published on demand. This application is characterized by the publisher's right to own the content. The content is stored in the database according to certain rules. Usually the publishing time is very urgent. At present, the relatively successful on-demand publishing in China is an on-demand publishing solution provided by Fuji Xerox (China) Co., Ltd. to intellectual property publishers.

Long-line books The emphasis here is on long-term lines. In general, the demand for such books may not be large, but it is constantly required. In the past, after a group sold out, it could only be waited for the next edition, or after printing a large number of batches, it would not be sold in the warehouse for several years. This type of book is owned by almost every publisher. Nowadays, especially after the online bookstore, the requirement of “never out of stock” is more urgent. Making such a book and using digital on-demand printing is a good solution.

Short-term books This is the best application for everyone, and it is also the best business field in the field of on-demand publishing in China. In foreign countries, books with a size of 1,000 or less are more advantageous than digital offset printing. In China, the number of prints may be different. The reason is the same. Typical applications for short-length books include personal publications, academic monographs, and more.

College textbooks For university presses, the on-demand publishing business in the field of textbook publishing is a very good idea. With the continuous expansion of the scale of domestic college education, as well as the continuous expansion of educational information resources and the ever-increasing update frequency, the potential of this market is very attractive. In domestic universities, a large number of academic materials, personal monographs, constantly updated reference materials for teaching materials, MBA teaching materials, small class advanced research course materials, and so on, all have the conditions for conducting on-demand publishing. This is a market that is worth exploiting. At present, the relatively successful case in China is the solution provided by Fuji Xerox (China) Co., Ltd. to Tsinghua University.

Sample books and abstract prints, sample books, proofs, trials, etc., are all applications for publishing books on demand, and each publisher needs more or less. For example, publishers can use the on-demand printing process to produce 300-500 copies of the sample book in the early stage of the issuance of a new book as a tentative printing that is put in a small amount before large-volume printing and distribution. It can help publishers estimate offset printing in the future.

With the gradual liberalization of the domestic publishing industry market, the domestic book publishing and printing industry is undergoing some important changes. The publishing and printing field is increasingly affected by the network and information technology in terms of business processes and production processes. Many publishers and printers have begun to realize the benefits of on-demand printing, including shortening the publishing cycle, reducing inventory, reducing risk, increasing code size, flexibility, diversified publishing formats, and distributed printing.

However, at present, there are still some gaps in the cost control, price, and information processing between domestic digital printing environments and foreign advanced countries. The development of domestic on-demand printing industry should be a digital book printing business to drive traditional offset printing business, increase the efficiency of the use of existing equipment, expand business scope, and increase the added value of book products.


Source: HC Network Printing Industry Channel