I’ve mentioned the Espresso print-while-you-wait book machines before. It looks like the traditional publishing industry has heard about them too. Read the article here at Graphic Arts Online about a traditional paperback printer cutting staff in response to “the economic downturn…and technology innovations.” It seems like a no-brainer now, but a few of us have been predicting this for years. It was just a matter of time before the traditional ‘bricks and mortar’ publishers quit trashing print-on-demand and embraced the print-only-what-you-sell economic model. It should only make sense to the corporate slaves of quarterly profits, yah? Think about it: no start up, no stock, no storage, no shipping, no RETURNS… This marks another shift toward digital that runs parallel to the adoption of eBooks and eBook Readers. (Now they’ve got to realize that consumers are hip to the lower costs associated with producing print-on-demand paperbacks and eBooks. Publishers should drop their prices and expectations accordingly.)
While it’s sad for the employees who are losing their jobs, one has to accept that the eBook (digital) Revolution is going to continue to demand adaptations from all of us. You’ll notice in the article that prepress work at this Offset Paperback Manufacturer’s Laflin, PA, location will be outsourced. Well, that outsourcing represents shifting job demographic in its purest form. One door closes another opens.
