*It's typical of the Economist to write its stories upside down and put the lede in the last line. That's 'cause they figure the executives get tired after the first two paragraphs, while the brainier policy-wonks will hang in there long enough to deal with the cognitive dissonance.
*Who really NEEDS print-on-demand books? Guys outside the distribution chain. And where do THEY live, one wonders. Oh wait, look. Here at the Bottom of the Pyramid. Those young guys with the cellphones. About a billion of 'em.
http://www.economist.com/business-finance/displaystory.cfm?story_id=15580856
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Despite all its advantages, POD is unlikely to take over the world. This is because in contrast to digital printing, whose per-unit costs stay pretty much the same, traditional offset printing exhibits strong economies of scale. As long as you have bestsellers with hundreds of thousands of copies, on-demand printing is not going to displace the conventional sort, says David Davis of InterQuest. Then there is regulation. In some countries, such as China, a licence is needed to publish books; others, such as Germany and France, have price controls for books. (((Sarkozy Gothic High-Tech: "lower the portcullis! Bring out the flaming oil! The Glory of France is under savage attack!")))
All this makes it difficult to predict POD’s impact on publishing’s supply chain, which is already in upheaval, mainly because of the internet. Readers should benefit from the greater variety. More authors will get published, for instance, but there will also be more competition. Publishers may save money, but they may also lose their role as gatekeepers. The losers are easier to determine: used-book sellers, logistics firms and, of course, the makers of offset-printing equipment. The world’s biggest, Heidelberger Druckmaschinen, is said to be considering moving back into digital printing after having spun-off such a business six years ago.
Some believe POD could spur demand for books. Dane Neller, the boss of On Demand Books, which makes the Espresso, wants to put one wherever people might feel the urge to read, from cruise ships to train stations. But he gets most excited when talking about taking the devices to poor countries. “The potential to democratise knowledge,” he says, “is huge.”
