Advantages of Print-on-Demand Printing

One of the many advantages that digital printing technologies have made possible for those interested in book publishing is the capability of printing on demand. There are many advantages to this form of printing for newer ventures or budding writers who cannot be sure how many copies of a book they will need.

Like its name suggests, print-on-demand printing allows books to be individually printed as needed. Even only one single copy of book can be printed when publishers take advantage of print-on-demand services and technologies. The following are the major advantages that this type of printing offers.

Printing is no longer a gamble

Traditionally, affordable book printing companies and those in the process of self-publishing a book have always had to take a gamble regarding quantity. As anyone in the publishing industry knows, it's never easy to predict how enthusiastic public response to a book will be.

While print-on-demand typically involves higher cost per book, it ensures that there will be a use or buyer for every printed copy produced.

Save on warehousing costs

With print-on-demand, there is no need for warehousing printed copies once they are produced. Typically, a print-on-demand copy goes to its buyers immediately after coming off the printing press.

This is a huge advantage for upstart writers who don't have a lot of space at home to store as-yet unsold book copies.

No upfront investment

Publishers are highly choosy when it comes to printing a book because a traditional print run is a huge investment. It takes money to print out many copies of a book, and this money is lost if those copies don't sell.

Print-on-demand involves no upfront investment. The purchaser of each book can individually pay for the copy he or she buys so that a self-publisher doesn't have to put any money at all directly into printing costs. 

Possibility of switching to a print run later

If a new book begins to sell well after print-on-demand printing begins, it's always easy to switch over to a print run later to keep up with demand. Print-on-demand is therefore a great initial printing solution to sort of "test the waters" regarding public response to a new book.  

Ability to update published material

Self-publishers creating a book that they want to gradually update as time goes on have the option of doing so.

Because copies of a print-on-demand book are gradually and individually made, they can in many cases be altered between printings thanks to the digital printing technologies that make print-on-demand possible.