RE: Print On Demand

[cheryl deaton <region15kids@hotmail.com>]

The only disadvantage I can see with POD is the learning curve and time it
will take for computer illiterates like myself to adjust to the technology,
but if that is the only real disadvantage, I see absolutely NO disadvantages!
Looks like a win win situation.
Cheryl



To: aisdiscuss@aisboard.org
From: jijones@usjoneses.com
Subject: [AISdiscuss] Print On Demand
Date: Thu, 21 Apr 2011 11:40:47 -0700


(If any of you have difficulty downloading or reading this I have put a PDF
version (POD_Description_R2) on the AISBoard website.


http://www.aisboard.org/aisdocs/



Over the past several years the subject of Print On Demand has come up in
relation to the various AIS publications we provide.


I decided to do some research on the subject and in conjunction with some
pricing that Jody Nolin did and in consultation with Mike Lowe and Judy
Keisling, I would like to present the following for discussion. I am not at
this time making a motion but rather want to make sure that we have ample time
to vet the issue.


I open this discussion in regards to printing the 2009 Checklist but the same
could apply to almost everything we print.


______________


Print On Demand (POD), sometimes called publish on demand, is a printing
technology and business process in which new copies of a book (or other
document) are not printed until an order has been received. "Print on Demand"
developed only after digital printing began, because it was not economical to
print single copies using traditional printing technology such as letterpress
and offset printing. In todays print market some companies also use the term
to mean short run printing often targeting vanity or academic works.

In its simplest form copies of the document are only printed when an order is
received.
CreateSpace (createspace.com) is an established POD printer (an Amazon.com
company). I  have approached them as a POD source for the 2009 Iris Check
List. Following are the terms, operational characteristics, and benefits of
using this POD source.

This is how it works.
The CreateSpace primary thrust is to produce Trade Paperbacks but they also
have the capability to produce hardback books.
Production (for a Trade Paperback)
AIS signs up for a (free) account and submits a print ready file to
CreateSpace. The file is reviewed for conformance to their technical
standards. (No proof reading is performed, that would be our responsibility.)
Once the file is approved we would order a proof copy. The charge for the
proof copy is the same as a production copy (pricing below). The typical time
for production of the proof copy is 1-2 days.
Once the proof is approved, we set the list price for the book and activate
the sales channels we wish to use (see below).
At this point we are given a page in the CreateSpace eStore. This is a webpage
that anyone can use to purchase our book. If you would like to see a sample
page, go to:
https://www.createspace.com/3405715
(you may have to paste this address into the address bar of your browser)
Purchasers pay the list price plus shipping and we receive our royalty from
CreateSpace.
When a book is ordered CreateSpace prints the book and ships it to the
recipient. It generally takes 1-2 days for production. At the time the order
is placed the purchaser is given an estimated delivery time and has a choice
of shipping methods.
We can of course order copies at our cost to have on hand at the AIS
Storefront or to offer for sale at our meetings and conventions.
Production (Hardback)
Once the trade paperback version has been approved for production, we can opt
to have the book produced in hard cover. There is an additional setup charge
and different pricing for this (see below).
Marketing
As part of the standard package CreateSpace provides an eStore page (as
mentioned above) and a listing on Amazon.com. (At this time a hardcover
version would not be listed on Amazon, only on the eStore)
They also offer a Pro Plan option that allows us to earn additional
royalties and lower manufacturing costs as well as access to an Expanded
Distribution Channel (EDC) with the potential to distribute our book to a
larger audience through more outlets including: retailers, bookstores,
libraries, academic institutions, wholesalers, and distributors. One
disadvantage of the EDC is that books sold through the Expanded Distribution
Channel may be manufactured by third parties. There may be some minor
differences in manufacturing (e.g. paper thickness, color shade, etc.) between
the EDC and other Channels. (Hardcover books are not listed in the EDC.)

Below is a Cost and Royalty Comparison between the Standard and Pro Plans.
(List price shown only for comparison, our price will be different)





Standard Plan

Pro Plan




CS eStore

Amazon

CS eStore

Amazon

EDC


List Price

$16.00

$16.00

$16.00

$16.00

$16.00


CS Share

$7.70

$10.90

$5.85

$9.05

$12.25


AIS Royalty

$8.30

$5.10

$10.15

$6.95

$3.75
We can choose which channels we activate for our sales.

Costs (Trade Paperback)
Standard account  no charge
Pro Plan  $39.90 first year, $5.00 per year thereafter
Estimated unit manufacturing cost (794 pages plus covers, 6 X 9 trim ) -
$10.37
Costs (Hardback)
Conversion to hardback - $199.00
Estimated unit manufacturing cost - $18.41


Jody has gotten some quotes for small run quantities of hardcopy versions:





Source



300 units
per copy/total cost

400 Units
per copy/total cost

500 units
per copy/total cost


Colorwise press

70# satin

17.44/$5232

16.66/$6665

16.14/$8072




50# uncoated

16.47/$4942

15.70/$6278

15.18/$7588


DiYa Corporation
(7 days for sample, 35 for final)

Includes shipping

18.89/$5667



12.48/$6240


Book Printing Revolution

plus shipping, $99 set up fee

18.57/$5571

16.24/$6496




Bookmasters

plus shipping

16.53/$4959








Benefits of POD
AIS does not have to spend thousands of dollars to have 1200 - 1500 copies of
the Check List printed and shipped to the AIS Storefront.
Much faster availability of first printed units.
There is no minimum purchase requirement.
There are no storage requirements for the AIS Storefront, no trips to storage
containers.
We dont have to insure the books against loss or damage (we have in the past
lost the entire stock of a Check List to water damage).
Large heavy cartons of books dont have to be shipped to new storefront
locations.
No risk of loosing money long term by ordering too many copies and having to
sell them at  below cost.

We dont have to worry about continually changing shipping and mailing charges
esp. to foreign addresses. That is all handled by the eStore process.
We could price the softcover at $17.00 and the Hardcover at $22.00. The
hardcover price would only be a $5.00 over the price of the previous Check
List from 10 years ago. (We ordered 3000 copies of the 1999 Check List. The
per unit cost was approximately $4.00, total cost approximately $12,000 plus
shipping.)
Convert publication to Kindle - $69.00



Longer Term
We could, for minimum cost, convert previous Check Lists to POD and eliminate
all the costs of maintaining storage of them.
We could publish a complete copy of an updated and corrected Registrar
database.
Disadvantages
Might be slightly more expensive for purchasers.

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