Printing in the publishing market is dominated by several major and second tier printers who control about 53% of sales. These printers were slow to adopt print-on-demand and digital short run book printing - a fact that has opened up opportunities for other printers interested in the book publishing business.
The minimum quantity for economic offset production ranges from runs of 750 to 1,250 units. As a result, book publishers have come to realize that they need more economical ways to print shorter runs in order to reduce inventory and out-of-print lists.
That solution can only be digital printing - designed specifically to accommodate short runs and print-on demand. It’s the only solution that can deliver new profit and revenue to the book printing community.
On-demand book printing is expected to grow by 27% CAGR between 2005 and 2009, to about 32 billion pages in North America. Though predominantly a monochrome application, on-demand book printing with color pages is expected to grow substantially, driven by the transformation from offset to digital technology and the increased demand for color.
