Which is a better print to buy?

printer info: e.g. where to buy "print on demand" printers

• I need information about printers that can print books: Where can I buy printers that can print books in perfect binding and printers that can print hard cover books (or one that can print both)? And what is an average size they take in a room? And what is the price range? I want printers that can provide print on demand (POD) service. thanks

• Answer:

  Hi nediam1234, If I understand your question correctly, you want to print pre-bound blank books. In other words, take a bound book with blank pages (with either hard or soft covers) and put it in a machine which will print the text. It's a good idea, but the technology does not yet exist. POD is the ability to print (digitally) and afterwards bind a relatively small number of copies of a book (often just one) and get it to the customer quickly and economically. In order to do this, all PODs produce softcover bindings, either perfect-bound (glued) or saddle-stitched. >>> Overview On-Demand Book Printing and Binding "The all-in-one concept allows the production of extremely small runs which best of all, can be produced economically. The main factor that separated this new Books - On -Demand (BOD) system its capability to handle everything through an intelligent network which controls all digital subprocesses like pre-press data through digital printing to the finished, perfect bound or saddle stitched product. Without getting too technical, the operating principle of the high-performance system developed by Muller Martini is amazingly simple. Pre-press data is processed continually on a digital press. The paper web, being a continuous roll, is printed on both sides with the desired variable data. The ribbon of paper is then cut into sheets, folded, and thereafter finished on an integrated perfect binder or saddle stitcher. The job data from pre-press is used for fully-automated make-ready of the entire line. Color printed covers are printed off-line on other digital printing systems and fed into the SigmaLine as required. In short, this new SigmaLine revolutionizes the production capabilities of the book-on-demand sector. It opens up outstanding opportunities and perspectives for entirely new business models. "But some Xerox engineers still insisted on in-line hardcover binding systems. The general idea was to place a DocuTech into the backroom of a bookstore, then print and bind books on demand. This does make a lot of sense. Drink a coffee, have a nice chat with someone and then pick up your own, customized printed and bound copy. This is already taking place with softcover bindings. However, to date, I have not seen a system in place that could cope with hardcover bindings. Most likely, it would simply be too expensive and cumbersome." http://www.printondemand.com/MT/archives/004980.html "The third meaning of "POD" is as a description of a digital printing service (usually using a toner-based duplication process) in contrast to a printer using the traditional offset press. Digital printing has minimal set-up cost as compared to traditional offset printing, however the unit cost of production does not decrease significantly after the first copy is printed. With traditional offset printing, much of the cost is in the set-up and plate making process. Once the press is running, the incremental cost of each additional copy is actually quite low. While a particular job might cost $3.50 per copy from a digital printer, it might cost only $0.85 per copy on a press. But the digital printer may only have $50 (or so) in set up costs to absorb in the job while the traditional printer is likely to have over $1,000 in set-up costs on the same job. These economic differences generally suggest that it is more cost effective to print 500 or fewer copies with digital (POD) printing and that 500 or more copies should be produced with offset printing equipment." http://www.aeonix.com/bookprnt.htm FoxAcre Press Book-On-Demand Bookshelf "A Quick Guide to Book-On- Demand Printing" "The Perfect Binding Handbook" "Easy Hardcover Bookbinding" http://www.foxacre.com/bookpage/bod-shelf.htm Get Published Technological developments coax would-be authors out of the closet * "Print-on-demand, or POD, capabilities have lowered the costs of small print runs to the point that setup costs for a self-published book now begin around $100, giving rise to new self-publishing companies like Trafford, 1stBooks Library, iUniverse, Xlibris and GreatUnpublished (most of which offer an e-book option).. So far, self-publishing outfits are the primary users of POD, although traditional publishers are watching the technology closely. ?POD books will soon be served up to readers in vending machines when they insert a plastic card into a slot,? says Elizabeth Laden, a writer on POD technology. POD utilizes equipment that allows books or manuals to be stored digitally, ready to be printed on high-speed laser printers in short runs, typically 300 or more copies. POD, which has become almost synonymous with self-publishing, has had relatively little impact so far on traditional publishers, who are locked into providing their books on consignment to bookstores, and find offset printing cheaper on a per-unit basis for their press runs of 3,000 copies or more. * On-demand publishing, or ODP, is POD taken to the extreme: a single copy can be printed and bound after a prepaid order arrives, eliminating warehousing and inventory costs entirely. It?s a technology that also offers savings to firms whose clients want printed copies, not just PDF-format copies, of software manuals, says Bruce Batchelor, publisher and CEO of Trafford Publishing, a pioneer of POD and ODP technology." http://www.darwinmag.com/read/buzz/column.html?ArticleID=747 >>> All-IN-ONE BOOK MAKING MACHINES The good news is, there are a few "all-in-one" PODs but unfortunately none post prices online and all require contact to receive a quote. 1) Instabook Maker III Print On Demand "Print on Demand has become very popular lately. It is a phrase used by many types of companies to describe some of their services. They go from traditional printers using traditional printing equipment (offset, lithography, etc.), to printing equipment manufacturers. But what exactly is Print on Demand? (Or Print-On-Demand)? And how does it relate to books? Very easy: it means that you print what you need, when you need it, and exactly in the amounts that you need it. Not one more and not one less. In the case of books, it means that you don?t need to print 1000 books -for example- when you need maybe only 100 books." http://instabook.net/web/content.php?content.4 INSTABOOK MAKER III Technical Data InstaBook Maker is a production system so small, it may be installed anywhere. Measurements: 7' Long (200 cms) 3' Tall (90 cms) 2.5' Deep (80 cms) http://instabook.net/web/content.php?content.7 2) BookMachine "The BookMachine is an automated device that can produce a soft-cover, perfect bound, standard-format book on customer demand within three to five minutes. The information and material to produce the book is contained within the BookMachine (10'X3'X4') enclosure. The electronic information for printing frequently requested books can be cached in the BookMachine. The system also provides continual maintenance 7/24 and will have a central storage facility that will contain hundreds of thousands of book titles. Upon customer selection, the local BookMachine will request a specific title from the master database, which will then be transmitted back to the local machine for reproduction." http://www.bookmachine.com/machine.html 3) SigmaLine - the First Fully Integrated Total Solution for Books-on-Demand "The new SigmaLine is the first fully integrated, commercial-quality total solution for Books-on-Demand (BoD) production with which even very small runs can be produced economically - from prepress data through digital printing to the finished, perfect bound or saddle-stitched product." http://www.mullermartini.com/Desktopdefault.aspx/tabid-233/375_read-1539/ >>> Example of prices for book-making machinery Click "Stock List" button. Click anywhere in the sample screen shot. Pick a category. http://www.nepminc.com/ Here's an example: Duplo Quadrimax "Excellent short run perfect binder that is ideal for " On Demand" operations" $25,000 >>> Machinery (not all-in-one) Typical set-up needed: FirstChoiceBooks equipment list CASEBINDING ? Potdevin Gluers ? Standing Presses ? Nipping Presses ? Rounders and Backers ? Smythe Sewer ? Oversewing Machine ? Corner Rounder ? Kensol Stampers ? Turning-In Machine ? Cover Squeezer ? Case Making Gauges ? Tipping Machine ? Dexter Building-In Machine ? Casing-In Machine ? Spine Prep Perfect Binder ? Industrial Sewing Machines Pictue ? Ludlow, (Type Maker) ? Double Fan Adhesive Binder TRADE BINDING ? Polar and Sneider Cutters ? Baum and Stahl Folders (30"x40") ? Renz and Kugler Paper Punches ? Meuller Martini and Sulby Perfect Binders ? Rosback and Harris Saddle Stitchers ? Heidelberg and Miehle Letter Presses ? GBC and D&K Laminators, (1-sided) ? Round Cornering Machines ? Challenge Single & Triple Paper Drills ? Side Stitchers, (Bostitch #7) ? Cerlox, Wire, Spiral Binders ? Shrink Wrapping ? Coiling Machines http://www.firstchoicebooks.ca/aboutus_equiptment.htm FoxAcre Press Book-On-Demand Resource Page [links to sellers] * Binding Equipment * Catalogs, Print & Online * Computer Printer Manufacturers * Laminating Equipment * Organizations * Book Printers & Publishing Service Providers * Publications * Software * Supplies http://www.foxacre.com/bookpage/bod-address.htm Used Machinery http://www.agamachinery.com/usedmachinery.htm New Machinery http://www.odmachinery.com/ Oce print on demand publishing solutions http://www.oceusa.com/cp_ondemand.html Oce printing and publish on demand solutions http://www.oceusa.com/cp_publishondemand.html Print on Demand and Publishing - DocuTech? and Xerox Nuvera? http://www.xerox.com/go/xrx/equipment/prod_subcategory.jsp?cat=Production%20Systems/DocuTech&Xcntry=USA&Xlang=en_US POD Virtual Tradeshow http://oldsite.printondemand.com/vshow/index.html >>> Bookbinding Fastbind "With a Fastbind tabletop bindery, anyone can make retail-quality hard and soft cover books!" http://www.exactbind.com/ Binding (after print) videos http://www.exactbind.com/howtouse/howtouse_using_machines_engl.html Books-in-Demand binder http://www.exactbind.com/technique/technique_book.html Bookbinding A Tutorial by Douglas W. Jones THE UNIVERSITY OF IOWA Department of Computer Science and Center for the Book 1. Preparation of Sections for Photocopying 2. Photocopying 3. Colating and Folding the Sections 4. Making a Cover 5. Punching Holes 6. Sewing the Sections to the Cover 7. Trimming the Pages 8. Making a Dust Jacket 9. Alternatives Other Bookbinding Resources http://www.cs.uiowa.edu/~jones/book/ Bookbinding tutorial http://www.sheilasummers.com/index.php?id=1,2,0,0,1,0 Book Factory Tour "Welcome to Thomson-Shore's Book Factory Tour Feel free to tour our plant. Here you will be able to see some of the departments and equipment your book will travel through. On the way, we hope you will receive some helpful and humorous information regarding our book making process." http://www.tshore.com/DesktopDefault.aspx?tabid=27 >>> Additional Links of Interest Print on Demand ( POD ) A Lightning Source Book Example http://www.fonerbooks.com/pod.htm Print-on-Demand Publishing http://www.dvorkin.com/pod.htm Do-It-Yourself Book Press http://nomediakings.org/doityourself/doityourself_book_press.html I hope this helps to unravel the mystery a bit. If you have any questions, please post a clarification request and wait for me to respond before closing/rating my answer. Thank you, hummer Google Search Terms Used: books on demand books on demand machinery book on demand equipment print on demand book equipment print on demand printers digital printing service bookbinding