News
Blackwell unveils UK's first instore Espresso Book Machine
Academic book specialist Blackwell has unveiled the Espresso Book Machine (EBM) at its Charing Cross store in London, which is claimed to be the first bookshop installation in the UK.
The install, the culmination of an 18-month partnership between Blackwell and the machine's manufacturer On Demand Books (ODB), will allow customers to print a raft of titles on-demand at the store.
It is claimed the process can be completed in less than five minutes with files available onsite or from a customers' own CD or USB memory stick.
Printing is carried out at speeds of 105ppm with binding, trimming and colour-printed covers all completed on-site.
More than 400,000 books are available on the EBM, and more than 1m titles are expected to be available by the end of this month.
Andrew Hutchings, chief executive of Blackwell, said the EBM represented a fantastic opportunity for the company and one that could help "create incremental revenue streams for publishers".
He said: "Blackwell’s strong relationship with the publishing community means we are looking forward to leveraging our unique brand position and international network to drive this exciting new technology forward. We are very much looking forward to working with On Demand Books."
The bookseller's EBM was on show at the London Book Fair that ran April 20-22.
Dane Neller, chief executive of On Demand Books, said with Blackwell, the company would "realise the unique ability of the Espresso Book Machine to access digital content from multiple sources and print library quality paperbacks on demand".
Speaking at the London Book Fair, Neller added the company's stand had received "a fantastic range of interest from a wide range of visitors".
EBM: on show this weekend
Comments
Paul Cahillane - 18 April 2009
That'l be fun at Christmas - queuing,waiting for the book to be printed - what a consumer unfriendly technology...
Press Minder - 18 April 2009
You have to read those books quick before the pages fall out as well,we've had some samples they were diabolical quality compared to what China produces.
Paul Manning - 20 April 2009
"The production of too many useful things results in too many useless people"
Karl Marx
Paul Manning - 21 April 2009
Not to look like I'm slating this machine too much as I think bringing back thousands of out of print titles is excellent, I popped into Blackwells and had a look at the samples. They are particularly poor.
Of the samples that were actually on display most were trimmed incorrectly, had excess glue on the spine, the spines were bowing, the text pages were hanging out in places and the overall product was particularly poor.
Although good for the environment and good for bringing back books that are out of print it is a shame to see something on offer that has absolutely no craftsmenship. But I'm sure they'll fix it over time and the end result in a few years will be fairly good.
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