Amazon launches print-on-demand service into UK

Amazon has launched its print-on-demand service for books in the UK, a move it anticipates will help increase the availability of niche and previously out-of-print titles.

The company claims the service will significantly boost the number of books available to customers while benefiting publishers that don't want to run the risk of producing large print runs.

Amazon is working with publishers such as Faber & Faber, HarperCollins UK, and Cambridge University Press as part of the programme, which will also allow for the production of large print and foreign language titles.

The books will be printed using Amazon's proprietary print-on-demand technology at its Marston Gate site in Milton Keynes.

Christopher North, vice president of media at Amazon.co.uk said print-on-demand "enables publishers to keep more titles in-stock at Amazon, but it also makes possible innovative new approaches to publishing".

He added: "Working with publishers, we hope to bring hundreds of thousands of books to Amazon.co.uk's customers that might never have otherwise been available."