Table of Contents
Most entrepreneurs who want to start a new print-on-demand business may choose apparel, home decor, accessories, and other kinds of daily-used products as they are always in high demand and have good adaptability.
Nevertheless, print on demand is more than that. You can approach a new aspect of on-demand printing and earn money, which is about print on demand books.
Therefore, this blog will introduce you to a totally different print-on-demand product, print on demand books, and the benefits of choosing books to start your e-commerce business.
Definition of print on demand books
Print on demand books are the final products that are manufactured from the on-demand printing process.
This process is basically a method of book distribution that is enabled and inextricably linked to digital printing. It only prints books in response to orders and prints the exact amount requested.
Because of the capabilities of digital printing, the model of printing print on demand books can profitably fulfill an order for just one book.
Print on demand books are the final products of the on-demand printing process.
Furthermore, all of your inquiries surrounding on-demand printing will be answered in print on demand for your e-commerce entrepreneur, whose purpose is to help you be ready to start your own business right away.
The difference between using a POD service and hiring a printer
If you are a business selling books as your main product, there are two ways you can get your books printed and readily sent to your customers.
Print-on-demand service
A print-on-demand service prints and ships individual copies of your print on demand books to customers as orders come in.
The benefits are that you don’t have to stock any books yourself, so you can reduce the cost of building an inventory to store them and avoid a constant effort for preservation. Besides, the selling, packing, and shipping are all handled by the print-on-demand service on your behalf.
However, there is no certainty that you will get all of them as it depends on the service you use.
The disadvantage is that a loss in quality control, analytics, and profit margin may compensate for financial security and convenient selling. Hence, make sure you can accept these unpredictable factors.
Hire a printer
If you engage a printing agent, you can print a large number of books at once.
The advantage is that you can control the book’s quality as you can only work with your printer to select the materials for the book according to your budget. Furthermore, you can create your own storefront. It can be more profitable as you have more marketing tools that you can use to sell more books.
The disadvantage, on the other hand, is that you need to create a large inventory to store books. It may be extremely risky and expensive as some big boxes of books take up lots of space and you may not sell all of the books in a short time.
The benefits of print on demand books
So, what makes this POD books service so tempting to many online merchants? Here are some of the benefits that we think you cannot ignore.
Print on demand books are eco-friendly products
First and foremost, on-demand printing is more environmentally friendly as books are only printed when ordered and there is no need to dispose of any books from a large production.
There is no need to dispose of any books from a large production.
In terms of shipment, books are transported in bulk from printers to storage facilities or marketplaces when using traditionally printed books.
Meanwhile, the transit system is diminished with POD services because the company will directly send your print on demand books to the customers, which reduces emissions and fuel consumption in transportation.
Your print on demand books are always found in your online stores
There are many cases in which people look for a book in a bookstore and find out it’s out of print. The good news is that it won’t happen with print-on-demand services.
A print-on-demand book company stores your print on demand books in an online database and prints copies when needed to ensure that your books are available for your customers every time and for as long as you want. As a result, it obviously leads to an increase in customers’ satisfaction and loyalty to your online book store due to the fast and professional service.
On-demand printing also enables many younger generations to access any type of your book later unless you have stopped writing or publishing.
Print on demand books have a small investment cost
Although the cost per unit in POD is higher, the initial cost of printing print on demand books is significantly lower when compared with those that are traditionally manufactured.
On-demand printing eliminates the need to invest all of your savings to produce numerous books in the hope that your book will be a bestseller. Instead, you only need to pay for the number of copies printed on demand.
Moreover, you earn more profits from the print on demand books sold when they are already loaded into your online store. However, the profit margin greatly depends on the provider you choose.
Besides, printing a large number of copies requires no upfront investment. It’s especially beneficial for starters in the print-on-demand business.
There is no need for an inventory for print on demand books
As we mentioned in the previous section, one of the biggest advantages of using a print-on-demand service is that you don’t need an inventory to store your books. That will significantly save you time, money, and effort when running your own business.
You don’t need an inventory to store your books.
Furthermore, print on demand is the best alternative to publishing your books without losing time because of the quick turnaround for printing each copy, which is approximately one week.
Print on demand books allow a variety of designs
On-demand printing has continually developed as it enables you to print everything according to your requirements, and so do print on demand books.
With printing on-demand, you have plenty of printing options, including colors, binding types, hardbacks or paperbacks, trim sizes, crisp text, and graphics. For example, you can freely choose between standard color books, which are less expensive to produce, and premium color books.
You can freely choose the colors for your print on demand books.
Eventually, all of the printing options that you made may be tested on the customers’ demand by many e-commerce platforms and marketplaces, so that you can make some adjustments if needed.
You can make adjustments to your print on demand books
The convenience and simplicity of making updates to the books’ content and designs at any stage and any number of times is one of the major reasons lots of self-publishers choose the print-on-demand service to sell their books.
Let’s imagine you discover a serious flaw in your book after it has sold many copies. It can also be some missing detail or new development in your research. This is the ideal time to get your book updated.
However, the suggestion here is that you should publish a small number of editions first so that you can gather feedback from your readers. It will give you enough information to make any necessary changes before printing a larger number.
Final thoughts
In a nutshell, print on demand books has some advantages that traditionally printed ones don’t. Though on-demand printing may not be the most cost-effective option when a book begins to sell well, it’s still a perfect choice for those who want to test new ideas in the marketplace and who are starting with limited business capital.
To get a deeper insight into print on demand books and how to get them published, you can read what you need to know about print-on-demand book publishing.
