Print on Demand(PoD) means you can print only as many copies as you require.
So how does that work in practice?
Say you wish to have a book launch, for which you anticipate the need for 20 copies. We will print just 20 copies and send them over to you. That means you don’t have to print 100 copies, or however many the printer insists on, just the number of copies you need.
And what about my other sales?
That you can take care using another of our services, called on-demand distribution. What we do is put your book for sale on the many online portals we have tied up with, and print (on demand) your book when it gets sold. This means you do not have to worry about managing sales, because we will take care to ensure that your book is listed and that a copy gets to a customer who has ordered for it.
And what about stocking my books in physical stores? Or at book fairs?
Well, that too can be taken care of using print-on-demand. We will print as many copies of your book as the bookstore demands and send it there.
So what’s the catch? And what are the benefits?
The benefits are many: printers insist on a minimum order quantity that is usually 500-1000 copies. With print-on-demand, you can print only as many copies as required. That means if you want just one copy, we will print you one copy, and you have to pay for just that one copy. So there’s the obvious reduction in the amount you have to spend on printing. And with just a few copies to handle, your shipping and warehouse costs automatically become negligible. The downside is that the unit cost is a bit higher. But, because you are printing fewer copies, the total cost of printing is much lower.
So how do you help?
We help by ensuring that books are printed in required quantities and dispatched to the correct addresses. So, for instance, if you have an order of 5 copies from Chennai, or if you wish to have 20 copies of your book available at a book fair in Mussourie, or if there is an order of 1 copy via an online portal, we will ensure that your book is printed in the required amounts and dispatched to each of these places.
For more details, contact us by emailing [email protected]
Can I use POD to sell on Amazon? Can you help?
What you are probably asking is whether we will list your book on Amazon, print a copy when it is sold, and dispatch that copy to the buyer (i.e. whether we will print on demand). Yes, we do that, not just for Amazon but also for Flipkart and The Dogears Bookshop, and other platforms where we list your book.
How does Print-On-Demand offer a better alternative?
Print-on-demand helps authors and small publishers because they can now print books on an as-needed basis instead of printing a large number of books all at once. This also helps small businesses save money, for instance, on printing manuals and reports. Similarly, print-on-demand makes it possible for publishers to offer older books (back lists) without having to print a large number of copies.
For details on how print-on-demand, in particular, and self-publishing, in general, might be of use to you, see which publishing solution may be applicable to you.
Isn’t POD expensive?
POD implies a higher cost per book, but to appreciate POD, a little knowledge of the economics behind it might help.
Imagine you have written a book and have decided to take the self-publishing route i.e. you have decided to publish the book yourself. You get your book edited, lay out your text, design your cover and approach the printers. You see a market for only 100 copies (for argument’s sake) but your printer says you must print a minimum of a thousand copies (they too can’t help it as small quanities are expensive for them too). The cost of each copy is small, say Rs. 40 per book, but having to print a thousand copies means you have to invest a total of Rs. 40,000/- upfront. You are not sure if all the copies will sell but that is a gamble you are forced to take.
Or imagine you choose to work with us at CinnamonTeal Publishing. Your book is made available for sale on a few online bookstores. When a book is sold on these platforms, the book is printed and dispatched to the buyer using the POD option. Because the buyer has already paid for the book, you, the author, do not have to spend on its printing. In this case, the same book that cost Rs. 40 when printed in bulk might cost around Rs. 120/- when just one copy is printed (using POD technology), but because 1000 copies have not been printed, the author has to spend lesser (Rs. 120 instead of Rs. 40,000/-) and not have to worry about shipping and storage costs, or about whether or not the remaining copies will get sold. Similarly, if you wish to have a few copies of your book for yourself, you do the same – order only as many as required. So if you need just 20 copies, assuming the same cost per unit, you pay only Rs. 2400/-.
How does the quality of a book printed on demand compare to that printed via the offset method?
Print-on-demand technology has continually been refined during the past ten years, and book quality has improved tremendously. Print-on-demand books are indistinguishable from other books printed in large quantities using an offset press. CinnamonTeal books feature color covers, clean graphics, and easy-to-read text. While the quality remains the same, print-on-demand methods costs much lesser than an investment in offset printing (when total costs are compared and small quantities are printed).
What if I need more copies printed?
Simply email us and we will have the required number of copies delivered. Please note that all orders will be processed only after they are paid for in full. The amount will be invoiced to you before the order is processed.
In case of third party orders (such as books dispatched to distributors), the books must be paid for in full before they are printed and dispatched.
We also provide bulk printing services.