Espresso Book Machine
The Espresso Book Machine (EBM) is an integrated print-on-demand - printer , the basis of PDF files in just minutes a single book including cover ( softcover ) To print, assemble and bind. The device has been marketed by Xerox since 2010 and bears the model designation EBM 2.0.
development
The impetus for the development of the printer came from Jason Epstein of Random House , the editor of writers such as Norman Mailer , Philip Roth or Gore Vidal , whose ideas for the further development of the publishing industry were taken up in 1999 by Jeff Marsh, an American engineer and inventor and who incorporated them into his existing letterpress prototypes. The first Espresso Book Machine was unveiled in 2007 in a public library in New York, where visitors could print free book titles provided by the Open Content Alliance (OCA) for a month .
In 2003, Jason Epstein and Dane Neller founded the print service provider On Demand Books (ODB). However, the feared revolution in the book industry, including the fall of fixed book prices , did not occur. Google and On Demand Books have been cooperating since September 2009 . The copyright-free titles from Google Book Search have since been available for printing with the Espresso Book Machine.
The book wholesaler Ingram Book Group supplies the PDF templates for commercial book titles .
technology
At the heart of the Espresso Book Machine is a high-speed printer that can produce a 300-page book in any format in less than five minutes. The book cover is produced parallel to the printing of the book pages. The printed pile of paper ("book block") is brought together, provided with glue, pressed into the cover and glued to it. Finally, the edges of the paper are trimmed on three sides.
EspressNet is used as software . This proprietary system provides access to a network of 3.3 million book titles approved by publishers for printing on the Espresso Machine.
Adaptation
In 2008, ten printers were available in bookstores and libraries in the United States , Canada , Australia and Egypt , printing an average of around 100 titles, mostly textbooks, every day. In October 2011 the total number had risen to 85 devices. The technology has so far not been able to establish itself in Europe.
A letter of intent signed with Libri / Books on Demand in 2008 for distribution in the German book trade has not yet been fulfilled, as the system lacks the catalogs of major publishers in addition to the inventory of self-publishing books and public domain titles.
Web links
- Internet presence of Espresso Book Machine by ODB with description and illustration (English)
- Espresso Book Machine - video about how the printer (English)
- Association of Austrian Librarians: Report on the Espresso Book Machine (from November 20, 2011, with list of links)