digital print services

Print on demand or publish on demand (POD) is a publishing methodology in which a copy is not created until after an order is received. While POD may use any printing technology, such as linocut or Gutenberg letter press, digital printing is so often employed that the terms are often used interchangeably. To add to the confusion, Print on Demand is also a trademark of Cygnus Business Media, Inc. POD is often associated with self-publishing, but contrary to popular belief, POD is not a business model: many traditional small presses have replaced their traditional printing equipment with POD equipment or contract their printing out to POD service providers, and many university presses use POD services to maintain a large backlist.

Book publishing through POD

Print on demand with digital technology is used as a way of publishing books for a fixed cost per copy, irrespective of the size of the order. Digital technology is ideally suited to publish small print runs of books and posters (often as a single copy) as and when they are needed. While the unit price of each physical book printed is higher than with offset printing, when setup costs are taken into account digital print on demand provides lower per unit costs for very small print runs than traditional printing methods. Grove Arcade Copy Shop: Asheville, NC digital printing service.