A penny for your page
Dec 31st, 2006 by Sandra
Well, my English dSO sent me this article from The Observer today about a machine that can hold 2.5 million books — and print them — for about a penny per page.
Is it the death of royalty-based book selling? I dunno. The dSO and I have been arguing for years now about whether royalties are the best way to compensate authors for their work, and whether digital publishing is going to shake up the publishing world. We both were hoping for a shake-up of some kind since the big houses are still glued to paper (and its associated handling and shipping costs) and refuse to move to something more efficient for both its editorial staff and its writers (like tablet PCs and e-mailing manuscripts).
We’ll just have to see whether the advent of the print-on-demand machine, which will first be introduced into libraries, will put the scare into anyone in New York.
One Response to “A penny for your page”
I suppose, like all things, printed books will eventually be replaced by newer, cheaper technology. I’m not opposed to progress - but, I’ll NEVER give up my books without a cry and mourning for the loss. I love to soak in a warm bubble bath with a good book and a glass of wine - often, that book gets wet as I nod off and drop it - which wakes me up as I scramble to dry the pages and minimize the damage. Can’t imagine ever doing that with any kind of electronic device!