What is a Print-on-Demand Textbook

Print-on-demand, or PoD, is a service or process by which individual copies of a textbook or other documents, usually available as digital files, can be produced. Prior to the digital age, providing individually printed and bound books was prohibitively expensive.

Print on demand with digital technology is used as a way of printing items for a fixed cost per copy, regardless of the size of the order. While the unit price of each physical copy printed is higher than with offset printing, the average cost is lower for very small print runs, because setup costs are much higher for offset printing.

PoD has other business benefits besides lower costs (for small runs):

• Technical set-up is usually quicker than for offset printing.
• Large inventories of a book or print material do not need to be kept in stock, reducing storage, handling costs, and inventory accounting costs.
• There is little or no waste from unsold products.

These advantages reduce the risks associated with publishing books and prints and can lead to increased choice for consumers. However, the reduced risks for the publisher can also mean that quality control is less rigorous than usual.^[1]