33 Print-on-Demand Copies

Make arrangements for print-on-demand copies of your textbook to be available either through your college or university bookstore, student services, Amazon or other print-on-demand or self-publishing service. Print-on-demand services are helpful for students or instructors who prefer to work with a physical, bound version of your textbook.

BCcampus Open Education provides this service — in conjunction with Simon Fraser University’s Document Solutions department — for all open textbooks in our collection, indicated with a “Buy a print copy” button on the book’s record page.

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You can buy a black-and-white print copy of British Columbia in a Global Context for $7.20.

It is expected that printed copies of an open textbook will cost money. However, prices are typically set for cost recovery only.

The price for an open textbook varies depends on:

  • Number of pages
  • Black and white vs. colour
  • Softcover or hardcover
  • Shipping and handling costs

If you set up a print-on-demand option for your textbook, it is best for readers to use a service in your country. If you elect to provide a service outside your country, make this clear to your readers as they will have to contend with a different currency, and duties and fees related to customs and processing. BCcampus learned this lesson when its open-textbook readers complained about American-only options to purchase textbooks. Our solution was to provide a Canadian-based supplier for all our books and, when a U.S. print-on-demand option is also available, to clearly label it.

For more information, see the BCcampus Open Education Print-on-Demand Guide [New Tab].

License

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Self-Publishing Guide Copyright © 2018 by Lauri Aesoph is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.

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