| Founded | 2004 |
|---|---|
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Headquarters location | Birmingham |
| Publication types | Books |
| Nonfiction topics | technology |
| Official website | www.packtpub.com |
Packt, pronounced Packed, is a print on demand publishing company based in Birmingham, UK.
Contents |
Packt published its first book, Mastering phpMyAdmin for Effective MySQL Management, in April 2004, and continues to specialize in publishing focused books on specific technologies and solutions. The company claims that it supports and publishes books on smaller projects and subjects that standard publishing companies cannot make profitable[1]. The company's business model, which involves print on demand publishing and selling direct, enables it to make money selling books with lower unit sales[1]. The aim of this business model is to give authors high royalty rates and the opportunity to write on topics that standard publishers tend to avoid[1].
Packt offers PDF versions of all of their books for download and in August 2010 began offering them in ePub format. These eBooks were made free from digital rights management in March 2009[2]. Some (but not all) Packt books are also available via the Safari Books Online system.[3]
PacktLib [4] is Packt's online digital book library. Launched in August 2010, PacktLib allows users to access and search across Packt's entire library of books, finding practical solutions to searches at the click of a button.
In April 2010, Packt launched two new brands, Packt Enterprise and Packt Open Source[5], with the release of Microsoft Silverlight 4 Data and Services Cookbook and Moodle 1.9 Theme Design[5]. Packt Enterprise focuses on technologies produced by businesses for use in other corporations, while Packt Open Source focuses on technologies built around open source licences.
These two brands do not encompass all of Packt's books, and it will continue to publish into areas which are not necessarily classifiable as open source or enterprise [6]
Packt supports and promotes Open Source projects and concepts. When a book written on an Open Source project is sold, Packt pays a royalty directly to that project. This scheme has resulted in the company providing sustainable revenues to many of the Open Source projects since 2004.[7]
In March 2011, following its 'Believe in Open Source campaign' Packt announced that its donations to Open Source projects have surpassed the $300,000 mark.[8]
The Open Source Awards, launched as the Open Source CMS Award in 2006, was created with the aim of encouraging, supporting, recognizing and rewarding Open Source projects. The Open Source Award was re-launched in July 2010 to allow a wider range of Open Source projects to enter the contest.
In November 2006, Joomla! was announced as the first winner of the Award receiving $5,000. Drupal finished second receiving $3,000 with Plone finishing third and receiving $2,000.
Since 2006, Packt has ran the Award annually, each time expanding the categories and prize money to benefit the Open Source community.
Previous winners in the Awards vary from WordPress to MODx :[9]
In 2010, the launch of the Open Source Awards saw Packt expand the Award categories and prize money to $24,000.
The winners in the 2010 Open Source Awards are as follows:
In April 2007, Packt launched its Article Network and now publishes around 20 articles each month. The Article Network is a free collection of articles and book excerpts written by professionals and developers from around the world. These articles cover technologies related to both the Packt Open Source brand, such as Ubuntu, and the Packt Enterprise brand, such as SOA.