Espresso Book Machine

The Espresso Book Machine (EBM) is a print on demand (POD) machine that prints, collates, covers, and binds a single book in a few minutes.

The EBM is small enough to fit in a retail book store or small library room, and as such it is targeted at retail and library markets.^[1] The EBM can potentially allow readers to obtain any book title, even books that are out of print. The machine takes as input a PDF file and prints, binds, and trims the reader’s selection as a paperback book.^[2][3]

History

Jason Epstein gave a series of lectures in 1999 about his experiences in publishing. Epstein mentioned in his speech that a future was possible in which customers would be able to print an out-of-stock title on the spot, if a book-printing machine could be made that would fit in a store. He founded 3BillionBooks with Michael Smolens, a Long Island entrepreneur in Russia, and Thor Sigvaldason, a consultant at Price Waterhouse Coopers. At the time, Jeff Marsh, a St Louis engineer and inventor, had already constructed a prototype book printer that could both photocopy and bind. Marsh was working on this project for Harvey Ross, who held U.S. Patent 5,465,213.^[4] Peter Zelchenko, a Chicago-based technologist and a partner of Ross in a related patent effort, worked with Marsh to prove the concept and also helped bring Marsh and other players together with several venture interests.^[5] Ultimately Epstein, together with Dane Neller, former President and CEO of Dean and Deluca, licensed Marsh's invention and founded On Demand Books.^[3][6]

The first Espresso Book Machine was installed and demonstrated June 21, 2007 at the New York Public Library's Science, Industry and Business Library. For a month, the public was allowed to test the machine by printing free copies of public domain titles provided by the Open Content Alliance (OCA), a non-profit organization with a database of over 200,000 titles.^[2]

Distribution

The direct-to-consumer model supported by Espresso Book Machine eliminates the need for shipping, warehousing, returns and pulping of unsold books; it allows simultaneous global availability^[3] of millions of new and backlist titles.

EBM books can also be made available for distribution through Lightning Source, a subsidiary of Ingram Content Group.

Locations

As of July 2012, Espresso Book Machines are located in the following libraries, bookstores, and other retailers:^[7][8][9]

Egypt

Beta versions of the EBM are placed at the Bibliotheca Alexandrina.^[2]

United States

Beta versions of the EBM are placed at the World Bank Infoshop in Washington, DC.^[2] Additional EBMs were made available to the public in the fall of 2007 at the New Orleans Public Library, the Boxcar and Caboose Bookstore in St. Johnsbury, Vermont, the Northshire Bookstore in Manchester, Vermont and the Open Content Alliance in San Francisco.^[2] Other locations include the University of Missouri, the Harvard Book Store, the University of Pittsburgh, the University of Washington Bookstore in Seattle, Third Place Books in Seattle, the University of Michigan Shapiro Undergraduate Library, the University of Arizona Bookstore, the Brigham Young University Bookstore and the Grace Mellman Community Library (part of the Riverside County Library System, Riverside County, California).^[10] Mizzou Media at the University of Missouri operates an Espresso Book Machine version 2.0.^[11] There was a concession model of the Espresso Book Machine 2.2 located within the Darien Library in Darien, Connecticut, that was removed in August 2012.^[12]

Canada

An EBM has been installed at the University of Alberta, Titles McMaster University Bookstore, University of Waterloo Bookstore^[13] McGill University Library^[14] and the University of Toronto Bookstore.^[15] Simon Fraser University Bookstore.^[16] The University of Alberta closed its Espresso Book Machine in November 2013.^[9] The Edmonton Public Library opened an Espresso Book Machine as part of the Makerspace in their Stanley A. Milner Library.^[17]

Australia

In September 2008, was installed at Angus & Robertson in Melbourne, Australia by the Central Book Services / DA Group. However, its success was short-lived and the machine was removed in late 2009.^[18] A newer version of the Espresso Book Machine (2.0) has now been installed at the University of Melbourne.

UK

In September 2008, the first Espresso Book Machine was installed in the UK. Newsstand, a London based company, uses the machinery to print single copy book runs for publishers and authors.

In April 2009, an Espresso Book Machine was installed with great fanfare in the Charing Cross Road branch of Blackwell's book store in London. Blackwell's also announced that they plan to install the machine across their 60 UK stores.^[19]

Netherlands

In November 2010 the American Book Center in Amsterdam installed the first ever Espresso Book Machine in the Netherlands and continental Europe. A second machine was installed in The American Book Center in The Hague in March 2011.

Japan

There is an Espresso Book Machine in the basement of Sanseido Publishing head office in Tokyo. Simple services are offered at this time. You cannot do full self publishing as is the case at some other EBM locations.

References

External links

• Official website