1. On-demand printing is one component of a range of digital printing services. The successful publisher will fully utilise all digital printing services, from the distribution of uncorrected bound copies for marketing, to direct sales to individual customers, to small stock holding with key wholesalers. Explore all the possibilities for your business.
2. Digital printing can provide solutions to warehousing and distribution, printing and reprinting, handling direct sales, marketing and mailing services. The successful business partner will offer all these services. So beware of cheaper imitations.
3. Using on-demand printing can revolutionise your frontlist and backlist strategy, allowing you to revitalise old product and test new product in a scaleable way. Implement it ?up? and ?down? the business.
4. The revolution is primarily a supply chain revolution whose major impact lies in distribution and stock-holding, but don?t underestimate the benefits to marketing. Look across business functions to see where marketing and publicity can benefit, too.
5. Capitalise and test your business or new publishing ideas by using on-demand printing, thus minimising risks and offering real opportunities to scale up.
6. Don?t value POD in terms of traditional print unit costs. Take into account the cost of warehousing, distribution, capital tied up in stock, and staff requirements for the stock replenishment cycle when examining profits.
7. POD suits highly formalised publishing, offering a limited range of formats and product quality. It is best suited to well-marketed, trade and academic product lines with sales below 2,000 units per year, though it may make sense beyond these levels.
8. Make sure that you have an infrastructure in place to integrate digital print services at the heart of your business. Avoid production and editorial ghettos. Ensure that your origination cycle is fully digital, and dovetail manufacturing into a digital printing workflow which combines POD with other forms of supply.
9. On-demand printing only works well when combined with strong bibliographic services and the best marketing money can buy. No book sells itself.
10. Remove people and decision making from the stock replenishment cycle by using on-demand printing to avoid both stock-outs and overstocks.
tags: POD, supply?chain, digital?printing
