Bringing Your Online Publication To Print

Despite the proliferation of online content – perhaps because of the proliferation of online content – consumers are increasingly lusting after quality print publications. Demand for inspirational creative publications appears sustainable and is seeing online publishers graduating to print publishers with a few new print-on-demand services assisting the process from creation to distribution, all without the overhead of excessive inventory.

Services

Blurb was mentioned on here some time ago. It’s a very neat service and caters well for bloggers looking to easily print and sell their online content. Blurb is the obvious choice for publishers creating a limited number of blog ‘transcriptions’, but the convenience comes at a cost – prices start at $US18.95 for up to 40 pages, so it ain’t cheap.

Lulu has been established for a little longer and offers a cheaper avenue more conducive to market pricing – with a set binding fee and fixed cost per page it’s a more economical production model. For instance, the printing costs for a 100 page, perfect bound, 6″ x 9″ colour book would be $US19.53 ($US15.00 printing + $US4.53 binding).

How’s the rest of the market printing?

One of the more successful web/print publications of recent times, JPG Magazine by 8020 Publishing was initially printed on demand using Lulu. The print quality from Lulu was exceptional and the JPG Magazine grew into a widely respected photography publication. In a move to lower costs, it’s now printed using more traditional offset printing which has also allowed the nice addition of subscriptions (not offered by Lulu or Blurb).

As for the simplicity of publishing using Lulu, designer Chris J Davis gives a simple step-by-step rundown after publishing a book using a basic Word template. Easy.

Sales and Distribution

A very tidy complement to Lulu’s print quality and ease of publishing is the engagement of Amazon as a sales and distribution channel. Undoubtedly the premier online marketplace for print publications, tapping into the infintely valuable Amazon meta such as ‘Customers who bought this title also bought’ is only going to extend market reach and enhance potential sales opportunities.

Potential Challenges

Firstly, not so much a challenge – more something to remember… when you’re printing it’s preferable to use at least 300 dpi images, so if you’re hoping to print your online publication those 72 pics won’t look too flash. Thinking of publishing in print in the future? Start keeping 300 dpi versions now.

Secondly, the Law student inside can’t help wondering about copyright concerns regarding the source of images… after a quick Google around it looks like 8020 Publishing cops a few concerns about this, but, in usual Powazek style, has responded openly with transparency and integrity to set the record straight. Nice play. It’s all good intentions over at 8020 Publishing, but there will always be a handful who ask questions of those who monetise user generated content… it’s just the nature of the game. If you wish to publish user generated content keep this in mind – it’s not an obstacle to success, just an ongoing educational challenge.