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The emergence of print-on-demand Amazon paperback books

alexerhardt.com

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Re: The emergence of print-on-demand Amazon paperback books

#141

Post by trollbridge »

AlotOfReading wrote: post #76

I agree with the broad point of the article, but the author misidentifies what's going on. The author's problems are coming from digital printing, not the print-on-demand business model specifically and Amazon isn't the only company doing it. The older books were printed using a process called offset printing. It needs large economies of scale to be financially viable, but it produces higher quality books. The newer…

Incidentally, we do last printing of small runs of books (10 to 100 copies) and can achieve good quality. It’s a choice to have good quality though.

Re: The emergence of print-on-demand Amazon paperback books

#144

Post by ahartmetz »

layer8 wrote: post #118
ahartmetz wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There are uBlock Origin filter rules for shorts. They work :)

Not in the mobile app.

You don't even have the problem if you use NewPipe or PipePipe as the app for YouTube. That's with F-Droid on Android, don't know about iOS.

Re: The emergence of print-on-demand Amazon paperback books

#145

Post by Freak_NL »

nswango wrote: post #111
Freak_NL wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Often local booksellers will have the ability to order pretty much anything in print too. Here in the Netherlands there are only a few exceptions I can't order¹ locally, and even then I can usually find them on the national Amazon alternatives (i.e., Bol.com, which sucks, but isn't nearly as evil as Amazon). For affordability I would recommend anyone interested in reading to visit secondhand book fairs for the breadt…

If you order from your local bookstore a book which is being sold on Amazon as a PoD copy by a major publisher, what do you think happens? They don't have a separate manufacturing process for mom-and-pop bookstores. Amazon do the printing and the logistics but deliver the book to the store instead of to your house so that the store can hand it to you and collect a very small amount of money.

> If you order from your local bookstore a book which is being sold on Amazon as a PoD copy by a major publisher, what do you think happens?

Nothing. Local bookstores (not just 'mom-and-pop', but national chains or cooperatives) would tend not to have that title available. Is that a US thing that they would order from Amazon? Printing-on-demand is potentially interesting, but just not a thing for most titles.

Re: The emergence of print-on-demand Amazon paperback books

#146

Post by gorjusborg »

There are a few things I take away from this post:

1. If you care about the physical manifestation of a product, maybe Amazon.com is not the place to be shopping for it.

2. If the product as it arrives is substantially different from that ordered, it seems dishonest of the seller.

3. While the physical book is a source of joy for me as well, I feel lucky to live in a time where I can own a copy of a book that only a handful of people value, for a reasonable price.

Re: The emergence of print-on-demand Amazon paperback books

#147

Post by ubermonkey »

A while back I wanted to reread _Slaughterhouse 5_. I couldn't find my copy, my go-to local didn't have one in stock and would take a week or more to get it, and the library's was checked out, so I held my nose ordered one from Amazon.

The copy I received two days later was (a) kinda shitty in terms of cover quality and whatnot and (b) had been printed in my state by Amazon in response to my order. I found that pretty unnerving, and it may have been the last book I ordered from Amazon.

Re: The emergence of print-on-demand Amazon paperback books

#149

Post by telefun5463 »

As a French reader, from a small city with multiple independent book shops: The simplest fix wouldn't be to just stop buying from Amazon ? Independent bookstores and used book sellers solve every problem in this article, often at better prices. They also deserve the support. Reading "elevates minds", but the shops, publishers, and supply chains don't sustain themselves on good vibes alone.

Re: The emergence of print-on-demand Amazon paperback books

#150

Post by practal »

Print-on-demand Amazon paperback books can have great quality. It is mainly the responsibility of the author, by doing proper layout, and choosing a nice paper option. I've self-published with Amazon KDP, and am really happy with the result.

It can happen that the particular printing person on that day fucks up though.

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