Thursday, March 25, 2010

Espresso Book Machine 2.0

In a week of discussions on the future of publishing, I would be remiss to focus only on text on a screen. Because, while I believe that ebooks are not just a passing fad, I also believe that print books will never ever--at least not in my generation or the next--be replaced by ebooks.

How we buy print books? That's constantly changing. I am just old enough to remember when Amazon started, how people said it would never replace brick and mortar stores. And, as much as I hate to say it...Amazon is. At least for now. Because one bit of tech that's been developing mostly quietly is the POD machine that can print, bind, and distribute a book to a waiting customer in literally minutes. The Espresso Book Machine is a marvel, and even though I'd never seen one, I'd heard a lot about it.

Fortunately, I found a really cool video that shows how the machine works with the cover off, letting you see just how quickly a new book can be printed...

14 comments:

Anonymous said...

Oh wow, that is really, really awesome!

Bish Denham said...

Something happened. A message came up in the in video box saying an error had a occured. Hmmmmmmm. That's technology for ya! :O

TerryLynnJohnson said...

this is a cool video, I wondered how it was done!

Christine Fonseca said...

These are amzing. I read an article about these things...

Carolyn V. said...

That's sweet!!!! Thanks for sharing Beth! =)

Karen Lange said...

Thanks! Have a great weekend!
:) Karen

Theresa Milstein said...

I wonder how it compares with the time it takes to print large quantities of books.

GoBison said...

We have an EBM at our store and it is fun to watch. Contact me if you want more information: kimberly.anvinson@ndsu.edu. We are also looking for authors to host events for. Keep us in mind. Thanks!

Elana Johnson said...

Wow - so cool!

Shannon O'Donnell said...

You are too fun! :-)

Susan Kaye Quinn said...

This is awesome - thanks! I may have to steal the video for a post next week! :)

PJ Hoover said...

Very cool! Thanks, Beth!

Sherrie Petersen said...

These machines are so cool. I hope they become more common. Seems like they would save everybody money in the long run.

Joshua McCune said...

reminds me a bit of the reprap -- a 3D printer that can replicate itself.