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Print on demand

Frequently asked questions

Print on demand background

What is print-on-demand (POD)?
Put simply, it's new technology that lets you print one book at a time.

How will printing one book at a time help me?
You'll avoid all the pitfalls of larger print-runs - higher costs, inventory hassles and storage expense.

How many books do I have to print?
There's no minimum and no maximum. But if you do want to print a large number then conventional printing might be cheaper than POD. Just give us the details and we'll let you know the best method.

Supplying the book

What's the best way for me to supply you with the book?
To get the best quality we'd always recommend that you supply us with a digital file of the book. Ideally, as a PDF or PostScript. (More on providing digital files.)

Can I publish a book by POD if I don't have a digital file of it?
Yes, all we need is a hard copy of the book. We'll take it apart, scan it and produce a digital copy ready for printing.

Extra copies

What happens if I need extra copies printed?
We hold all the books we print on a secure server with a back-up copy. So you only need to supply us with a digital file once, or we only need to scan the book once, and then we can reprint whenever you want us to.

Technical details

What formats and bindings can you make?
All sizes up to A4. The manufacturing price will adjust at these points:

What paper do you use?
We'll use only are the top grades and industry standards. That's 80gsm Vol. 12.5 MF for the text and 250gsm cover stock for the cover. This is our standard paper. For a 10 per cent surcharge, we'll print your text on 80gsm Vol. 18 Bookwove, 70gsm MF or 100gsm.

Can my book include line drawings, half tones and colour?
Yes we can reproduce all these. But there are quality issues to need to bear in mind. So, if you're worried, speak to us.

Is there a minimum or maximum number of pages?
Yes:

Can I decide what format the books gets published in and what the selling price will be?
Yes, you'll have complete control.

Quality control

Will my final book be the same quality as the original?
Quality depends on a couple of points:

Would you tell me if the quality of my original copy was too poor for reproduction?
Yes, we don't want unhappy customers. We'll always have a pretty good idea of the final quality, so we'll always let you know. But of course the final decision is yours.

Can you print a paperback from a hardback original or a hardback from a paperback?
Yes we can, but we may have to charge more to recreate the cover.

What happens to original book I give you once you've finished with it?
To scan it we'll have to take it apart. We can rebind it for a charge.

Will I get a proof copy to check before you start printing the first copy?
Yes, we won't start printing until you're perfectly happy with the proof copy.

How long?

Okay, I've asked you to print my book, how long will it all take before you're ready to print?
We'll need to take into account our workload of course, so it's always best to ask us. But printing from a digital file is always quicker than if we have to scan the book. As a general rule of thumb though we aim for the following timescales:

How long does it take to print?
Once you give us the go-ahead, we should have reprint books printed in 10 working days. We'll fulfill orders via the Gardners system in 48 hours for paperback books.

Delivery and payment

How will you deliver my books?
Both Gardners and ourselves always use reliable couriers to deliver.

How do I pay for my job?
You'll be invoiced when you receive your books. Our terms are 30 days net. New customers might be asked to pay before delivery.

Rights, prices etc

Once you've printed my book, who controls the copyright on further print-runs?
You do.

Can I make subsequent changes to my book after it's been printed?
Changes are charged at £50.00 per hour in 15-minute increments. However, if changes are extensive it may be more appropriate to supply new files, in which case a new set-up fee is charged.

Does the ISBN need to be changed?
If the book is printed in a new format then you may need a new ISBN, but this is your responsibility (you can find out more about ISBN here). If you're just switching to digital printing without changing the format then you won't need to change the ISBN.

Can I use the text for another format, such as on the internet, on a PC or for an electronic book reader?
Yes. If you originally supplied us with a digital file then this is no problem. The price will vary depending on what exactly you need.

What happens if I want to change the price of the book?
It's completely up to you. If the price is quoted on the book, it'll need to be changed. If it isn't then you can charge what you like.