Print and beyond insights

The digital book printing opportunity

Roger Christiansen

January 2013

Contents

The challenge facing book printers The inventory problem On demand digital printing to reduce inventory How to take advantage Customer references Ricoh solutions Summary

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The challenge facing book printers

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Printcosts

No of titles

Print volumes Profit

eBooks

At the same time the number of titles being published is increasing.

There are 1,000,000 manuscripts looking for a publisher in the world at any given moment (Source: Content Marketing Association)

Overall, print volumes are declining. This is due to changing reading habits, and partly due to eBooks which are growing rapidly,

As a result, print costs per title have been increasing, putting pressure on the profitability of Book Printers and their clients, the Publishers

The inventory problem

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“Managing inventory and dealing with the problem of unsold books is extremely risky and expensive for publishers. It is estimated that up to 50% of all books printed remain unsold and have to be pulped, creating huge inefficiencies and added cost in the supply chain, which cannot easily be quantified when a book is published.” (Source: Pira International*)

On demand digital printing to reduce inventory

79% of jobs in 2011 fell into a category of production volumes under 5,000 - which is suited to digital production. (Source: Pira)

Hence digital book printing is growing rapidly – and is now 6% of all book printing in North America

Ultra-short production runs are cost-effective when the latest digital print technologies are used – reducing inventory

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Suited to digital production

How to take advantage

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Digital printing can radically change the business model for book printing

Print on demand or just in time to manage inventory, reducing the problem of unsold books

Print locally / print on-site instead of printing offshore - opens up competition for local providers

Flexibility - streamlined workflow efficiency allows last minute changes / additions

Reduce production time: get books to market quicker or respond to demand more effectively

Innovations with digital books

Customisation

Text books can be tailored to the student; novels to the reader; and business messages to the target audience.

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Interactive contentNew technologies like Ricoh ‘Clickable Paper’ concept bring the printed page to life.

For example: students could click on images within School books to access additional information via Smartphone

Client Example: Re.Be.L

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Challenges• Diversify service offering• Print books on demand• Personalise content• Provide fast turnaround• Minimise production costs

Solution• End-to-end solution• InfoPrint® continuous feed printer• Pro™ series digital cut sheet press• InfoPrint® ProcessDirector

Results• Automated workflow• Massive production capacity• Same day turnaround• Cost-effective to print just 1 copy

Digital book printing

Ricoh helps commercialprinter profit from newbusiness venture

“Using Ricoh’s technology, we are able to meet growing customer demand quickly and at affordable pricing. It is now possible to print a single copy or 1,500 copies of a book profitably. Ricoh’s solution automates the workflow, integrating the management ofdata and processes to speed production and optimise output quality.”

Roberto Noviello, Head of Projects at Re.Be.L

Ricoh solutions for Digital book printing

Digital Printers

– Mono – Black and White Cutsheet and Continuous Form Production Printers

– Colour - Colour Cutsheet and Continuous Feed Inkjet Printers

– Finishing - wide range of options

Software and Solutions

– IPPD Workflow automation

– TotalFlow Cadence for Publishing

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Summary

The time is right for Print Service Providers to take advantage of the opportunities in Digital book printing

The move to digital means that European printers can not only capture new business but also provide a local value-added service for publishers

Find out more on Ricoh Business Driver

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Ricoh-europe.com/printandbeyond

Thank you

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