the espresso book printing machine is an author’s new best friend
The Espresso Book Printing Machine (EBM) has got to be the coolest thing to enter the publishing world since the e-book.
the espresso printing machine is amazing
I watched a book printed and bound before our eyes at McNally Robinson Booksellers in Winnipeg in a matter of approximately five minutes. The book that was printed in the EBM machine was a first class product and looked as though you’d plucked it right off the bookshelf.
Here’s the link to a video of a book being printed: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wte2vdmxOk4. Awesome.
How wonderful that is for authors, booksellers, and the book-buying public! Authors no longer have to print large quantities of their books when self-publishing. Booksellers no longer have to carry any quantity of a particular title. All they really need is one or two in order to give customers the opportunity to see and feel the book they want to purchase. And customers no longer have to place an order and wait for books that are out of stock. It’s a win-win-win situation.
McNally Robinson has a terrific website with a full section devoted to self-publishing as they have printed, sold, and hosted book launches and events for more authors than any other bookseller in Manitoba. I had my own launch for “Before You Say Yes … A Guide to the Pleasures & Pitfalls of Volunteer Boards” back in 2010 and it was one of the highlights of my writing career. John Toews is truly an event-planning expert with the author in mind.
The McNally site tells us that the self-published author has three areas of concern:
Production: With the EBM, you prepare your manuscript according to specifications and sign an agreement with McNally Robinson. You can then print anywhere from one to hundreds of copies of your book. Cost is generally ~$10/book to print on the EBM.
Promotion: As a customer of the EBM agreement, McNally will help you arrange a book launch in their beautiful store and will publicize it extensively for you.
Distribution: McNally Robinson will sell the book in their stores, will sell it on their e-commerce site, and will make it available for Print-on-Demand purchase at other bookstores that have EBM’s anywhere around the world.
I will be self-publishing “Chocolatour: A Quest for the World’s Best Chocolate” in November and may be using the Espresso machine for a ‘toned down’ black & white version of my own book as an option to the more costly full colour version. I am still compiling research and this post is part of that process. I’d love to hear your thoughts. Have you used the EBM to print your own self-published book? Were you pleased with the process?
Have you used the EBM to print a book you were purchasing as a member of the book-buying public? Were you pleased with the quality of the product the machine produced for you?
Please share your thoughts and experiences with us all. We’re all learning from one another and I’m thrilled to be your hostess for the process.
Dear, Doreen. Your posts are always a great source of knowledge. Thank you for the work you put into this blog.
I had a wonderful time while going through your article. It taught me much about the espresso printing machine. Best Wishes and have a good day ahead.
an extremely interesting an innovative way to print! Thanks so much for sharing. I’d love to see this used for textbooks and other ‘large’ jobs!
The University of Alberta Bookstore also has an Espresso Book Printing Machine. I believe that some small publishers, as well as individual authors, are using it to produce books.By all reports, the results are very good.
Hi Merna and thanks for dropping into the blog. Good to know the UAB bookstore has an Espresso printing machine. I could see where it would be very useful in the printing of textbooks.
The Espresso Book Machine is a great idea to print a single book. It’s not very useful for printing many copies, as the cost per copy is too high compared to conventional printers. And the problem with any printing technology is preparing the book so it will look professionally produced, which is not as easy as many self-publishers think it is.
I have many new resources on my website to help authors with that tricky process. Do read the review of a new workbook that takes you through the process, step by step, with lots of screen shots, using free or very inexpensive software. It’s at: http://www.SimonTeakettle.com.
Thanks for sharing your site with us, Bobbi. You do indeed have many valuable resources there for writers and authors.
I’m finding the information available to us seems to be endless. Finding just the right info for our particular situation(s) is what seems to be the stickler. We’re all learning together and it’s great that we’re sharing resources. Do drop in again soon!
Hi, Doreen,
I see you’ve learned that the EBM can’t do interior colour, and so is not a good option for you. it is, however, a terrific option for student anthologies, which is what I’ve used it for. By printing with the EBM, family members are able to go in and get as many copies of the student anthologies-which are not otherwise offered for sale–as they’d like, and pay only the printing cost.
McNally’s has pretty clear instructions on how to format both the word doc for the interior, and the cover. The cover is the tough bit (especially when looking at measurements on a tiny laptop screen). The first year i did the student anthology I had a designer prepare the files for McNally’s. The second year I did it all myself. i think next year, I will do the interior, but hire a designer to take care of the cover 🙂
Cheers,
Anita
Thanks so much, Anita, for sharing your experiences and insights regarding the EBM. It’s obviously a technology in evolution, just as other POD services such as Lightning Source are enhancing their services over time. How lucky we are as authors to have so many options. Cheers to that!
This is pretty amazing. Technology is certainly making it easy for those of us who create content to put it out there, in this case it’s books. I’m in the process of doing an eBook, but now that I see this the option of doing some hard copies would me amazing. Thanks!
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Thanks for dropping by, Dennis.
Yes, we’re most fortunate to be creators in this day and age. There are so many options to make it easy for us to get our work out there. Good luck with your e-book!
As some of our authors have had readings at McNally Stores since our business was started in 2002 the books were printed and binded by Leech Printing in Brandon, Manitoba. Leech has always done an excellet job and continue to do so. This Expresso book printing machine certainly sounds like a good idea for authors who are looking for options on printing and binding there hard work.
Phyllis
Hi Phyllis, and thanks for dropping by the blog. It’s always nice to have a fellow Manitoban join the conversation.
There are indeed a few veery good printers in Manitoba. It’s just nice to see the Espresso machine as an option for some projects. The more options we have as authors … the better!
I like the concept. I don’t know whether a machine like this exists in our local McNally Robinson or not, but I sure hope so.
Hi Bonnie: I’ve just learned that unfortunately, the McNally Robinson’s in Saskatoon doesn’t have an Espresso book printing machine. Hopefully … in the future, if there is enough demand for it.
Really interesting & informative blog Doreen. I like that they’re showing people the process. I saw on YouTube there is one in Blackwells bookshop in London. The quality of self pubs seems to be good on the inside but the covers are always noticeably not a regular paperback- tend to be thinner & spring open after use. Maybe there are choices one can make though. Sounds like u need to go top end with yours.
Thanks so much for sharing the info & good luck with your own publication. You must be excited it is close to publishing now.
Thanks for your comment, A.K.
Yes, I really want my book to come out top-notch, so I think I will have to deal with a traditional printing house that is well known for its colour production. And yes, I’m getting excited, but first I have to finish the writing! My desktop computer has been in the shop for a full week (hard-drive being rebuilt) so it has really thrown off my writing flow. Here’s hoping I can get back into it with a vengeance next week.
Thanks, Doreen for this information. I cannot wait to see your book in November! Hope you’ve had a great summer.
Thanks, Jay! Yes, summer has been great, and in a way … is getting in the way of the writing! I hope to still be able to make the Nov publication date, but lost a whole week with my desktop being in the shop to be rebuilt. But we writers persevere, don’t we?
I am working on a rewrite for the publisher right now for a book. I am encouraged by their guidance and hope to resubmit the manuscript this fall. Onward and upward!
Good luck with it and keep me/us posted!
Thanks for your post Doreen – I have heard about this machine at McNally and am excited about it. A friend of mine had a book published with it. He had no publishing experience prior to getting it published and it looks awesome.
I understand that there is a $100 set up fee. Still it is a pretty good deal. I know that if you opt for a printer to do your book it is considerably more and they charge extra for color pictures.
I deal with a small publisher which makes it the next best thing to self publishing. For a contract fee they do editing, layout, cover design, and arrange for ISBN, depository copies and CIP. Still I will ask them to get the printin done by McNally next time.
As you have said correctly MCNally is wonderful with small puiblishers and self published writers doing everything to encourage and support. I’m always pleased to do business with them and am delighted they have taken on this latest undertaking
Hi Harry and thanks for the great comment.
Yes, McNally’s have now sent me the guidelines for the Espresso machine and they don’t do colour pics, but black and white is done well.
There are 3 package prices. The top one being $100 and book printing is $6/book plus .02/page. So it’s definitely a very economical and viable option for many authors and many types of books.
Hi, Doreen,
Wow! I’ve never heard of this kind of Expresso machine! I wish they’d start putting these in coffee shops! Wouldn’t that be cool? Many writer’s groups already meet in coffee shops. If they could also print their books there, they could do book signings there, too!
Just shows how much the world is changing these days! I hope we get these machines here in the USA soon. Thanks for the informative post!
Hi Suzanne and thanks for dropping in. I can’t imagine that they don’t have EBM’s in the US. Have you checked/googled?
The bookstore where we have one does have an amazing resto where people gather and have author’s events. It truly is a literary hub and the perfect place for a book printing machine.
Very interesting article, Doreen! I’ll certainly be watching for more news on EBM system of publishing, since this is the first time hearing about it.
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Hi Esther: Yes it really is a neat idea, particularly for books that are primarily text as yours I imagine will be. Try googling it to see if you can find a bookstore in Vancouver that has one.
I think there is a one-time set-up fee at McNally’s, too, Doreen – over $100, I heard, then the $10/book is in addition to that.
I think it’s a pretty expensive venture. Self-publishing authors will still need to hire a great editor, graphic designer for a professional looking layout, etc. I would be sure to check out the competition, i.e. printing companies like Hignall’s who have a self-publishing operation and in-house editors/designers to help with covers, etc.
In addition, you are a professional author with a following and great self-marketing skills. Even if you are only going to be publishing 500 copies at a time, you could probably get a far better price elsewhere, with a printer who has experience in colour work and can adjust the run immediately if something is a bit off. Prolific Graphics did my publishing work for me when I was in that game, and their colour man was amazing.
McNally’s machine is an amazing little thing and it has its place. But there is nothing like a human expert(s) to take your book to the next level and make it really shine. Quite frankly, I think you are beyond the EBM.
Thanks for the most insightful comment, Elizabeth, and for continuing to follow my blog. It’s been awhile since you last joined the conversation. (I hope all is well.)
I will indeed get some more quotes and put some more thought into the printing process for Chocolatour. I will be launching a Kickstarter project to help offset the high costs of printing soon, so stay tuned! I really want this book to have a perfect look and feel as I think it will be my best effort yet.
I do have a professional team working with me (self-publishing coach, editor, designer and illustrator) so the printing process is the only piece of the pie yet TBD. Distribution is a key as the audience is global. There are a lot of chocolate-loving travellers in the world!
I have no experience with this. It will be interesting to see how you finally end up publishing your book.
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Thanks, Cheryl. I’m certainly looking at all the options!
Shame we don’t have something like that here. That would definitely be a really great opportunity for aspiring writers that are thinking of self-publishing their own books.
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Hi Adeline:
The best thing to do is to send your favourite local bookseller the link to this post so that they can become aware of the technology if they don’t already know about it.
I’m so sorry to hear of the tragedy in the Philippines right now re the flooding. I hope you are high and dry. I’ll go over to your blog now to read more.
Thanks for taking the time to drop in here.
Yes, we were among the lucky ones that didn’t really have much of a problem with the floods. I’ve tweeted a couple of my friends and some of the bookstores here about this. With any luck one or more of them will get interested with it and bring it here to the Philippines.
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Hi Doreen,
It looks like a great new innovative way to print a book. I will be interested to know more as you look into it further because I cannot imagine your book with all of the colour images being $10.00 to produce. Perhaps that is the average price of a paperback novel, but from experience colour images can’t be produced for that price.
I haven’t heard of this process as intriguing as it is there is still a contract to sign which would mean limited distribution.
Have you looked into the pricing of your Chocolatour book at other print on demand publishers (Createspace for example?)
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Hi Lesley, and thanks for being the 1st to comment on this post.
I believe that McNally Robinson is suggesting that $10/book is the suggested cost for the average book. I know that my book will be far from average in many ways. 🙂
Having an abundance of colour pics will undoubtedly add to the cost, and I’m checking to see if they can give me a quote specific to my project. The post was more for discussion and just to get the idea out there. I’ll let you know what I find out.
I haven’t yet been in touch with Createspace, but did get a quote from our local traditional printer and was quoted in excess of $11/book for printing costs if I take a quantity of at least 500. I will be checking out other POD services as I’ve just heard this week that they are now able to do full colour better than previously.