In an exclusive interview with Gulf News, he explained what this means: “Print on demand is the ability to print a single copy of a book quickly and in high quality when a sale takes place. It allows publishers, distributors, wholesalers and booksellers to sell a book first and then have it produced.”
This is quite different from traditional printing. He explains: “Traditional printing involves printing a large quantity at once to anticipate future sales. This requires warehousing and can lead to overstocking. Print on demand prints books as soon as they are ordered, eliminating overstocking. Also, since the book is printed and shipped close to the end customer, it saves on shipping costs and is better for the environment.”
My vision for print-on-demand came from thinking that it would be a smart idea if we could sell a book first and then print it, rather than filling our wholesale warehouse with books we had bought and hoped to sell.
– John Ingram, American businessman
Ingram’s decision to bring the Lightning Source-on-Demand service to Sharjah was in response to high market demand from publishers. “I was also personally very impressed by His Highness Sheikh Sultan bin Mohammad Al Qasimi’s vision for Sharjah and all the good work that has been done to make Sharjah a cultural centre for the written word,” he says.
Main challenges
According to him, the biggest challenges facing the printing industry today are environmental pressures and the need to reduce a book’s carbon footprint. “The book industry is publishing more titles than ever before. The traditional model of printing first and delivering from stock is increasingly being challenged in this world with millions of titles, often with very specific demand profiles.”
The machines Ingram uses to print books are those commonly used by traditional printers and can be used for any print run. However, the group’s uniqueness lies in its IT capabilities and its connection to resale channels, meaning it can print a book when there is demand.
But what relevance does print-on-demand have today?
“With the shift to online purchases, it has become increasingly attractive to print books as close to the end customer as possible, to guarantee fast delivery, to enable the publisher to never miss a sale due to low or no stock, to not let titles go out of stock, to be able to meet long-term demand, etc.,” he says.
A sale is never lost
“Print-on-demand has provided solutions to publishers by keeping books alive and always available so no sale is lost. Books can stay in print so sales can be made without having to hold inventory. Costs are removed from the supply chain by not printing too much. Depreciation costs on obsolete inventory are reduced. Transportation costs are reduced and cash can be put to better use instead of being tied up in excess inventory – these are just some of the benefits,” he continued.
He believes print-on-demand can also play a big role in helping the industry reduce its environmental footprint. “So a book can be produced in a market where there is a sale, rather than printing and shipping it from a warehouse in an offshore warehouse. That reduces transportation costs and the associated CO2 emissions enormously.”
Ingram’s global print-on-demand service made titles available to booksellers in other markets without having to sell the rights or ship inventory and hold it in a warehouse on a speculative basis.
Widely used model
“We link our print-on-demand service with wholesale distributors, so that, for example, a bookseller in London or New York can order a title and receive it within a few days. Ingram, as a wholesaler, sells the title to the bookseller at the price set by the publisher, produces the book to order, deducts the printing costs and pays the publisher the balance. This model is very widely used around the world,” he explains.
As for the cost factor, Ingram says publishers have come to understand that it’s not just the cost of printing the book. “It’s all the other costs that have to be considered too. For example, the cost of a lost sale because the stock is no longer available; the cost of capital tied up in unsold stock; the cost of transporting stock around the world to hold it speculatively in a market; the cost of having a distributor hold the stock in a warehouse for you, etc.”
Since 1998, Lightning Source has provided publishers and authors with access to the industry’s most comprehensive book sales channels and has since grown into the world’s largest print-on-demand service, serving publishers in nearly 150 countries and in over 350 languages.
Definition of success
When asked how he defines success, Ingram’s answer is a shot in the arm: “It takes a lot of things to be successful, but I would say two very important factors are having a vision and putting together a team of people who share that vision and can execute it.”
He reveals: “My vision for print-on-demand came from the idea that it would be a smart idea if we could sell a book first and then print it, rather than filling our wholesale warehouse with books we’ve bought and hope to sell. I also want to say to our publishing clients that when they’re successful, we’re successful. Shared success is a very powerful thing.”
