Re: Electronic OA plus print on demand model for books

[Joseph Esposito <espositoj@gmail.com>]

Ahmed, I don't understand your point.  This is exactly what I was 
saying.  Heather seemed to think that POD was less expensive (on 
a unit basis) for any quantity.

The actual cut-off point for when to move to POD (or, more 
precisely, digital printing, since much work of this kind is 
SRP--short run printing--not POD, which implies one copy at a 
time) varies.  Most academic presses in the U.S. find that the 
cut-off is in the range of 300-600 units, with digital printing 
being used for quantities below that mark and offset for 
quantities above it.  The costs vary by quantity, type of 
equipment, shipping charges, overheads, etc.

It is noteworthy that offset only a few years ago was not 
competitive for quantities under 3,000-4,000 copies.  So even as 
POD has taken a strong market position, offset has become more 
efficient.

But nothing is more efficient than an electronic display.

Joe Esposito