This has been coming for quite some time, and like many other techno advances it is a slow, laborious process that may, or may not pay off in the end. Thanks to 'In For Questioning' for bringing this blurb to my attention:
“An ATM For Books” - Buying a book could become as easy as buying a pack of gum. After several years in development, the Espresso - a $50,000 vending machine with a conceivably infinite library - is nearly consumer-ready and will debut in ten to 25 libraries and bookstores in 2007. The New York Public Library is scheduled to receive its machine in February…. The machine can print, align, mill, glue and bind two books simultaneously in less than seven minutes, including full-color laminated covers. It prints in any language and will even accommodate right-to-left texts by putting the spine on the right. The upper page limit is 550 pages… "
This will mean a huge, tremendous, un-equaled earthquake in the publishing industry, for while all fancy, big, New York publishers will be printable via this machine... so will EVERY book in the 'books in print' database.
Yep, small publishers, pod, on-line publishers... EQUAL FOOTING in the what was (or will be) once traditional brick and mortar sources. Every outlet that has these machines in them (and I definately foresee a spread from the initial insertion to all the big chain stores aka: Wal-Mart, Walgreens, etc...) will become the brick and mortar paperback sources that are so impenetrable to small, or indi pubs now.
There will come a time...and it's coming soon.
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