Digital Book Print

FAQ’s

 

What is print-on-demand (POD)?
At Digital Book Print, we understand POD to mean the ability to print anything from 1 book for a fixed price per copy, from a managed library.
What are the benefits of POD?
• You can minimize the risks of launching a new title as POD is now a cost-effective solution.
• You won't need to turn your house into a warehouse or pay for someone else to store your books.
• You can get further copies printed when you need them, either to maintain a minimum stock or even once you have received an order.
• You will pay the same to get one copy printed as you will to get 10, 20 or 30 copies printed
• You will never have to let any of your books go out of print.
• You can use POD to print sample copies for marketing purposes.
• You can maintain a back-list.
• You can print in an environmentally friendly way

How many books do I have to print?
As digital technology has improved the number of books needed to make a print run viable has constantly been reduced. We have now reached the point that single copy print runs are possible. You can now sell a book to your client and produce that book to order. We’ll even take care of the postage for you to make sure that it arrives with your client quickly and in pristine condition.

How do I have to supply my book?
We would like you to supply your work as a PDF. To ensure that we print your book to the highest quality, the PDF should be created using Acrobat distiller. The settings you need are available to download and add to your settings folder. Please contact us if you require more information on this.

What if I don’t have a PDF of my book?
If you have a hard copy of your book we can scan this to create PDF for you. If you have your file in another format, we can accept this and covert it into a PDF for you. Both scanning and file conversion will incur additional costs.

How does the POD process work?
To ensure that we are able to fulfil your orders we need to set up your titles in our digital warehouse. This means that, initially, we would ask for a high resolution PDF, which we will use to print and bind a proof copy, which we will send to you for your approval. Once you have approved this copy, we will hold this master copy and its corresponding files ready for you to order and re-order as many times as you want.

What sort of books can you make?
The process is suitable for any type of book, even those with photos, diagrams and drawings in them, in colour or black and white.

What paper do you use?
As part of our environmental commitment, all of our stocks are PEFC or FSC certified and come in a range of weights, from 80gsm to 100gsm. Bookwove is also available.

Can my book include line drawings, half tones and colour?
Yes. Your books can include all of these elements and still be produced to order.

Is there a minimum or maximum number of pages?

Yes. To effectively perfect bind a book we would not recommend less than 64pps. The maximum number of pages would vary dependent upon the paper stock required, but based upon a 90gsm offset would be in the region of 1200pps.

Can I decide what format the books gets published in and what the selling price will be?
Yes. The format of the book and the selling price are entirely your decision. We have created a system that is completely flexible. We are always happy to give advice on alternative methods of production that may save you money or time, but the final decision is yours and we will never tell you that you must make the format of your titles suit us!

Will my final book be the same quality as the original?
The quality of the finished product is always dependent upon the quality of the artwork supplied. There are also some differences in how digital technology compares to lithographic technology. However, as we are using the very latest in digital technology, the quality of the finished product should always be as good as the original.

Would you tell me if the quality of my original copy was too poor for reproduction?
Yes. We will always give advice to you about your order. If we believe that the quality can be improved or savings can be made our policy is to ensure that this is passed on to you.

What happens to original book I give you once you've finished with it?
To scan the pages and create a print ready PDF we do need to remove the cover of your original book and break the book apart. If you need the original, we can send it back to you once the order has been despatched.

Will I get a proof copy to check before you start printing the first copy?
Yes. We will print and bind a proof copy, which we will send to you for your approval. Once you have approved this copy, we will hold this master copy and its corresponding files ready for you to order and re-order as many times as you want.

How long will it all take before you're ready to print?
Our standard lead-times are 7 days from proof approval to delivery.

How do I pay for my job?
If you have an account with us, we will invoice you when your books are dispatched on a 30 day term and you can pay by cheque, credit card or bank transfer. New customers might be asked to pay at the time of placing their order. We offer full credit card payment facilities on our website.

Once you've printed my book, who controls the copyright on further print-runs?
The copyright of the books held in our digital library will always remain with the publisher.

Can I make subsequent changes to my book after it's been printed?
Changes can be made to files held in our digital library, but we would need to set the files up again and create new proof copies for approval. This is to ensure that we are always working from the most up to date files possible. For this reason we would strongly recommend that changes are kept to a minimum.

Does the ISBN need to be changed?
If the book is printed in a new format then you may need a new ISBN, but this is your responsibility. If you're just switching to digital printing without changing the format then you won't need to change the ISBN.

Can I use the text for another format, such as on the internet, on a PC or for an electronic book reader?
Yes. We are able to generate e-books or files suitable for web display using the original files supplied.

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