Despite ebooks and audiobooks being in trend, a paperback version of a book still holds huge importance in a reader’s life. According to a study, about 75% of readers still prefer paperbacks over other formats of books. The musky aroma of paper and fragrance of ink, the well-thumbed pages and the cathartic sound of flipping through pages is a completely different feeling for a reader. Holding a book in hand, how many times have you lost yourself entirely in the stories? Ample, uncountable and endless times, would be your answer. But do you know there is a story behind printing the book that you proudly hold as a finished product? Ever wondered what happens behind the scene? Let us tell you.
Book Printing in India:
Writing and publishing a book existed long before printing was first introduced to the world. Authors often wrote their books multiple times and kept several copies of their works in public libraries for people to read. When the demand for books increased, the invention of the first movable type printing press took place. The low-cost production of books helped everyone to afford a book.
Time passed and the book printing process evolved. Currently, there are three types of book printing available in India. While traditional publishers generally opt for offset printing, self publishing companies like Damick Publications go for digital printing and then comes the third option which is print on demand. Here is what you need to know about different types of printing:
Offset Printing –
Offset Printing is an age-old technique where an offset machine is used for bulk production of books. This simply indicates that the offset machine requires a huge initial investment for book printing. In this printing process, ink is transferred to a metal plate, onto a rubber sheet, which is then turned into paper. The sheets of paper are then cut according to the various dimensions of a book and then bound and stitched together to form a book. This is a long and tedious process. Since the books are printed in bulk, additional investment is required for the warehousing and shipping of books.
Digital Printing –
Digital Printing was developed to meet the short-run demand for a book and lessen the burden of maintaining a huge inventory by the publishers. This mode of printing is faster than the offset mode and offers better quality printing at a reasonable cost. Digital printing has now evolved as the preferred mode of printing by the leading book publishers in India. Unlike, offset printing, digital printing requires low initial investment and leads to less expenditure in maintaining the inventory.
The best part is, that your publisher has the book ready to dispatch within the same day of receiving the order. Also, your urgent demand for author copies can be met without waiting in the queue of book printers.
Print on Demand –
Print on Demand or On-demand book printing was developed to keep older books in print without having to print and hoard them unless an order is received first. This eliminates the requirement for money to be invested in stocking the book.
In this mode of book printing, you can print as many books as you require when an order is received. A vast majority of self-publishers are taking the POD route to save the cost of printing and stocking even a smaller number of books. However, as the books are not printed before the order is received, there is always a possibility of delay in the dispatch of printed books. This may lead to the cancillation of orders.
Printed on-demand assures that fresh stock is delivered to you whenever you place an order. However, the quality of printing in print on demand is not as good as in Digital printing. This mode of printing is mostly used by low-budgeted self-publishing houses that majorly work on cost-saving.
Damick Publications uses digital printing mode to print and keep 20 – 100 copies of your book readily available in the inventory to quickly dispatch all orders received on e-commerce websites like Amazon and Flipkart. Keeping a minimum number of copies in stock also facilitates meeting the urgent requirement of Author copies.
Damick Publications aims to maintain a high level of transparency at each stage of the publishing process. We guide the author with what’s best for them and help them establish and grow their career in writing.
Learn about Types of Publishers in India