When it comes to printing a book, there are many ways to reach the same goal. You may choose to coordinate it yourself or get expert advice from a publishing consultant like PublishMyBook.Online.
Your book may need to be printed via offset printing, digitally printed or made available worldwide via print-on-demand (POD) book printing technology. This decision is based on a complex array of needs and preferences for your book and for you as a self-published author. Factors include economics, paper quality, page size (book size), colour vs greyscale and what kind of book distribution you want.
Here is a handy table to help you decide which might suit you:
| Type of book | Number of copies I want | Distribution I want | |||||||
| 20-50 | 50-200 | 200-500 | 500-1000 | 1,000-2,000 | More than 2,000 | DIY and distributors I contact | Global automatic | ||
| Novel Greyscale |
POD | POD | Any | Any | Offset | Offset | Any | POD | |
| Non-fiction Greyscale |
POD | POD | Any | Any | Offset | Offset | Any | POD | |
| Non-fiction Full Colour |
POD | POD | Any | Any | Offset | Offset | Digital or Offset | POD | |
| Any book with particular paper quality, size or printing features such as spot UV |
X | X | X | Digital | Digital or Offset | Offset | Digital or Offset | X | |
| Non-fiction Greyscale, with one full colour section |
X | X | X | Digital | Digital or Offset | Offset | Digital or Offset | X | |
| Chapter book Greyscale |
POD | POD | Any | Any | Offset | Offset | Any | POD | |
| Picture book Full Colour |
POD | POD | Any | Any | Offset | Offset | Digital or Offset | POD | |
We can help with any of the above and will go with your decision at each step of the way. It is your book, so it needs to be published, printed and distributed your way.
Print on demand (POD)
Print on demand (POD) is a technology offered by large book distribution companies in response to the growing demand for self-publishing. The advantages of POD include:
- You can test the market without risking a large sum of money on printing
- No matter where the author or publisher is located, books can be made available worldwide as they are stored digitally and printed in the country where they are ordered or nearby
- You are able to print small runs (eg. 1-200)
- You will not need to store thousands of copies of your book in your garage, which you may not be able to sell
The disadvantages include:
- The unit costs of printing each book are higher than printing a larger volume (there is always an economy of scale in printing)
- Paper size, quality and type are limited to about thirty standard book sizes and only a handful of different paper thickness options
Letting you do the printing
We are also happy to design your book for print, and let you take the print-ready PDFs to your preferred printer. Please ensure we know that is your plan when requesting quotes from us, as our quotes always include project management and time to coordinate and reduce hassles for you.
Why Choose PMBO for Book Printing?
We have none of the self-serving bias of a printer, but all of the design and print know-how to ensure success. Give us the reins and we will take care of your book printing project, whether it is digital, offset or print on demand.
Please view some of our printed books.
How to choose a good book printer
Look for a printer that routinely prints and binds books. Ask for some paper samples or sample books so you can feel what the paper will be like. We are not printers; rather we find and utilise printers that are right for our customers.
If you are seeking printing quotes from multiple printing companies to compare with ours, we are not the right provider for you. PublishMyBook.Online is not a printing company, but a publishing project management agency. Comparing us to a printer is not balanced because if you go direct to a printer you are taking on board all the responsibility and time to coordinate it yourself, which can be a substantial burden.
If you’d rather not go through all the process of print procurement and coordinate book printing and shipping on your own, please contact us.