The document discusses the opportunities for book printers in digital book printing. It notes that while print volumes are declining overall, the number of titles being published is increasing. This has led to high inventory costs as up to 50% of printed books go unsold. Digital printing offers book printers the ability to print on demand, reducing inventory risks. It also allows for local and on-site printing, faster production times to market, and customization. The document provides an example of a printer that has benefited from Ricoh's digital solutions through automated workflows and same-day turnarounds.

1. Print and
beyond
insights
The digital book printing
opportunity
Roger Christiansen
January 2013

2. Contents
 The challenge facing book printers
 The inventory problem
 On demand digital printing to reduce inventory
 How to take advantage
 Customer references
 Ricoh solutions
 Summary
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3. The challenge facing book printers
Print
volumes Profit
eBooks No of Print
titles costs
Overall, print volumes are declining. At the same time the As a result, print costs per
This is due to changing reading habits, number of titles being title have been increasing,
and partly due to eBooks which are published is increasing. putting pressure on the
growing rapidly, There are 1,000,000 profitability of Book Printers
manuscripts looking for a and their clients, the
publisher in the world at any Publishers
given moment (Source:
Content Marketing
Association)
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4. The inventory problem
“Managing inventory and dealing with the problem of unsold books
is extremely risky and expensive for publishers. It is estimated that
up to 50% of all books printed remain unsold and have to be pulped,
creating huge inefficiencies and added cost in the supply chain,
which cannot easily be quantified when a book is published.”
(Source: Pira International*)
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5. On demand digital printing to reduce inventory
 79% of jobs in 2011 fell into a category of production volumes under 5,000 -
which is suited to digital production. (Source: Pira)
 Hence digital book printing is growing rapidly – and is now 6% of all book
printing in North America
 Ultra-short production runs are cost-effective when the latest digital print
technologies are used – reducing inventory
Suited to digital production
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6. How to take advantage
 Digital printing can radically change the business model for book printing
Print on demand or just in time to manage inventory,
reducing the problem of unsold books
Print locally / print on-site instead of printing
offshore - opens up competition for local providers
Flexibility - streamlined workflow efficiency
allows last minute changes / additions
Reduce production time: get books to market
quicker or respond to demand more effectively
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7. Innovations with digital books
Interactive content Customisation
New technologies like Ricoh Text books can be tailored to the
‘Clickable Paper’ concept bring the student; novels to the reader; and
printed page to life. business messages to the target
audience.
For example: students could click on
images within School books to
access additional information via
Smartphone
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8. Client Example: Re.Be.L
Digital book printing Challenges
• Diversify service offering
• Print books on demand
Ricoh helps commercial • Personalise content
printer profit from new • Provide fast turnaround
• Minimise production costs
business venture
Solution
• End-to-end solution
• InfoPrint® continuous feed printer
• Pro™ series digital cut sheet press
• InfoPrint® ProcessDirector
Results
• Automated workflow
• Massive production capacity
• Same day turnaround
• Cost-effective to print just 1 copy
“Using Ricoh’s technology, we are able to meet growing customer
demand quickly and at affordable pricing. It is now possible to
print a single copy or 1,500 copies of a book profitably. Ricoh’s
solution automates the workflow, integrating the management of
data and processes to speed production and optimise output
quality.”
Roberto Noviello, Head of Projects at Re.Be.L
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9. Ricoh solutions for Digital book printing
 Digital Printers
– Mono – Black and White Cutsheet and
Continuous Form Production Printers
– Colour - Colour Cutsheet and
Continuous Feed Inkjet Printers
– Finishing - wide range of options
 Software and Solutions
– IPPD Workflow automation
– TotalFlow Cadence for Publishing
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10. Summary
 The time is right for Print Service Providers to
take advantage of the opportunities in Digital
book printing
 The move to digital means that European
printers can not only capture new business but
also provide a local value-added service for
publishers
 Find out more on Ricoh Business Driver
Ricoh-europe.com/printandbeyond
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11. Thank you
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