NetLibrary Adds Print On Demand Ebook Services

Posted on June 2, 2000

netLibrary Inc., a provider of eBooks and Internet-based content, has announced the addition of print on demand (POD) to the services it offers publishers and retailers. netLibrary is developing both distributed and enterprise eBook POD offerings. netLibrary currently develops and distributes eBook titles from more than 300 publishers.

``With this entry into the print on demand market, netLibrary is demonstrating its ability to securely distribute eBooks through diverse channels to a wide variety of platforms,'' said netLibrary President and CEO Rob Kaufman. ``POD helps us broaden publishers' revenue opportunities while increasing efficiencies for those with a necessity for smaller print runs.''

netLibrary and Xerox Corp. plan to co-develop a distributed on-demand book printing and binding system involving in-store kiosks. netLibrary will convert, store and securely distribute eBooks via the Internet to an integrated configuration of Xerox printers located in retail outlets. The Xerox system will include automated ``print-only-when-authorized'' controls and detailed transaction reporting.

``Local book production at the point of demand is the next logical step for on-demand books,'' said Pete Perine, vice president and general manager of Publishing Services for Xerox' Graphic Arts Business Unit. ``netLibrary's extensive and growing collection of Internet-based eBooks makes an excellent fit with Xerox's distributed print on demand technologies.''

In addition to its initiative with Xerox, netLibrary has signed letters of intent to provide POD book files through Sprout Inc. and Bookmobile. Sprout has developed a solution for in-store print on demand that is scalable to feed enterprise solutions. Bookmobile is a digital book printer that currently produces thousands of quality short-run books each month.