Northshire Bookstore — located in Manchester Center, VT — is one of the first retailers in North America to acquire an Espresso Book Machine. The Espresso, which the employees call “Lurch,” resides in a corner behind the sales desk, steadily producing books on demand.
Northshire is being watched closely by the industry because success there could mean success elsewhere. Their “ATM for books” performs fairly well and should eventual pay for itself. According to The Boston Globe, the newest version of the Espresso costs from $79,000 to $95,000. It may be leased for $1,250 to $1,650 a month.
Many writers have expressed an interest in using the Espresso to self-publish. Unsurprisingly, the Northshire machine’s potential as a print-on-demand utility has attracted local authors. Northshire charges a $49 setup fee and a per-page rate beginning at 9 cents and going down depending on the number of pages printed. They also supply editorial and design services from third-party providers.
The Espesso Book Machine continues to be a powerful tool for both readers and self-publishers. It’s ideal for printing obscure titles, public domain works, reference books and summer reading material. It’s also great for vanity books, family histories, memoirs and niche-market titles.
How do you plan to use the Espresso? How far would you travel to gain access to one?
0 responses so far ↓
There are no comments yet...Kick things off by filling out the form below.