Espresso Print on Demand Book Printing Machine

Ran into this print on demand espresso book printing machine in St. Johnsbury, VT. Turns out not only is he printing off books to sell (and fill) on his bookshelves in the store, but he is running a publishing company from his bookstore as well, providing a full range of services from copy editing to book design and cover art, ISBN numbers and more. There are three main pieces, two printers (making it partially modular); a B&W laser printer on the left, which prints the bulk of the book on standard size, double-sided 8.5x11", a color printer which prints the cover of the book on single sided, heavy (vellum? 88lb? not sure) paper with I think some sort of smudge-resistant color ink. In the middle is a large, plexiglass enclosure that the two printers sit on, and appears to have three distinct lobes; the collating unit, which collects the pages and applies the "perfect bind" glue, combining the cover with the pages. Next it drops down into the lower lobe where it is pressed and cools, before shifting left where the book is trimmed to size.

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• pod
• print on demand
• espresso
• book printing
• lulu
• small publisher
• self publish