Saturday, November 1, 2008

Grub Street Printing Newsletter #8 Nov./Dec. 2008


On Demand Books

The Espresso 2 book making machine has just been introduced by On Demand Books. The stand alone machine can produce a perfect bound book in 5 – 10 minutes at a cost of around $10.

The University of Michigan Library purchased an Espresso 1.5 in September of this year (about $100,000) and is already approaching 2 million available titles for production.

Is browsing at Borders about to go the way of the 5th Avenue Easter Parade?

Border’s Blues

With private equity firms hoarding whatever funds they have, Borders Group announced it has abandoned its search for a suitor and will continue to attempt to grow its business alone.

Border’s stock has fallen from $12 to $.69 per share this year. The NYSE requires a minimum share price of $1.00 to be listed.

Freight 101

It took years for me to understand LTL (Less Than Truckload) freight rates, classes and tariffs. Here’s a simple explanation of the LTL pricing structure (and it offers the name of a carrier currently offering 70% discounts) http://www.logisticsmgmt.com/article/CA6601818.html. A free subscription to Logistics Management is also available at this site.

Package Delivery Rates Going UP(S)

Although gasoline prices have fallen to their lowest level in 4 years, UPS has announced a 5.9% price increase effective January 5 on all ground and LTL services. Air services will increase 4.9%

Also, the US Post Office announced a $2.8 billion loss for the fiscal year ending September 30. Pundits say to brace for a significant increase.

Chasing 1%

Random House just announced it will increase the number of its titles available as e-books to 15,000.

While quick to point out that e-book sales more than doubled this year, Random House acknowledges that e-books have captured less than 1% of total book sales.

With Regret

Robert Cooper, former Executive Secretary of the American Federation of Astrologers, passed away August 8, 2008. He had retired last winter. Bob was a polarizing figure in the astrological community. I worked with Bob and the AFA on perhaps 100 titles over the years.

Happy 1st Birthday to Us

In reviewing year #1 we found that when Grub Street Printing gets multiple estimates for you, the average savings between the two best quotes is $506. That’s a 14% savings for our publishers!

Thanks to all of the publishers who gave us a try (and saved some money).

What are you waiting for?


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