What is the difference between Print on Demand and traditional printing?
Traditional printing includes mass printing and publishing of material/books/magazines. Whereas Print on demand means printing and publishing when the demand is there. It is mainly published for limited audience for whom it is intended. But POD is somewhat costly than traditional publishing. So if you want to check the response from audience or you want to show your work to limited number of audience then POD is a good option.
Electronic files (your e-book) is downloaded to the POD press and will print just one paperback book… it prints whatever quantity is demanded by the publisher. Traditional press runs require a minimum of 1,000 to 5,000 books to become economical. This requires warehouse space and costs. The POD system allows publishers to accept author’s books they otherwise would not publish since no warehousing is required. The POD system has one drawback, each book printed costs about twice as much as the printing press. When book sales increase the publisher generally will drop the POD and go to print with the traditional printing press.
