Tips for Short run Printing for Books

Even when you’ve released a book electronically, you may still want to consider having some paperback copies printed as well. This requires short run printing, which basically amounts to printing fewer than 500 copies of a book in a single session. When it comes to short run printing for books, there are a number of things you should keep in mind in order to maximize your efforts.

Printing a short run of paperback books can be a good way to get your material in front of a wider audience. Many people wait for books to come out in paperback before they decide to read them. As such, you can use reviews from your electronic version to garner interest so that more people will be willing to buy paperback copies.

In order to ensure your book gets noticed, consider revamping the cover a bit over its electronic version. This in turn will help your book seem fresh and new, thereby helping to attract people who may have overlooked it before.

You may also wish to print between 50 and 100 advanced reading copies three to four months in advance of your e-book’s release date. That way, you can pass them out to people who might be willing to read them and post reviews on the appropriate websites so that some publicity for your book is already generated ahead of time.

You need to keep costs as low as possible without sacrificing the quality of your book. This is especially true if you are somewhat unknown, as having a quality printed book will help establish your credibility. Choose a standard sized book printed in black ink only, and a medium weight paper in order to keep costs low without having your book appear cheap.

If you’re uncertain as to sales, you may want to complete one short run of around 500 copies, followed by another one of 200 to 300 copies shortly thereafter if it appears that sales are higher than what you had anticipated. You should generally avoid printing more than 1,000 copies of your book in a short amount of time, as you could get stuck with boxes of them that you are unable to unload.

We’re sure you have plenty of other questions about short run printing, and will be glad to answer any of them. To find out more information, contact us.