More e-book & p-book milestones

Exciting new milestones the world of e-books and p-books include online giant Amazon.com’s recent announcement of plans to allow students to rent textbooks through its Kindle service.  According to the company, renters can save up to 80 percent compared to the cost of purchasing a physical book.  Users can choose the exact length of a rental, from 30 days to a full year. Rentals can subsequently be extended by the day, if needed, or else converted into a purchase.

 http://www.printaction.com/News/20110719-amazon-rental.html

Additionally, my June-2011 column for PrintAction details the new e-book and p-book solution launched by Montreal-based giant Transcontinental Printing in partnership with

De Marque, a developer of international platforms for digital content, based in Quebec City.
https://www.box.net/shared/unr54aj9akns9igvy8f8

Landmark 400-year-old printed Bible found in English village church

Some people still get plenty excited about printed books:  for instance, a 4-centuries-old King James Bible that turned up recently in St Laurence Church, with a parish of 60 people, in the village of Halmarton, Wiltshire, England. Fewer than 200 original printings of the King James version of the Bible are believed to exist. A tell-tale printing error has been used to authenticate Halmarton’s example as a second edition.

The King James Bible is one of the first translations of Christian scriptures into English, ordered by King James I of England in 1604 and completed by 47 scholars of the Church of England in 1611. This year marks its 400^th anniversary.

The King James Bible Trust affirms that surviving examples like Halmarton’s preserve not only a priceless historical record but also a cultural landmark, since the book transformed how people spoke English as well as how they understood God.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-wiltshire-12647043

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20110331/lf_nm_life/us_britain_bible

http://www.kingjamesbibletrust.org/

Borders chain files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection

Another new development regarding the future of the printed book:  major U.S. book retailer Borders Group has filed for Chapter 11 protection under the United States Bankruptcy Code. http://www.printaction.com/News/20110222-borders-chapter-11.html

Espresso Book Machine for on-demand publishing now available

Clearly, equipment vendors foresee continued commercial viability for on-demand book publishing. Witness the recent advent to market of the Espresso Book Machine, an all-in-one book printing and finishing device that can churn out a 300-page bound volume in less than 4 minutes. Already for sale in the U.S., it will also become available commercially in Canada starting in March. Xerox has inked a deal with inventor On Demand Books to distribute the machine, which Xerox sees being paired with a Xerox 4112 printer. http://www.printaction.com/Vendor-Wire/20110215-espresso-book-machine.html

More mixed signals on the future of printed books

Further to my 17-Nov-2010 posting, the last few weeks have been another roller coaster ride for anyone wondering about the future of printed books. 

Canada logged a major casualty in the filing for bankruptcy protection of H.B. Fenn, the country’s largest book distributor.  http://www.printaction.com/News/20110207-hb-fenn-bankruptcy.html

Additionally, Amazon has announced that its sales of Kindle e-books have exceeded not only its hardcover sales (which occurred last year), but now the number of paperbacks it sells as well.  http://www.printaction.com/News/20110201-kindle-paperback.html

Meanwhile, on the other side of the coin, the New York Times Sunday Book Review assures us that the number of printed books out there remains impressive.  It estimates that in 2010 (after returns), American publishers shipped an estimated 3.2 billion books—or about 10 printed volumes for every man, woman, and child in the U.S.A. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/30/books/review/InsideList-t.html

Not surprisingly, speculation and discussion from many quarters continues on a 3-month-old LinkedIn discussion group that asks the question “Do you think printed books will die? Are we all going digital?” at: http://www.linkedin.com/groupAnswers?viewQuestionAndAnswers=&discussionID=33459885&gid=145854&commentID=31079155&trk=view_disc.