Self-publishing platform Blurb introduces offset book printing services and new customization options, aiming to reduce costs and increase profit for self-publishers; Blurb has published more than 2.8 million titles from 1.1 million self publishers

Aimee Bellah

April 1, 2014 (India Retail News) – Blurb, the indie book publishing platform, today announced offset book printing, short term book warehousing and fulfillment, plus a slate of new options for making books truly custom.

Blurb was founded on the premise that everyone -- not just the talented few -- should be able to publish beautifully designed books with first class production values. By creating a business model that supports a minimum of one copy per title, Blurb has opened up the world of publishing to everyone who has access to a computer plus a story to tell or work to share.

These latest offerings expand Blurb's position as the leading platform for self publishers to create and sell beautiful illustrated books. To date the company has seen more than 1.1 million self-publishers produce 2.8 million unique titles ranging from architecture, children's books, photography, travel, how-to books, and food books, to every kind of design book you can imagine.

Offset printing

"The number one request from self publishers is to increase profits from book sales, while businesses want reduced book costs so the project comes in within budget," said Eileen Gittins, Blurb's founder and CEO. "Our new offset print capability can reduce unit costs by as much as 40% or more over single copy print on demand."

Offset runs begin at 750 units or more with print locations in Hong Kong, the US and Europe. For more information, please visit http://www.blurb.com/offset-printing or contact Blurb directly at customquote@blurb.com for a custom quote.

Agile fulfillment program (AFP)

"Self-publishers come in all shapes and sizes, but one thing's for sure: most do not have their own warehousing and fulfillment capability," said Gittins. "In the past this meant that the apartment dweller could not get best pricing via volume orders as they had no way to manage the warehousing and fulfillment. That's all changed as a result of our new agile fulfillment program."

Any Blurb print order of at least 300 units is eligible for AFP for up to six months at a nominal fee per unit. When orders arrive at blurb.com, instead of being printed on demand the orders are routed to the warehouse where they are picked, packed and shipped directly to the customer.

"The combination of offset printing plus agile fulfillment is leveling the playing field for those who want to independently publish," said Gittins.

Customization Options

The expanding menu of book customizations is a result of customer demand for different ways to showcase their creativity, as well as create professional-quality products to market and promote their businesses. These customizations are available for orders of 300 or more and include:

* Embossed and debossed text or patterns on the cover and spine.

* Foil stamping on the cover and spine.

* Page marker ribbons.

* Personalizable end sheets - with a photo or other graphic.

* Headbands and footbands.

"In a world where self publishers can now choose between ebooks and print books, when they take their books to print, they want them to be even more special. These new customization options from Blurb ensure that every book is highly individual and memorable," said Gittins.

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