Among the other benefits noted by On Demand Books is the elimination of any need to stock or distribute these books. Overruns or shortages are no longer a problem. New books would be available anywhere in the world on the day they are released. There would be no returns. Remainders would cease to exist. "Out-of-print" will become an obsolete term future generations will not understand. This latter point is a concern to some writers whose contracts provide that rights to their works revert to the author once they go "out of print."
On Demand Books hints at an even more significant development when they note that the elimination of warehousing and shipping may lead to lower prices for the consumer. What they don't say is something that is already starting to happen with music. With on demand printing through the internet, there may be no need for publishers. Just as record companies now find they no longer have a stranglehold on, or the ability to force one-sided contracts upon musicians, publishers may find themselves in the same boat. They may be forced to reinvent themselves more as marketing companies than publishing ones, helping authors make consumers aware of their works, rather than printing and distributing them. Of course, this could give companies that control the databases used by these printing machines a stranglehold, unless there is true competition, or an open database. If this catches on, it will certainly turn the publishing world upside down.
What this does to collecting is another issue. What will constitute a first edition? Will every copy in effect be a limited edition, limited to one unique copy? How do you establish priority? Fortunately, it will be a long time before any of these books becomes antiquarian, so we will leave it to future generations of collectors to ponder these issues.
On Demand Books states that while traditional machines of this sort could cost $1 million, the Espresso "is priced to be affordable for retailers and libraries." They don't say what constitutes "affordable," and it probably does not have the same meaning to you, if you run a small book business, as it does to them. However, this may be something within the reach of larger bookstores and city libraries. If ultimately this throws people in the traditional publishing and printing businesses out of work, it will create a fantastic new job opportunity you may want to consider training for now. Think of that much simpler machine, the copier in your office, which constantly breaks down anyway. There is going to be a tremendous need for print-on-demand machine repairmen.
Heritage, Dec. 15: Jerry Thomas. How to Mix Drinks, or the Bon-Vivant's Companion, Containing Clear and Reliable Directions for Mixing All the Beverages Used in the United States…
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Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Letter Signed ("Martinus Luther") to His Friend the Theologian Gerhard Wiskamp ("Gerardo Xantho Lampadario"). $100,000 - $150,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: An Exceptionally Fine Copy of Austenís Emma: A Novel in Three Volumes. $40,000 - $60,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Presentation Copy of Ernest Hemmingwayís A Farewell to Arms for Edward Titus of the Black Mankin Press. $30,000 - $50,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Manuscript Signed Integrally for "The Songs of Pooh," by Alan Alexander. $30,000 - $50,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Manuscript of "Three Fragments from Gˆtterd‰mmerung" by Richard Wagner. $30,000 - $50,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Original Preliminary Artwork, for the First Edition of Snow Crash. $20,000 - $30,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Letter Signed ("T.R. Malthus") to Economist Nassau Senior on Wealth, Labor and Adam Smith. $20,000 - $30,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: History of the Peloponnesian War by Thucydides Finely Bound by Michael Wilcox. $20,000 - $30,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: First Edition of Lewis and Clark: Travels to the Source of the Missouri River and Across the American Continent to the Pacific Ocean. $8,000 - $12,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Original Artwork for the First Edition of Neal Stephenson's Groundbreaking Novel Snow Crash. $100,000 - $150,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: A Complete Set Signed Deluxe Editions of King's The Dark Tower Series by Stephen King. $8,000 - $12,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Letter Signed ("John Adams") to James Le Ray de Chaumont During the Crucial Years of the Revolutionary War. $8,000 - $12,000.
Sotheby’s Book Week December 9-17, 2025
Sotheby’s, Dec. 12: Hooke, Robert. Micrographia: or some Physiological Descriptions of Minute Bodies made by Magnifying Glasses. London: James Allestry for the Royal Society, 1667. $12,000 to $15,000.
Sotheby’s, Dec. 12: Chappuzeau, Samuel. The history of jewels, first edition in English. London: T.N. for Hobart Kemp, 1671. $12,000 to $18,000.
Sotheby’s, Dec. 12: Sowerby, James. Exotic Mineralogy, containing his most realistic mineral depictions, London: Benjamin Meredith, 1811, Arding and Merrett, 1817. $5,000 to $7,000.
![<b>Heritage, Dec. 15:</b> John Donne. <i>Poems, By J. D. With Elegies on the Author's Death.</i> London: M[iles]. F[lesher]. for John Marriot, 1633.](https://ae-files.s3.amazonaws.com/AdvertisementPhotos/8caddaea-4c1f-47a7-9455-62f53af36e3f.jpg "<b>Heritage, Dec. 15:</b> John Donne. <i>Poems, By J. D. With Elegies on the Author's Death.</i> London: M[iles]. F[lesher]. for John Marriot, 1633.")
