ABA and On Demand Books Form Partnership

The American Booksellers Association and On Demand Books (ODB), the maker of the Espresso Book Machine® (EBM), have entered into a joint marketing agreement whereby ABA will market the EBM to member bookstores and help permission publisher titles to the EBM sales channel.

The patented EBM and its EspressNet® software system link to a vast network of content, enabling the instant distribution of books on demand at the point of sale. With the push of a button, the technology prints, binds, and trims a bookstore-quality, perfect-bound paperback book in minutes in any language with a full-color cover. The environmentally friendly technology eliminates shipping, returns, and the pulping of unwanted books.

“The Espresso Book Machine provides a unique opportunity to help our members differentiate themselves from their competitors,” said ABA Chief Operating Officer Len Vlahos. “By offering retail-level on-demand printing, indie bookstores can explore new custom publishing business models and more quickly and efficiently meet consumer demand for books. This new relationship between ABA and ODB helps lower the barrier to entry for our members to participate.”

“We are delighted to partner with ABA and support independent booksellers, who have been among our earliest and most successful customers,” said Dane Neller, Chief Executive Officer of ODB. “Our technology helps bookstores position themselves as community-based self-publishing centers for local authors, driving customer traffic and higher sales with no extra inventory. In addition, ABA will help us market the channel to more trade and independent publishers. The EBM network represents a powerful sales channel to publishers, especially given the nearly 2,000 ABA member store locations. Through our partnership with Xerox – whose full force is now selling, leasing, and servicing the EBM worldwide – we plan to have over 150 EBM installations by the end of 2011.”

Under the agreement, ODB will offer a 10 percent discount off the up-front software license fee to ABA members that purchase or lease an EBM before April 5, 2012. For lease agreements, the discount will be folded into the overall lease price. The up-front software license is currently $25,000, so the 10 percent discount adds up to savings of $2,500 for ABA members. (This fee is subject to change.)

On Demand Books was co-founded in 2003 by Neller; Jason Epstein, former editorial director of Random House; and Thor Sigvaldason, former technology consultant at PricewaterhouseCoopers. Espresso Book Machines are currently in place in bookstores, libraries, universities, and other locations in the U.S., Canada, the U.K., the Middle East, Asia, Australia, and the Caribbean.