BTW Launches Live Beta Test of Enhanced Printing Option -- Entire Week's Stories Now Can Be Easily Printed

Since its online launch in January, Bookselling This Week has gotten high marks for its increased postings of news and features and its ease of use. Since going online, BTW has also seen a 57 percent increase in its subscription base. However, many bookseller readers have noted to ABA that they miss the easy accessibility of a printed version of a weekly BTW.

Responding to this feedback, ABA this week announces the launching of the live beta test of a new, greatly enhanced printing option for BTW. Beginning next week, the weekly e-mail edition of BTW will offer readers two new printing choices. In tests, the two new printing choices have taken at most a few minutes; times may vary depending on Internet connection and hardware configuration.

The first option will be to print the entire week’s stories in a clear, readable printer-friendly format. By omitting stories’ graphics and by formatting the text in a concise, two-column layout, the new printed edition will minimize both the time necessary to download the digital file and the number of pages required to print the week’s stories. For a sample of this option, click here.

The second printing option will allow readers to go to a new BTW Web page, where they can select just the stories from the most recent news cycle that they would like to print. After selecting the desired stories to assemble their issue, the newly developed software will generate a digital file that will be downloaded to their computer, ready for printing in the new concise, two-column format.

Commenting on the enhanced printing options, ABA CEO Avin Mark Domnitz said, "As good as we know BTW online is -- with its increase in the amount of news covered each week, and its renewed coverage of more in-depth features -- we also know that, for some booksellers, something was lacking. We believe that the new enhanced printing options for BTW will give readers the flexible, bookstore-friendly solution they have been seeking." BTW Editor Dan Cullen commented that "as far as I know, this is a fairly unparalleled offering in the realm of online publishing, both its range of choice and its ease of use. I’m especially grateful to the work of Objective Consulting, which designed such a bookstore-appropriate solution."

Objective Consulting, Inc. (OCI) is an Internet consulting and software development company headquartered in Tarrytown, New York. Founded in 1993, and headed by President Gene W. Homicki, the OCI team has worked with ABA on such projects as BookWeb.org, the online ABA Book Buyer’s Handbook project, and the improved electronic reporting options for the Book Sense Bestseller lists.

Both of the printing options will be in standard PDF format. If booksellers do not already have Adobe Acrobat installed on their computers, it can be quickly downloaded for free from Adobe at http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep.html. Installation is not complicated, but booksellers with questions may call Bill Cunningham, ABA’s technical project manager, at (800) 637-0037, ext. 1211 for help in getting Adobe Acrobat set up.

Beginning next week, the e-mail edition of BTW will also contain a direct link to the printable files of the most recent Book Sense Bestseller lists as well. The bestseller lists can now be downloaded either in Adobe Acrobat, or Microsoft Word, which is noted as a "Doc" file on the bestseller list page on BookWeb.org.

Booksellers are encouraged to share their experiences, feedback, and problems regarding the new BTW printing options with ABA. Cullen can be reached at (800) 637-0037, ext. 1250 or dan@bookweb.org.