It has become commonplace to observe that the digital revolution sweeping through every other industry is transformmimg printing businesses. While a "paperless economy" never has seemed imminent, in the twin realms of book publishing and book manufacturing, the demand for books of all kinds is as strong as ever, although the dynamics of supply and demand are evolving under a new set of competitive pressures. Critical business issues for book publishing companies include reducing inventory carrying costs, and reducing or eliminating the cost of remaindering unsold books. As a result, these growing volumes increasingly are being broken up into smaller, less costly, more frequent, "as-needed" runs. Familiar enough by now is the list of production challenges: Stay nimble and flexible enough to pace the reaction of the market on a title-by-title basis; speed conventional offset and digital workflows to meet the demand for short-run, quick-turnaround product; improve efficiency; keep costs in line; develop new revenue streams; and boost customer satisfaction. Among book manufacturers and their suppliers, the route to enhancing a competitive position lies in coming up with seemingly infinite variations on the themes of automation, integration and inventory control.
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