Books-A-Million unveils book publishing on demand

Submitted: The Two Sides Team November 29, 2013

You've heard of bookstores, you've heard of vending machines. But have you heard of a vending machine that churns out books? A Birmingham company is introducing something that essentially does just that.

via Birmingham Business Journal

November 18th, 2013

Birmingham-based Books-A-Million Inc. (NASDAQ: BAMM) will unveil the Espresso Book Machine, the first full-color self-publishing machine of its kind in the world, at its Colonial Brookwood Village location on Nov. 21.

"We are excited to be the first retailer to install On Demand Books, inaugural full color self-publishing Espresso Book Machines in two of our premier locations. This offering means something special for BAM customers, who will now have access to a virtual inventory of seven million titles instantly available to them," said Terrance G. Finley, CEO of Books-A-Million, in a press release. Later this month, an Espresso Book Machine will also be made available at the company's South Portland, Maine store.

In addition to having the ability to print titles from publishers like Harper Collins, Penguin and others, customers will also be able to print self-published work as well as photos and other projects on the machine in a matter of minutes. Books are priced according to length, and the EBM can print any book between 5'x5' and 8'x10', 50 to 600 pages, according to the press release.

"Through this process, Books-A-Million customers can simply search online or in the store for that elusive title, and then leave the store with their perfect-bound paperback in less time than it takes to make and enjoy a caramel macchiato," said Mary Gallagher, senior vice president of merchandising, in the release.

Books-A-Million operates more than 250 stores in 33 states and the District of Columbia and was recently named one of the Hot 100 retailers in the U.S., with sales growth of 7.2 percent.