A new device capable of creating perfectly-bound paperback books, has just hit the UK. The Espresso Book Machine is able to print titles in a matter of minutes, putting an end to the annoyance of bookshop customers being told that their book is 'no longer in print', or 'out of stock'. The customer simply selects a book from a network of 500,000 available titles, most of which are out of print. Then, roughly 5 minutes later, the Espresso Book Machine, prints, binds, trims and shoots out a flawless factory-quality book.
The device, which Time Magazine named Best Invention of 2007, was launched in the UK on Monday at Blackwell, Charing Cross Road in London, and is being hailed as the biggest advancement in the literary world since Gutenberg invented the printing press over 500 years ago.
Blackwell hopes to increase the number of digital titles the Espresso Book Machine will carry, to over a million titles by the end of this summer.
Information taken from http://www.alchemyworx.com/publishingnews/2009/apr_09/news.htm
