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http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1173013/A-novel-idea-The-machine-print-book-minutes.html

WANT!



A novel idea: The machine that can print off any book for you in minutes

By Daniel Bates
Last updated at 8:03 AM on 24th April 2009

It promises to bring the world of literature to the ordinary book-buyer at the touch of a button.

In the time it takes to brew a cappuccino, this machine can print off any book that is not in stock from a vast computer database.

The innovation, launched by book chain Blackwell yesterday, removes the need to order a hard-to-find novel, or the wait to buy one that has sold out.
Enlarge   EBM

The EBM  prints off a whole book in the time it takes to make an espresso

Even out-of-print works can be printed off in minutes.

The Espresso Book Machine will also benefit aspiring novelists who can walk in to a shop with a CD of their work and have their book professionally printed in minutes.

The cost of buying a book will be generally the same as if it were in stock.

Currently there are 400,000 books ready to be be downloaded. Blackwell hopes that by summer, one million will be available.

It has bought one of the machines for its store on Charing Cross Road in Central London, but if it is a success then more could appear at shops across the country.
EBM

The machine is able to bring many rare and out-of-print texts back into production in under five minutes

The machine, which resembles an industrial photocopier and printer, prints 105 pages a minute, or one book every five minutes or so.

Blackwell's aim is that the customer will be able to browse a catalogue in a kiosk next to the machine then press 'Make Book' and watch as their novel is created.

First the cover is run off, then the pages are printed and collated.

The pages are then clamped and glue applied to the spine. In the final stage, the pages are stuck to the cover before being trimmed to size from A4. The completed book then pops out of a slot in the side of the machine.

Blackwell believes the EBM will allow it to exact revenge on the supermarkets and online retailers.
Espresso Book Machine

Aspiring novelists can bring in a CD of their work and print out a bound copy

Tesco, for example, offers aggressive discounting while Amazon has teamed up with second-hand shops and independent sellers to provide an enormous variety of books at knock-down prices.

Five years ago, only 7 per cent of books were bought online. By last year, that was 14 per cent.

In December, the value of books sold on the high street was down 12.7 per cent year on year.

Andrew Hutchings, of Blackwell, said: 'Companies such as Amazon have been offering a very competitive service but you still have one or two days to wait from ordering the book until it arrives.

'With the Espresso Book Machine you can order it and have it in your hand within a few minutes. Having books printed on-demand also reduces the carbon footprint and cuts down on the number that are pulped or sent back.'

Out-of-copyright books will be sold at 10p a page, meaning a 300-page book would be £30, although Mr Hutchings hopes the cost will come down.

All other books will cost the same as if they were bought off the shelf.

This is cool I guess.  I think the future of books is in e-book readers though.

Yeah, I've checked out the kindle... another year or two and I can see the e-books really gaining serious momentum. However, print books will not be going away quickly, especially when access to them increases.

You know the Kindle is pretty cool and so is the Insta-book printing thing. But nothing can compare to the musty smell from a used book that I love so much.

Fuck ebooks. As an avid reader and certified nerd, I've always got a book with me, and I enjoy reading print. I'm not gonna sit in a park or the beech reading a book from my iPhone,  I'm gonna take my paperback.

I'm just stubborn and old school I guess

You can also check your email and browse the internet from a kindle.  Also, newspapers and magazines automatically download themselves when new issues come out.

And search your entire library for specific things.  One of the sysadmins at my office replaced an entire bookself of tech manuals with a kindle, and now when he needs to lookup some specific code thing, he can browse them all at the same time.

If you could get comic books on it the same way newspapers and magazines work, it would be a definite buy for me.

Fuck ebooks. As an avid reader and certified nerd, I've always got a book with me, and I enjoy reading print. I'm not gonna sit in a park or the beech reading a book from my iPhone,  I'm gonna take my paperback.

I'm just stubborn and old school I guess

i get where you are going, and i can't say that i am not sympathetic, but have you checked out the kindle?  the screen on that bastard is a modern fucking marvel.  it actually moves ink around on the screen to make the image.  it has a slightly longer load time than a normal screen (i.e. no moving animations) but it is not hard on the eyes at all.  its actually alot like reading something printed on the plastic.  my teacher brought one to class the other day and was passing it around.

my only beef at this point it that i am just not quite willing to shell out that nearly $400 for one right now.  i'll wait for the price to drop.

i wish they had come out a decade earlier, and i could have bought my text books on one.  no more lugging 40lbs of books to class everyday, how awesome would that be?

Fuck ebooks. As an avid reader and certified nerd, I've always got a book with me, and I enjoy reading print. I'm not gonna sit in a park or the beech reading a book from my iPhone,  I'm gonna take my paperback.

I'm just stubborn and old school I guess

i get where you are going, and i can't say that i am not sympathetic, but have you checked out the kindle?  the screen on that bastard is a modern fucking marvel.  it actually moves ink around on the screen to make the image.  it has a slightly longer load time than a normal screen (i.e. no moving animations) but it is not hard on the eyes at all.  its actually alot like reading something printed on the plastic.  my teacher brought one to class the other day and was passing it around.

my only beef at this point it that i am just not quite willing to shell out that nearly $400 for one right now.  i'll wait for the price to drop.

i wish they had come out a decade earlier, and i could have bought my text books on one.  no more lugging 40lbs of books to class everyday, how awesome would that be?

We'll probably be adding that to the list of things our children and grand children will never experience... Carrying books at school.... Along with TV shows you can't rewind/pause, and telephones that are always connected to the wall.... Fucking crazy how fast technology evolves.

Fuck ebooks. As an avid reader and certified nerd, I've always got a book with me, and I enjoy reading print. I'm not gonna sit in a park or the beech reading a book from my iPhone,  I'm gonna take my paperback.

I'm just stubborn and old school I guess

i get where you are going, and i can't say that i am not sympathetic, but have you checked out the kindle?  the screen on that bastard is a modern fucking marvel.  it actually moves ink around on the screen to make the image.  it has a slightly longer load time than a normal screen (i.e. no moving animations) but it is not hard on the eyes at all.  its actually alot like reading something printed on the plastic.  my teacher brought one to class the other day and was passing it around.

my only beef at this point it that i am just not quite willing to shell out that nearly $400 for one right now.  i'll wait for the price to drop.

i wish they had come out a decade earlier, and i could have bought my text books on one.  no more lugging 40lbs of books to class everyday, how awesome would that be?

We'll probably be adding that to the list of things our children and grand children will never experience... Carrying books at school.... Along with TV shows you can't rewind/pause, and telephones that are always connected to the wall.... Fucking crazy how fast technology evolves.

speaking of tech moving quickly, my space law professor at school is absolutely certain that the first generation that will live and work in outer space is actually being born right now.  thats something to get your brain around.

I've been pondering that likely reality for awhile, a product of being a fan of science fiction.
A few more generations after those children are working in space, we may even see people living in space. Then, eventually people born in space. Our space station technology has a monumental lead on manned interplanetary travel. And the demand for humans in space will only be increasing, so I think we'll be seeing a lot more orbiting space habitats, before we see people living and working on another planet. The private space industry has been gaining momentum as technological advances make it more profitable. I may even see the first privately owned space colony before I die. An apartment complex, in space. What I think will be interesting is how our biology will be affected by tech evolution. How will we adapt to living in space... Biologically, technologically, or some combination?

Space Law?

                  Really?


And as far as human adaptation to extended space travel/colonization, that is what my mother does. She studies all the factors of determining mental capability. Everything from physical stress to mental capabilities. She's traveled the world and done experiments on athletes in different circumstances and environments. Recently I watched a program on History Channel about Sex in Space, with my mother being one of the eperts scientists that speaks in between the narators narations with CGI scene shots...

Have you ever had to watch your mother on TV talk about sex?
In space?


Kills the novilty of the idea right off.

Space Law?

                  Really?


And as far as human adaptation to extended space travel/colonization, that is what my mother does. She studies all the factors of determining mental capability. Everything from physical stress to mental capabilities. She's traveled the world and done experiments on athletes in different circumstances and environments. Recently I watched a program on History Channel about Sex in Space, with my mother being one of the eperts scientists that speaks in between the narators narations with CGI scene shots...

Have you ever had to watch your mother on TV talk about sex?
In space?


Kills the novilty of the idea right off.

Haha! That must be very odd for you. But I admit, I'm quite envious of her occupation. To be paid, and given the tools and resources to learn about what I already enjoy thinking and reading about....fuck yeah.

We'll probably be adding that to the list of things our children and grand children will never experience... Carrying books at school.... Along with TV shows you can't rewind/pause, and telephones that are always connected to the wall.... Fucking crazy how fast technology evolves.

I can't remember who, but I think it was one of the editors at Wired.com who said something alone the lines of: "At some point in the future, you'll have to explain to your children and grand children that television, the internet, and cellphones used to be three different things."

We'll probably be adding that to the list of things our children and grand children will never experience... Carrying books at school.... Along with TV shows you can't rewind/pause, and telephones that are always connected to the wall.... Fucking crazy how fast technology evolves.

I can't remember who, but I think it was one of the editors at Wired.com who said something alone the lines of: "At some point in the future, you'll have to explain to your children and grand children that television, the internet, and cellphones used to be three different things."

and i would argue that even that view is a little myopic.  i suspect that by the time we are explaining this shit to our grandkids, everything, and i mean everything will all be interconnected.  the chip in the heel of your shoe (to show you how far you've walked, etc etc) to the chips in your brain and the tv and the phones and the intertubes, it will all be interconnected.

We'll probably be adding that to the list of things our children and grand children will never experience... Carrying books at school.... Along with TV shows you can't rewind/pause, and telephones that are always connected to the wall.... Fucking crazy how fast technology evolves.

I can't remember who, but I think it was one of the editors at Wired.com who said something alone the lines of: "At some point in the future, you'll have to explain to your children and grand children that television, the internet, and cellphones used to be three different things."

and i would argue that even that view is a little myopic.  i suspect that by the time we are explaining this shit to our grandkids, everything, and i mean everything will all be interconnected.  the chip in the heel of your shoe (to show you how far you've walked, etc etc) to the chips in your brain and the tv and the phones and the intertubes, it will all be interconnected.

I am terrified, mystified, excited and thrilled all at the same time about this topic.
 1. I will NEVER let go of my love for leather and paper bound novels... nothing can replace the written word. it was the greatest achievement of mankind in my mind, the forerunner of all technology.
 2. I want a Kindle and would love access to the EBM. I think these types of tools are immensely important in the development of our race and the survival of knowledge.
 3.I am going to be studying Marine Biology in college mostly because I want to learn the effects of moving our tech to different worlds with different ecologies and try to figure out how they might coexist without killing one off completely and want Quin to also understand the importance of these kinds of studies. How long has the "Space Law" class been around Dave?? And I will NEVER be "chipped' say hi to Big Brother for me

 4. When do we start training the first Pirates in Space ??

Alyria