Heir To The Gutenberg Press
Who might have imagined that one day it would become so triflingly easy to publish a book of one's fancy. Which is to say something authored by someone else, but, uncopyrighted, a likely candidate for anyone interested, to self-publish. Sounds kind of peculiar, I know, but it's possible. Google announced not all that long ago that they intend to make available on line eventually all the books that have ever been published.That's a huge order. To go. The possession of books was once confined to the studies and libraries of universities and the wealthy. And then came the Gutenberg Press and it became possible for great numbers of copies to be printed of any given manuscript, rather than the painstaking work of scriptoria, where manuscripts were copied meticulously by hand, making them rare and costly items available only to a sheltered few.
It's an expensive proposition, to publish a manuscript. An editor makes his/her informed selection from numberless unsolicited manuscripts, and the work of publication goes forward. Advertising and public relations swing into action, and these costs, along with those associated with paper stock and machinery to produce bound copies are passed along to the consuming public. The publisher makes money if the book sells, and the author begins to hope to earn his living doing what he most enjoys.
Now, a new publishing company in New York, called On Demand Books LLC, with access to 200,000 titles in the public domain, which is to say books that haven't the protection of copyright, is in the process of bringing to the world of literature and commerce an Internet-connected express printer that is capable of publishing and binding a 200-page book in 8 minutes' time.
The printing machine itself weighs 750-kg, is two-and-a-half metres long, and is capable of printing any book ever published. That's one big and capable printer. Was it all that long ago when computers were so new and raw that each was the size of a room, and its capability was later dwarfed by that of most desk-top computers of today, in a few short decades.
What is now a printing anomaly that opens up a broad new technology to be used in specialized environments like universities and public libraries, may eventually become popularized through miniaturization, reduced costs and enhanced capability enabling any ordinary bibliophile to own and operate one to his/her heart's content.
And then what happens to the book publishing industry? All that profit - poof! Book out of print due to lack of popular demand? No problem. No centralized printing, no shipments, no bookstore orders and author signings. Of course authors will require recompense. In some societies those in the arts receive regular compensation for their efforts on behalf of the nation, a compensation that informs and benefits their livelihood.
Are we sufficiently societally advanced to embrace that honouring of our artists, our writers, and in the process allowing art and the written word to flourish, the public easier access to information and knowledge and entertain, and in the process to become better educated?
Labels: Technology
posted by Pieface @ Monday, July 02, 2007
<< Home