Going to the local bookstore to find a favorite book just got much easier for Bellingham residents with the addition of a revolutionary print-on-demand machine to Village Books in downtown Fairhaven. It is the first of its kind to be installed on the West Coast.

Village Book’s Espresso Book Machine Version 2.0, installed Oct. 5, is a machine that has the ability to print, bind and trim library-quality, colored paperback books in a matter of minutes. It is expected to be the next big thing in book publishing.

Jeff Marsh of Lebanon, Mo., developed the machine prototype 10 years ago and installed the first experimental machine  in April 2006 at the World Bank InfoShop in Washington, D.C.

Chuck Robinson, who owns Village Books, said he has been keeping tabs on print-on-demand machines since the prototype. He said he decided to invest in the machine after having seen a demonstration at last year’s BookExpo America.

Kathryn Trueblood, an associate professor for Western’s English department, is bringing her editing and publishing class to Village Books on Oct. 23 to see a demonstration of the machine.

“It is going to affect the antiquated way that publishing operates,” said Trueblood, who has been in the publishing business for more than 25 years.

She said the machine gives bookstores the option to print books when the reader wants them—versus having to order large shipments that sit on shelves until they are sold or returned to publishers.

Lindsey McGuirk, the digital marketing and publishing manager at Village Books, said the price of a book printed on the machine is comparable to books on the shelves at the store.

“We want the books to be easy to access as well as affordable for customers,” McGuirk said.

EspressNet, the online database that accompanies the Espresso Book Machine, provides printable versions of 1.6 million book titles.

Robinson said all books available to consumers have proper copyrights and have been put into the database with permission from the authors and original publishers.

Users of the book printer will have access to more than two million separate book titles via Google Books. In addition to books available through the database, the machine will allow local authors to self-publish their books.

Village Books is charging a $99 set-up fee for authors who choose to use the machine, which includes a one-hour consultation and question and answer session as well as one printed copy.

Any books printed beyond the first copy will cost three and a half cents per page—which, according to Trueblood, is much cheaper for authors up front.
“I envision a time when the notion of a book out of print is passé,” Robinson said.

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