What is POD?

POD stands for Print-On-Demand. It is a printing technology/business process wherein a book is not printed till an order is placed for it, thereby removing the need to print and store bulk copies. This was not traditionally possible with offset printing where a minimum print run of 500 copies is required to make it economically viable. The advancement in digital printing now makes it possible for a complete book to be printed and bound in a few hours with as many or as few copies as you want. Since no plates are made, unlike as in offset printing, you can make as many changes and print just a single copy every time. Per unit cost remains the same, so the author does not block money on printing advance copies. The printing cost is paid for when the book is printed.

The benefits of POD are

• Technical set-up is usually quicker than for offset printing.
• Large inventories of a book or print material do not need to be kept in stock, reducing storage, handling costs, and
  inventory accounting costs.
• There is little or no waste from unsold products.
• The time taken to print and bind a press ready file is just a few hours.