The quality and price will match offset and I think that will happen in less than 10 years. The best news is that POD is environmentally friendly from the point of view that only books that are needed are printed. While POD is currently not being printed in an environmentally fashion–like using recycled paper and soy inks–that, too, is bound to change.

Of course, in 10 years, when the technology is a little more advanced, the gap between the two is going to be a LOT smaller!

I completely agree with your comments. The reason I commented is that so many people–including publishers–don’t understand the differences between POD and subsidies.

BTW, my galleys were printed POD and the difference between those and the books printed by an offset printer are quite noticeable. The color of the cover from POD looks washed out. The physical book is thinner, as pages are a lighter weight; consequently, the print bleeds through.

I wasn’t as clear in this article as I have been in others, but I do realize that we’re talking about two different beasts. My issues with POD have more to do with the quality of the books and the mentality behind them than they have to do with the publishing process.

POD is a very neat, economical method of printing books that’s filling an important niche in the publishing world. But I don’t see it as being a solution for most independent publishers because the cost of the books is high per unit and the quality of the printing is different.

I realize a lot of small publishers like POD and use it, but many of the books I’ve seen that have been done via POD really lack a professional look, chiefly because POD is cheaper to set up than offset printing, and thus tends to suggest less planning. With that said, I’ve seen a few POD books that are really, really well produced, just as I’ve seen many offset books that are absolute garbage. So my generalization depends heavily on the publisher behind the book.

Subsidy publishers fill a necessary role, too, but so many of them are so dishonest that it’s hard to champion any of them.

Just want to clarify what you wrote about POD. You, like many people, are confusing POD with subsidy publishers. POD–print-on-demand–is a type of printing process. Yes, it is used subsidy presses; it is also used by all other publishers.

POD is a great option for a short run or to print galleys. It can be an option if you need books in a hurry, as offset printing takes 3-4 weeks to print books.