Yesterday, we discussed the difference between digital printing and off-set printing. Today, we will go into further discussion regarding the actual difference in cost.
Option 1: Let’s say you’ve been asked to be a guest speaker with the guest list of 150 people. You’ve made the smart decision to sell your book. The retail price of your book is $14.95. The print cost using the digital print run is $7.50. Your profit is $7.50 per book because you sold your book directly to the customer.
Option 2: After much hard work and searching, you’ve found a buyer who’ll buy your book in volume. They’ve just purchased 200 copies of your book to test how well it’ll do in their stores. They’ve promised to buy 5000 books if the test is successful. The buyer requires a 70% discount, which makes the selling price $4.49. The retail cost of your book is $14.95. Your print cost is $7.50 using the digital model. Your loss per book is-$7.50-$4.49=$3.01.
Option 3: You’ve got a distributor who sells your book to bookstores. The bookstore requires a 40% discount, so their purchase price is $8.97. But wait-the distributor’s commission is 15%, making the discount 55%. The retail price of your book is $14.95. The print cost on a digital run is $7.50. Your loss is $7.50-6.73=$0.77.
So as you can see, digital printing isn’t always the best option in every senario. If you had printed 5000 copies on off set press, the print cost would likely have been $3.00 or less, and if you have colored photos or illustrations, then add another $1.00 to that, making the cost $4.00 per book. Even if you print only 2500 copies, the print cost would be substantially less than the digital print cost.
Some of you reading this, don’t mind eating the loss. If so, that’s great! For those of you who are economically cautious, now you have the tools to make the right printing decision. Let’s not forget that your marketing plan is vital here: knowing your marketing goals and having your plan layed out before decising upon the type of printer to use for your book.
Hopefully, this will have helped you in your decision making process.
Until tomorrow!
ZLS Publishing