A new vending machine has been released which can print any book within minutes.
The Espresso Book Machine has access to 500,000 different books - the same as 23.6 miles of shelf space - and can even churn out a fresh copy of Crime and Punishment in just nine minutes.
Pages are printed at a rate of over 100 per minute and are then pressed, glued and cut to produce a pristine book.
Users simply pick the book they would like on a screen and wait for it to be printed ... it certainly is a novel way of getting a new book.
There are currently only three of the £70,000 devices from On Demand Books and Lightning Source, with one in Blackwell's Charing Cross Road branch in London.
"We see the Espresso Book Machine as an innovative and exciting way for publishers to get their books out into the market,” said David Taylor, President of Lightning Source.
"There is clearly a place for the in-store print on demand model in the emerging landscape of globally distributed print.
"Working with On Demand Books allows the many thousands of publishers with whom we already work the chance to get their books into this new distribution channel with minimal effort."
Link:
Lightning Source
On Demand Books
