It was the biggest event in the publishing world in months. And it comes from a company that to this point was not even involved in book publishing. Only Apple can turn an industry on its head almost overnight, just as it did with the music business and iTunes.
I had a chance to use an iPad for an extended time at Blurb's HQ this past week and I've come away with my own opinions. But first I'd like to share some points from Antonio Rodriguez, a serial entrepreneur and general partner at Matrix Partners in Boston. Antonio is a long-time Apple user so I knew he would be taking delivery of his new device last weekend. I wanted to get his first impressions but also his opinions on if and how the iPad would be a game changer. You can see his full review on his blog here. Of interest to readers of Print/Ready will likely be his opinions toward the end of his post about photo sharing. Antonio believes that the iPad has the opportunity to change the photo ecosystem forever. I don't completely agree, but he makes some great points about how ink on paper may be on its way out when it comes to personal photography.
In my experience with the iPad over a few hours, I'm going to join the crowd in saying that it is heavy. Too heavy for my liking. I spent some time with in on a desk, which was not a very good experience, and quite a bit of time catching up on some of my favorite columnists on NYT, WSJ as well as looking at some "iPad optimized" sites like National Geographic. Holding an iPad in my left hand and navigating with my right was a cool experience at first but got old as my wrist began feeling the strain of the 1.5 pound device. After a couple of hours I was ready to abandon it for my MacBook Pro. At first when I started using the iPad I thought I would want one but now I'm not completely sold.
What the iPad did was really make me appreciate my iPhone. I think the link between your primary computer and your phone in this day and age is the key connection. While the iPad does a good job of replicating the iPhone experience, I don't feel the need for this device as an addition to my daily net fix. But the fact that it's not critical for me to have the the connection to my business infrastructure for the device has actually left me excited to try the other new iPad-like devices on their way like the HP Slate and the rumored Microsoft Courrier. I don't really see a need for an eReader to be linked into my work environment. In fact, I don't think I want it to.
Those of you who spend a lot of time on the Net and on email for business will be able to relate to what I am going to say next. We all know folks whose jobs are outside of eCommerce who use email for enjoyment and casual communication. For me, doing email or surfing the Net reminds me of work. And I really want no part of it when I'm trying to relax. That's why a good old book is great. No "ding" when an email arrives. No hyperlink to "learn more". It's reading for reading sake. That said, I do like the idea of having some sort of iPad-like device on my coffee table at home to catch the latest issue of The Economist or to catch up with baseball scores on mlb.com. Or the idea of having a "consumable" book that I can download and take along on an airplane has merit. But with the iPad it gets back to the weight thing for me. But reading a book with an eReader--with two hands if it is an iPad--is a travel experience I could enjoy.
I mention "consumable book" above because this gets to the crux of how my company fits into this mix. Eileen Gittins, our founder and CEO, has some great insight into how "book" moves into the future. First off, she believes that books fall generally into two categories, consume and keep. A book you consume is reference, or a novel, or informational. I read Seth Godin's "Linchpin" last month and after I finished it I gave it away to a colleague to read. As great of a book as it is, I had consumed it and it no longer had value. I could have read Seth's book on an eReader and had a great experience. A "keep" book, I believe, will stay ink-on-paper and that medium will actually increase in value as more things move to temporal and electronic. A book about my recently deceased father. A monograph of one of my favorite photographer's best images. A book of my favorite poetry. These are things that I will return to over and over again. And this is where I part ways with Antonio. I don't believe that passing around a color eReader is the best way to experience these types of books. And maybe it's because of my background in photography, but I prefer a reflective over a transmissive viewing experience in these cases.
So does that mean that Blurb is going to rest on our laurels as an "old fashioned" book company? Absolutely not. But it does mean that print is in our DNA and will remain the ultimate expression of what Blurb is all about. Eileen said it best in a presentation last month: "We believe that the future of books will combine different media types with different entry and exit points--all contributing to the story line. The 21st century book will enable you to lose yourself in the book without getting lost in the web." Well said, E. And how are we going to do that? You'll just need to stay tuned to find out.
Monday, April 12, 2010
Friday, April 2, 2010
More on the e-book agency model
The Book Industry Study Group (BISG) and EDItEUR—the international body that maintains ONIX product information standards—working in collaboration with representatives from the Association of American Publishers (AAP) and the U.K. Publishers Association (PA), have made provisions to the "ONIX for Books" standards to allow for a standard means of communicating agency model sales terms for e-books.
More here http://bit.ly/bOvuRc
More here http://bit.ly/bOvuRc
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Photography Book Now announces call for entries for 2010
Many of my readers attended one or more of our events last year, each a celebration of photography, creative people, and the art of permanence over temporal things. This year we will be taking the show on the road, with events planned from Seattle to Rome.
Much thanks goes out to those whose entries the past two years have made our competition a real phenomenon in the industry. And a big shout out to our 45 (!) sponsors, including our Platinum Sponsor HP, who once again is underwriting the grand prize of $25,000.
So please take a look at the site and think about what your book might be. And also browse through the entries from last year to get your creative juices flowing.
Monday, March 15, 2010
Rich-content self-published books are still too expensive
At Blurb we've made a pretty good living printing primarily 4-color books over the past four years. In fact we shipped more than 1.3 million books in 2009 to a tune of over $45M. At one point we were taking a new title every 1.1 seconds. Pretty cool stuff. But our vision since the beginning was the "democratization" of publishing. Have we succeeded or are we still just scratching the surface?
Blurb's success revolves around several building blocks. First, we revolutionized how full-color, digital offset books are priced, moving away from the pay-per-page model that was embraced by the digital photo album folks that were attracting the early consumer adopters. Then, as a software company, we listened closely to our customers during our beta period and created products and services that met their needs along with a full ecosystem to manage their Blurb experience. Finally, we captured a cool factor that creatives understood and embraced.
But an ever growing group of our customers are authoring books to make money. These are the true self-publishers that are avoiding the traditional means of publishing, a stale model that leaves the author with a minute percentage of the book's selling price as a profit. Or they are creating titles so specifically targeted that they could never publish traditionally and in the past had to live in the world of newsletters, zines, and, more recently, electronic means. Browse around the Blurb Bookstore and you'll see stunning examples of what these authors are creating. We are obviously thrilled but we're still not happy. Why? Because the promise of self-publishing rich-content titles has still not been fulfilled. Even though we are the price leader in the color book printing category, I think that getting a bookstore quality color book at a price allowing for re-sale is still a bit illusive.
So we continue to push the envelope for our customers. Our close relationship with HP, manufacturers of the Indigo presses that are used exclusively by our global print network, allows us to continue to drive efficiencies in the print process as well as create economies of scale that can be passed on to our customers. Growing from zero to $45M in just a few short years also helps us gain credibility in a publishing marketplace that often looks at newcomers with a suspicious eye, allowing us to parlay our success into valuable relationships with suppliers. But those relationships, while vital, have still not moved the needle in a way to create the sea change needed to really democratize the industry.
I am excited about some prospects over the coming months. The new high-speed ink jet presses, like the T-300 from HP and the Prosper from Kodak, hold the potential of very good quality color output at a price that could change the industry. Various inventors and entrepreneurs are looking at ways to remove some of the labor out of book binding, which remains one of the biggest cost of goods. Plus, Blurb is looking to keep innovating on how our authors can promote their books easily and inexpensively.
We've just released a new beta of a product we call Blurb BookShow. BookShow is a widget that authors can embed in their website, blog, or Facebook page allowing potential customers to automatically preview and buy their book. It's the first of the ongoing innovations that we are releasing this year to support our author/customers. Rest assured that we are not resting on our laurels. We won't be happy until we revolutionize the publishing business.
Blurb's success revolves around several building blocks. First, we revolutionized how full-color, digital offset books are priced, moving away from the pay-per-page model that was embraced by the digital photo album folks that were attracting the early consumer adopters. Then, as a software company, we listened closely to our customers during our beta period and created products and services that met their needs along with a full ecosystem to manage their Blurb experience. Finally, we captured a cool factor that creatives understood and embraced.
But an ever growing group of our customers are authoring books to make money. These are the true self-publishers that are avoiding the traditional means of publishing, a stale model that leaves the author with a minute percentage of the book's selling price as a profit. Or they are creating titles so specifically targeted that they could never publish traditionally and in the past had to live in the world of newsletters, zines, and, more recently, electronic means. Browse around the Blurb Bookstore and you'll see stunning examples of what these authors are creating. We are obviously thrilled but we're still not happy. Why? Because the promise of self-publishing rich-content titles has still not been fulfilled. Even though we are the price leader in the color book printing category, I think that getting a bookstore quality color book at a price allowing for re-sale is still a bit illusive.
So we continue to push the envelope for our customers. Our close relationship with HP, manufacturers of the Indigo presses that are used exclusively by our global print network, allows us to continue to drive efficiencies in the print process as well as create economies of scale that can be passed on to our customers. Growing from zero to $45M in just a few short years also helps us gain credibility in a publishing marketplace that often looks at newcomers with a suspicious eye, allowing us to parlay our success into valuable relationships with suppliers. But those relationships, while vital, have still not moved the needle in a way to create the sea change needed to really democratize the industry.
I am excited about some prospects over the coming months. The new high-speed ink jet presses, like the T-300 from HP and the Prosper from Kodak, hold the potential of very good quality color output at a price that could change the industry. Various inventors and entrepreneurs are looking at ways to remove some of the labor out of book binding, which remains one of the biggest cost of goods. Plus, Blurb is looking to keep innovating on how our authors can promote their books easily and inexpensively.
We've just released a new beta of a product we call Blurb BookShow. BookShow is a widget that authors can embed in their website, blog, or Facebook page allowing potential customers to automatically preview and buy their book. It's the first of the ongoing innovations that we are releasing this year to support our author/customers. Rest assured that we are not resting on our laurels. We won't be happy until we revolutionize the publishing business.
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Making the case for iPad book prices - From the NY Times
Another great read..a nice primer on the economics of printed vs e-books from Motoko Rich at the NYTimes.
"All of which raises the question: Just how much does it actually cost to produce a printed book versus a digital one?"
"All of which raises the question: Just how much does it actually cost to produce a printed book versus a digital one?"
Spring reading from FT.com; “Libraries were never warehouses of books ... They have always been and always will be centres of learning"
This week's blog post is just a link to a nice essay from the Financial Times of London on the future of book. If you love books it's a great read.
Monday, February 22, 2010
Image permanence for HP Indigo digital presses
As photo consumers move more and more toward alternatives to silver halide (photographic) output like digital photo albums from folks like Apple and Shutterfly and photo-intensive books like those provided by Blurb and A&I, many have questioned the longevity of these new printing options. After all, most of us have had the box of photos or old stick-in photo books from our youth that we stumble across every few years. Or maybe a Carousel or two (or 10 or 50) of slides, the old school prosumer and creative pro weapon of choice. So it makes sense to ask the question that in addition to the naturally unstable nature of the new digital photo environment (so, how long since you have backed up your iPhoto library?), what will those books I'm making today look like in 20 or more years?
To that end, we received some very good news this week. Henry Wilhelm co-founder, president and director of research at Wilhelm Imaging Research, who I worked with in my Corbis days after we acquired the Bettmann Archive and the Sygma Collection when we needed to quickly resolve the issue of decaying historical photographic films, released a report last week that is sure to make HP happy but also let those of us who are photo enthusiasts sleep a bit easier.
According to Wilhelm, HP Indigo printing actually exceeds the image permanence of the best-rated silver halide product, Fuji's Crystal Archive. Wilhelm rated Indigo output on Kromekote paper at 45 years, more than twice as long as the rating for Kodak photo paper. In addition, the dark storage rating, which is more appropriate for photo book applications, is greater than 100 years.
“The permanence ratings from WIR provide an important validation for the use of HP Indigo in consumer and professional photographic markets as well as in the fine art world,” said Wilhelm. “Good display permanence combined with excellent long-term stability, as well as freedom from yellowing for images that are in albums or are stored in other dark locations, are essential to preserving the value of historical photographs, art works and photo books.”
So your photo books aren't a replacement for backing up your digital photo archive. But it does mean that when you come across your "Burning Man 2009" book in 30 years, you'll still recognize yourself and your possibly questionable choices in wardrobe and friends.
To that end, we received some very good news this week. Henry Wilhelm co-founder, president and director of research at Wilhelm Imaging Research, who I worked with in my Corbis days after we acquired the Bettmann Archive and the Sygma Collection when we needed to quickly resolve the issue of decaying historical photographic films, released a report last week that is sure to make HP happy but also let those of us who are photo enthusiasts sleep a bit easier.
According to Wilhelm, HP Indigo printing actually exceeds the image permanence of the best-rated silver halide product, Fuji's Crystal Archive. Wilhelm rated Indigo output on Kromekote paper at 45 years, more than twice as long as the rating for Kodak photo paper. In addition, the dark storage rating, which is more appropriate for photo book applications, is greater than 100 years.
“The permanence ratings from WIR provide an important validation for the use of HP Indigo in consumer and professional photographic markets as well as in the fine art world,” said Wilhelm. “Good display permanence combined with excellent long-term stability, as well as freedom from yellowing for images that are in albums or are stored in other dark locations, are essential to preserving the value of historical photographs, art works and photo books.”
So your photo books aren't a replacement for backing up your digital photo archive. But it does mean that when you come across your "Burning Man 2009" book in 30 years, you'll still recognize yourself and your possibly questionable choices in wardrobe and friends.
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