01
Plain definition
Print-on-demand is a way of selling printed books without printing stock: each copy is printed and bound after it is ordered, by the retailer's or distributor's printer, and shipped to the buyer.
02
Why it matters to an author
It removes the print run, the warehouse and the unsold boxes. The unit cost is higher than an offset run, so the margin per copy is lower, but the risk is close to zero and a book can stay in print indefinitely.
03
Where it appears in the publishing workflow
It is the model behind paperback and hardcover editions on the major self-publishing platforms. The spine width calculator on this site exists because a print-on-demand cover has to be sized to the exact page count.
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