Google Books is one of the e-book industry’s leaders with over two million books in its public domain library, and with the rise of Kindle and other e-book readers, it’s easy to speculate that we’re eventually headed to a paperless future. But On Demand Books, the creators of the Espresso Book Machine, believes paper still has a place.
If you’ve never heard of it before, the Espresso Book Machine is a special printer that can print library-quality paperback books in a matter of minutes. On Demand Books has recently entered a deal with Google to access its vast library, meaning it’s now possible to have a paperback version a Google Books e-book. Its creators have described the Espresso Book Machine as a sort of “ATM for books.”
Of course, not everyone can get their hands on an Espresso Book Machine — the darned things cost around $100,000. So far less than a dozen locations around the world have one, such as the Bibliotheca Alexandria in Egypt and the University of Michigan Shapiro Library in Ann Arbor, Michigan. But On Demand Books hopes to have sold at least 25 more by early next year.
It’s a good thing Google believes not everyone’s going to adopt e-books easily, and that some things are still best read on paper.
