On-The-Spot Bookmaker – The Espresso Book Machine

There was a time when there was a belief that books would be on the way out with the advent of computers, ebooks and e-book readers. Thankfully, that did not happen. After all, you can take a book with you while traveling, or in any room in the house, or wherever you go. It does not need batteries and as long as you have light you can read.

However, books do consume a lot of paper and using paper is not environmentally friendly. Often it happens that books are printed and because they are not sold, they are lying as unsold stock somewhere or the other – more trees gone, more paper wasted, not to mention other resources like electricity, printing inks and the whole process from the time a book is written till the time it is available in shops.

As such the Espresso Book Machine may prove to be a boon to the environmentally friendly consumer. Launched recently at Blackwell’s in London, the machine is being hailed as Time magazine’s invention of the year. It will take any book in its data base and print it out while you wait – the papers will be stuck, the cover put and the book properly finished, just like a normal book, but it will be hot off the press!

Called the ATM of books (EBM – Espresso Book Machine) and already launched in the U.S., Canada, Australia and Egypt by On Demand, this machine will also be able to print books which are out of stock or out of print. Not only that, but it offers hope to new writers – you will actually be able to print a copy of your own book as and when you want!

Category: Accessories, Consumer Electronics