Would you like an Espresso with that e-book (or would that be redundant)?

It’s no secret that I like books. I write them; I read them. I read about them. I am hardly ever without one.

I like the tactile feel of a book in my hands, especially one that’s an old friend (The Lord of the Rings, or my ancient copy of Pride & Prejudice) or a new find (The Kite Runner).

But I’m no Luddite, or at least, only an average Luddite (or a cheap one). I don’t have an e-reader yet because I’m waiting for the price to come down, but I am not opposed to the idea. (It also helps that one can set the font size on an e-reader, which pleases my aging eyes, but I digress.)

One of the pros of an e-reader is that you can have any book you want in an instant. Just download and go, paying for a new read with the push of a few buttons.

With that in mind, who is the market for the Espresso? The print-on-demand machine, from On Demand Books, can be found in about 30 bookstores around the world. It will print a real, actual book while you wait (or is that While U Wait?) and you get to watch the entire process.

But wait — you are already in a bookstore, where presumably you can buy any book that you want. (Sigh, not really, but that’s another post for another time.) And if you are the type of person who doesn’t want to wait for a book, then why not just download to your e-reader?

On Demand calls Espresso an “ATM for books.” The company has allied with Lightning Source, the print-on-demand arm of Ingram, which distributes pretty much all of the print books in the US. You buy a book in a bookstore and it came through Ingram. The benefit for a small publisher that uses print on demand is that it might be difficult to get their books into bookstores, where most people still buy books. With Espresso, the books are right there, even if they aren’t on the shelf.

Another possibility for Espresso? Libraries. Just as the bookstore is evolving, so are libraries, as they become full-service media centers. Print-on-demand in libraries, with some sort of royalty and payment system in place, is a logical extension of the library mission and will truly allow libraries to carry all books. Interlibrary loan, although one of the coolest concepts ever, could become a thing of the past.

We’ve already seen the success of Redbox. Perhaps an Espresso in every mall and department store is up next.

Still, I wonder. Certainly print-on-demand is the way of the future for book publishing, as are e-books. Espresso’s competition comes from e-book readers as well as various POD operations. If On Demand only focuses on putting its machines in bookstores, it may be hitching its wagon to a fading star. Bookstores are having a tough time of it still, and they may not have enough customers who think of going to a bookstore to download a book. On the other hand, it looks like there’s one coming to the University of Texas.

That being the case, I might have to give it a shot. Maybe I will hold off on that e-reader some more.

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Photo credit: Patrice Sarath