Print on demand

This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page. (Learn how and when to remove these template messages) This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Print on demand" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (July 2008) (Learn how and when to remove this message) This article may need to be rewritten to comply with Wikipedia's quality standards. You can help. The talk page may contain suggestions. (January 2010) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

Print on demand (POD) is a printing technology and business process in which book copies (or other documents, packaging, or materials) are not printed until the company receives an order, allowing prints in single or small quantities. While other industries established the build-to-order business model, POD could only develop after the beginning of digital printing^[1] because it was not economical to print single copies using traditional printing technologies such as letterpress and offset printing.

Many traditional small presses have replaced their traditional printing equipment with POD equipment or contracted their printing to POD service providers. Many academic publishers, including university presses, use POD services to maintain large backlists (lists of older publications); some use POD for all of their publications.^[2] Larger publishers may use POD in special circumstances, such as reprinting older, out-of-print titles or for test marketing.^[3]