Perhaps some of you know that Public Affairs Books used print on demand this year in conjunction with the publication of Scott McClellan’s bestselling book “What Happened: Inside the Bush White House and the Washington Culture of Deception.” They used it successfully as an insurance policy when the supply of books lagged behind demand. This begs the question of how else publishers and authors are currently using this technology and what will be its role in the future of book publishing. In addition to providing a supplemental supply for books produced on presses, print on demand is often used as the only method for printing a book. Examples of the benefits and promise of print on demand abound. The technology is great for short runs, scholarly publications, niche markets, geographically constrained publications, and for promotional purposes. It also provides flexibility for alternative layouts for books, such as large print editions, translations, or illustrated editions. Independent publishers, self-publishing companies serving authors, and authors themselves find print on demand affordable and convenient for reaching the masses without printing mass quantities. Many people project that in the future all books will be printed using this technology, but it will have morphed into printing at the point of demand, so that books will be printed at the place where they are purchased. The obvious benefits are no shipping costs, no returns, and no unused inventory. This sounds quite plausible to me. At Dorrance we employ print on demand for many of our imprints, making publishing options more affordable for more authors. This technology is already a boon to communications - disseminating more creative ideas and original content than ever before.