If you are a conference organizer and have the responsibility of collecting all the documents, reviewing them and making sure they are published in one format or another, you understand the work involved. With the focus on electronic distribution, it seems clear that you will produce or hire someone to produce your proceedings on CD, DVD, USB or web server. What you don’t expect is that you should also produce a cheap print edition on demand. “Wait a second,” you’re saying. “Isn’t it the hardest and most expensive print to distribute?” and “Aren’t we glad we put that behind us?” Here are five good reasons to consider making a print edition available to your members, affiliates, and the research community at large.
1.Some still need to print: For whatever reason, in a very large world, there are researchers and libraries that still have a preference for print, or even a need to print. It’s true that most researchers are quite happy with electronic access, and for good reason: Articles are in color, titles are indexed, and topics and keywords are searchable. However, there are libraries, research institutes, corporations, and academic individuals who still request hard copies. Sometimes because they like the feel of a book, and other times because they don’t feel comfortable enough that “electronic only” meets all their needs. In the case of large libraries, there are multiple and diverse audiences to serve, and not all are satisfied in the same way.
2. Provide access to all segments of the research community: Most engineers and scientific authors, as well as the professional societies and associations with which they are affiliated, consider the dissemination of their research a strategic priority. While the electronic format has certain clear advantages with respect to easy distribution, why deny yourself to a segment of the research community, just because they chose one format over another? Hidden benefit: Are engineering libraries and research institutes, which often prefer to print to CD, DVD or USB, buzzing with potential new members and potential attendees of future conferences?
3. Produce only what is needed: Print-on-demand, by definition, eliminates costly print runs, excess inventory, and scrap trees. On the other hand, it also removes “out of print” books. A print-on-demand version is simply available to those who need it, when they need it, no more, no less!
4. On-demand model reduces complexity and cost: By definition, print on demand (POD) is less complicated and less expensive. A simple search for “conference minutes printers” should provide many options for printers with experience printing minutes. Since the demand for printing is slowing down, you’ll need to find a printer that partners with you (agrees to do the work in exchange for a share of sales revenue) and has the following capabilities.
- Prepress work (creation of table of contents, author index)
- Sort and merge articles and paginate
- Create the cover and cover.
There are even print shops that will take care of order processing, packing and shipping to your members or affiliates…let’s talk about cutting costs and complexity.
5. Reallocate your resources to more strategic priorities: For most associations, printing and distributing a few extra copies of minutes is not high on the priority list. Find a good partner and use your precious resources on more strategic tasks.
Start looking for a print-on-demand partner today who can produce the book, promote it, process orders, and pack and ship. You will get another distribution channel that promotes your society and conference(s). You’ll get a small stream of income that’s 100% profit contribution and the whole concept supports the notion of disseminating research, which most professional organizations include as part of their mission statement. Everyone wins here: the customer who still prefers to print; the printer who is probably looking for new ways to stay in the game; and you, the conference organizer who would love the many positive results, but need time to work out a hundred other priorities.
